Disability Mentoring Day, which occurs on the third Wednesday in October every year, is a national program that encourages students with disabilities to explore a variety of careers through job shadowing and hands-on career exploration. This year, several of our High School/High Tech programs conducted activities for our students. Two of these programs are highlighted below:
Garrett County Public Schools:
Through a coordinated effort with Appalachian Crossroads and the Oakland office of the Division of Rehabilitation Services, Garrett County Public Schools had eight students, six from Northern Garrett High School and two from Southern Garrett High School, participate in job shadowing activities. A school bus dropped the students off at various business locations for about 2 hours of job shadowing, then picked them up and returned them to school. Businesses who participated included: ICE Web, CVS Pharmacy in Oakland, Doctor’s Urgent Care, Phenix Technologies, Accident Garage, Wisp Ski Resort, and Wisp A Frame. Several of these businesses have also expressed interest in having students return for internship opportunities. Pictured below are some of these students engaged in job shadowing:
| John Thorpe and Nick Greaser learn about electronic components at Phenix Technologies. |
| Corey House assists in diagnosing an auto computer problem at Accident Garage. |
| Krista Beiler observes the use of X-ray equipment at Doctor’s Urgent Care. |
National Federation of the Blind:
In observance of Disability Mentoring Day and ‘Meet the Blind Month’, NFB held a Youth Leadership Blowout weekend retreat from October 13th to 15th. 45 students from Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia, including many of our High School/High Tech students, participated in leadership seminars and learned about networking, career opportunities, and community involvement. They heard from successful blind mentors from all over the country, and began to see themselves as part of a larger community. Activities included challenge activities and role playing, with an emphasis on thinking ahead as to what they want to do in the future. Many activities that were initiated as part of their High School/High Tech program were replicated for this group of students, including their version of the Dating Game, Blind Teens in Action, and a chainsaw challenge activity in which students were able to saw a log in half with supervised, hand-over-hand instruction. Students were also shown assistive technology that would help them in the workplace, were given the opportunity to work on their mobility skills, and even got to try their hand at cooking on a barbecue grill. Throughout all of these activities, students were encouraged to verbalize their feelings about being independent, productive, and successful blind adults. Pictured below are just a sampling of these activities:
| Nikki Singh shares her experiences as an active blind teen (she dances)! |
| Alycia Breitschwerdt learns to use a chain saw (yes, a real chain saw!) |