The NFB Youth Slam attracts many dynamic, successful, and inspiring blind people. below you will find interviews conducted by our very own Slam News students, some of whom are reporting for the very first time.
In this podcast, the Slam News Team interviews Chris Downey, a blind architect.
The NFB Youth Slam attracts many dynamic, successful, and inspiring blind people. below you will find interviews conducted by our very own Slam News students, some of whom are reporting for the very first time.
In this podcast, the Slam News Team interviewed Serena Olsen, a blind Federationist who has traveled extensively.
Tuesday night was Sports Night and the games were flying. There was plenty going on, from goal ball to basketball, from dance to yoga. There was a star gazing party where you can see the moon and stars up close (with a telescope of course). There was even a wheelchair race!
It was amazing how all these students were able to find the force of the ball and sense that it was coming, gaze at the stars, or listen to directions and allow their bodies to move to the beat. The students were able to turn a hard task into something easy to do and fun to work with. They were also able to exercise not only their bodies and minds, but also their ability to follow along, despite their blindness.
At the Star Gazing portion of the evening, blind students were able to see the magic of the moonlit and starlit sky at night. For blind people, seeing the stars is one of those “unachievable” things, but Youth Slam opened up that world to us.
In the ball games, students are able to hear that the ball is coming and either catch it, hit it, or kick it without getting hit. And in the dance and yoga classes, people used their bodies to follow along to the music and instructions. Overall, it was a very entertaining and relaxing night for everyone.
This afternoon I had a fascinating interview with Greg Dwall, who was born February 10, 1979, in Chico, California. Mr. Dwall is an expert in Judo, but is still learning. He has played in 3 international competitions such as the World Judo Championships in Brazil and the 2008 Olympics in Asia. During these games, Mr. Dwall became a silver and bronze metal winner. The most impressive fact that caught my eye was that Greg plays Judo against sighted opponents. He does this by developing physical strategies and just plain hard work. I asked Greg what goes through his mind when playing Judo. “Action,” he said, “Just beating my opponent,” he said simply.
Greg said that with the coaching he believes that blind athletes can be great — that’s why he wants to continue the legacy of the blind Judo wrestlers before him.
I also had a chance to explore Greg’s personal life and learn what makes a strong judo player and some strong events that helped build this man’s character. He started off by saying he grew up in a stable home, both parents, one brother and one sister; also throughout his time in school he was active in football, soccer and wrestling. His hobbies were classic rural boy ones — hunting and wrestling, a sport in which he won some awards. Greg confided in me with some irony that in his teenage years he mostly paid more attention to sports and his girlfriend and he never worried about his grades. When it was time to figure out what college and what career he wanted to do, however, he was trap, because his grades weren’t great and his mind wasn’t together. So, increasingly, he began to feel pressured by family and other peers.
When I asked him what he did to get through his hard times he said, “I got up and grab my shotgun and tried to end my life.” I was stunned at Greg’s great candor but he was comfortable explaining and I let him continue.
When He awoke a week later Greg discovered that he was missing half of his face and that he was blind. I ventured to ask what was going through his mind at that time and He was chillingly honest, ”Oh crap, what am I going to do now!”
Even in the midst of his recovery, Greg’s humor came through. While he was in the hospital he made a bet with his brother on who would win — the Packers or the Patriots. Interestingly, Greg says that he was more bothered after his accident by his injured face than with his blindness. Improving his face would require that Greg undergo multiple surgeries to restore his facial function and gain more comfort. After Greg was released from the hospital he attended college at California State University, Chico. Though he resumed his studies, further surgeries slowed him down. And in between all these demands he enrolled at a California blindness training center to gain the basics of blind independence such as Braille and cane travel.
Now that Greg Dwall is 30, he is looking toward the future, toward settling down in a stable community in Maryland, where he can keep teaching Judo and continue doing recreation jobs. His advice to other blind students thinking about sports is to “explore freely and make sure you have support from family or friends and, above all, keep working hard.”
Marcus Schmid was raised in a family of three. He was the only blind ne in his family, but his parents still had the same expectations of him as his siblings, which he feels is the best thing they could have done for him as it helped him to start working on his blindness skills. Marc is now an engineering section leader in the marketing and trading organization of an electric utility company. His primary function is to project fuel and purchase power expenses for the traders.
But getting there took some time. The first step was a Bachelors Degree in science and electrical engineering at northern Arizona University. He went to work at the company directly after graduation. At first, he was doing computer programming in the engineering environment. However, after six years, he switched to the generation planning organization within the same company. He feels that his strong analytical skills and computer programming capability helped him get the job. Seven years later, he took a promotion in to marketing and trading due to the expertise he had gained and his love for tackling challenges.
When asked what made him want to pursue this career, he replied, “Well, my father is an engineer so I guess it runs in the family.” He says he always had a love for math and sciences so an engineering degree was the quickest way of getting gainful employment. Originally, he was intending to study atmospheric physics, but he had to get his PHD to get a job. However, he married young and by his junior year in college, there was a baby on the way. And, finally, Mr. Schmid says he wanted to prove to everyone, including himself, that he could be gainfully employed.
Mr. Schmidt was next asked to touch on some of the obstacles he had to overcome to be where he is now. He admits that getting his equipment was a little difficult. He did not have Vocational Rehabilitation, (VR), services, so financial aid was the first obstacle. He says that what helped him be most productive was being his own advocate when obtaining this equipment. And, finally, as a matter of personal preference, he had to find the best equipment, (speech software, scanners, Braille software, and so on.), that worked for him. On another side of things, he says he one of his other challenges was convincing people he knew what he was talking about in the sense of investments. He has also been denied some opportunities for continued professional growth because people thought learning something new would pose too many challenges. However, he says he had no real negative attitudes or opposition, and says that his ability to learn and perform has dispelled people’s misconceptions for the most part.
As previously stated, Mr. Schmidt says he never used Vocational Rehabilitation, (VR), Services, but instead occasionally used Disabled Student Services, which the campus offered. They gave him a Braille note taker, orientation to the campus, and helped him find readers. What he liked most about those services was that they only jumped in when he needed him, which, he believes, most helpful because it showed him how important it was to be his own advocate. He feels that he wouldn’t go to a training center and that the help he received was enough, as he went to a school for the blind and was therefore pretty proficient in his blindness skills.
As Marc Schmidt is almost totally blind, blindness skills were a pretty important thing to have, especially in his profession. When asked about the techniques and skills that were the most important, his biggest emphasis was Braille literacy, which should be everyone’s first priority to learn. To be proficient in reading and writing Braille is to be independent and competent in your jot. A close second to Braille literacy is proficient mobility skills. He says, “You need mobility skills so you can get around and talk to your customers and experts in the field without depending on others.”
The biggest piece of advice Mr. Schmidt could offer blind students wanting to pursue an engineering career was to not be afraid to stray from their comfort zone. It would also be advisable to take as many math and science courses as possible while in high school. Another helpful hint is to ever sell yourself short, and to be creative in figuring out how to solve your problems, as, “you’ll need it. You may be the only blind student wherever you are.” Being proficient at blindness skills is huge, and he advises students to be pretty proficient at them before going to college. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this question is that, although Mr. Schmidt never went to an NFB training center himself, he strongly recommends that students go to one before entering college.
Though engineering runs in Mr. Schmidt’s family, none of his four children ended up being engineers. Mr. Schmidt married a sighted lady while in college. They now have four children together, ranging in age from nineteen to twenty-five. And, though none of them are engineers, all of them inherited their father’s love of music.
Mr. Schmidt has a wide variety of interests besides his love of sciences. For instance, he is a lover of music and thus, is a musician. He enjoys the outdoors and any recreation that can come as a result of being outside such as swimming, hiking, and jogging. But, what gives him a sense of pride and happiness is improving the lives of other blind people.
Overall, Mr. Schmidt says he is very pleased with the twenty-four years he’s been in the company. He is now in line for management and feels that he is well-respected among the other employees. And, he is thrilled to say that the people around him do not make a big issue about his blindness. Although I do not personally enjoy the concepts of math, science, or any combination of the two, Mr. Schmidt made me see that it is possible for me to pursue a career in that field. He made the topic interesting and fun. The way he spoke about his job made it seem as if everything were a new concept or idea to explore and that, above else, is the energy that’s needed for any job.
My sports night went really well. I did judo, and considering that I’ve been doing that for maybe a year now, I had a lot of fun and thankfully didn’t have to do the INSANE exercise. I learned a new throw while I was there and it is easier than osoto. Our sensei was very good and helpful. I was disappointed when it ended. My partner was Jason; he’s pretty good if he gets into it. He could be a beast if he really tried. Luckily nobody broke his or her neck or arm or leg, whereas at my practice it’s almost a guarantee you will get hurt. So I had fun and I hope you guys had fun as well. Later on, fellow slammers.
What’s happening at NFB Youth Slam? What’s on the minds of the mentors and students here at the University of Maryland? What do people really think about blindness and what is possible? Follow our slam news crew as they hit the streets to find out.
In this podcast, the Slam News Team asked folks on the campus of the University of Maryland if they know any blind scientists, technologists, engineers, or mathematicians. Here’s how the Slammers answered.
When I was at the BBQ yesterday, it was rather interesting. I waited in line for a good while but the food was pretty good. Then everybody started dancing and all I did was just chill and hang around. At one point I was making it rain, as in throwing money in the air. I also met new people and just had fun really. Hope everybody else did as well
Nathanael Wales was born in Madison, Wisconsin. Around age nine, his family left Wisconsin and moved to California.
Born legally blind, Nathanael went to a public school. Originally, he was able to read large print. In high school, he learned Braille, which became useful in life, since it was less challenging to read.
As a shy person, he always enjoyed playing with legos and building blocks during childhood. “I loved building structures, building things people would live in and use. I was good at Math and Science, and enjoyed both subjects.”
Usually whilst building, he did not follow the instructions, but rather used logic to create his own construction. Creativity was also important in designing a finished lego piece.
During high school, Nathanael participated on a mock trial team, solving complex cases. Some of them involved technical logic – analyzing fibers, and other scientific work. “Mock trial allowed me to strengthen my critical thinking and logic skills. I also tried to take as many science classes I could take – including AP Physics and calculus.”
Nathanael’s family came across the National Federation of the blind while looking for various devices for making reading large print easier. In California, there were many conventions throughout the year. There, they met blind people who participated in the National Federation of the Blind, and became successful role models. “In my area, there wasn’t really a chapter. It was a rural place where I lived, so we stayed involved in state events.”
Upon completion of his high school career in 1996, MR. Wales attended the Louisiana center for the Blind, as well as his first convention in Los Angeles.
In 2001, he Graduated from the University of California Davis, earning a Bachelor’s In engineering. A few years later, Nathanael Wales successfully earned his Professional engineers license.
One government job, which he worked in required logic in figuring out the most economical design for dams or Reservoirs. The problems ranged from questions such as “How much profit will this dam make?” to ones such as “Where should it be built so the least amount of impact in the environment is made?” which required the use of more complex logic.
His current federal job involves solving environmental complaints customers might have with their water supplies. ”The challenge of it is that we’re dealing with real people and their concerns of way of life. What is very rewarding is when you can provide them with a better water supply which doesn’t impact their environment.”
Today, Nathanael is married to a law student who is visually impaired and lives a successful life, enjoying what he loves to do: Engineering and building. He first participated as a mentor in Youth slam in 2007. This year, he is back, instructing the Go green track. “The challenge this year is to make sure that the content is good. That we are doing things that the students are learning from.”
Born to Palestinian parents in Chicago, Illinois, Ronza Othman moved to Maryland, where she currently resides. Her hobbies include cooking, reading, hanging out with friends, spending time with her family, shopping, and playing online games.
She is a Civil Rights lawyer with the Department of Homeland Security. This is a job she enjoys very much. Her favorite part of the job is making sure every American gets the benefit of Civil Rights protections, while also keeping the country safe. However, there are a few things that could do with some improving. For example, government employees use Blackberry, which is not accessible yet, making checking emails on the go slightly more difficult. Sometimes, she also finds it hard to recognize people, making it an awkward situation if she introduces herself to people she’s already met. She admits that new layouts still make her nervous. But, perhaps the most intriguing and odd part she finds challenging is nothing more than deciphering bad handwriting.
Although Ronza is now a successful Civil Rights Lawyer, it wasn’t always like that. She originally started out as a pre-med student. However, she was introduced to an advanced inorganic chemistry course, which she hated. From that moment, Ronza began questioning whether or not she wanted to go through all of that pain and deal with it for the rest of her life. She ended up finishing the major however and, n the process, discovered that she was very good at arguing and debating. So, she picked a career that would allow her to use those skills and still fit in her love of science.
Ronza began teaching high school biology. There is an area of study called Bio-Ethics. Bio-Ethics is the social, ethical and economic implications of science. Ronza wanted to be effective in creating good Bio-Ethics policy, for which law school was necessary. But as she finished up her courses in law school, she fell in love with Civil Rights and decided that that was what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.
Ronza feels that blindness skills and techniques were essential as she progressed further and further in her career. Although she didn’t learn Braille until 20’s, learning Braille was probably one of the most important things Ronza did. The long white cane at her side also helped her out tremendously, as it allowed her to travel independently and confidently. Her family, friends, and the NFB’s moral support were the most important tools.
Ronza’s future plans include staying in the job she’s in, as she deeply loves it. She also wants to settle down and start a family. And, finally, she hopes to publish a book. When she was younger, she worked on several literary magazines and newspapers as editor, and still enjoys writing and analyzing it.
Getting to know Ronza was both a pleasure and a privilege. Now, she is not only one of my instructors; she has more of a connection with me, as I can relate to some of the things she went through. I hope we will continue getting to know each other and look forward to the rest of our time together.
