Evolving your skills for success. The following video features individuals seated in an office conference room speaking to the camera about their experiences with the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind or MCB. They are each talking about the subject of “Evolving Your Skills For Success” as an MCB Vocational Rehabilitation or VR client. Speakers include, in order:
Lynn Shortis (Teacher Of Visually Impaired Students)
Brendan Foley (Teacher Of Visually Impaired Students)
Jimmy Lopez (MCB Client)
Joe Buizon (MCB Employment Services)
Nicole Ross (Optometrist, New England College Of Optometry)
Brittany Taylor (MCB VR Counselor)
James Leahy (MCB Client)
Kara Sittig (MCB VR Counselor)
00:54
Nicole Ross: You know, when we think about quality of life, I think it…it's about having a life purpose and…and having independence and being part of maintaining those things for…for the patient. And that means something different to everybody.
01:08
Lynn Shortis: So after 18 or 22, depending on when a student graduates, MCB just…just kind of takes over as their main go to person for anything that they need.
01:18
Brendan Foley: We usually have a culminating meeting with the MCB caseworker and draw out their plan for post-graduation with me, you know, there to kind of guide them a little bit if they need me.
01:29
Lynn Shortis: Establishing the relationship early on with Mass Commission for the Blind and maintaining that relationship, keeping them in the know of what the student is doing, I think it's critical to the success for these students.
01:41
Joe Buizon: What we do is work on their resumes, make sure their aesthetics are okay, even though they visually can't see it. We kind of practice on interviewing, put them on the hot seat, being active in different clubs so then they can continue to network, do maybe a paid internship that will lead to conversion.
02:00
Nicole Ross: We have to make sure that whatever optical device or visual equipment is going to fit with their workplace and what they have to do, and oftentimes I need feedback from, you know, the vocational rehab counselor that's going to the job site to say, “Okay, this part worked. But this didn't fit, and we need a different strategy for this.”
02:18
Brittany Taylor: To come up with a plan would be to work with that individual and determine, “Okay, how do you want to proceed? What type of activities do you enjoy?” Sometimes that's doing interest inventories, and just determining how their goals align with their interests.
02:34
Jimmy Lopez: When I first began, when I'm in college, I wasn't confident in myself. And I really didn't know how to kind of navigate the environment, the professional environment. But I, you know, after taking all that I've learned from MCB and…and, you know, through my internship experiences throughout the past few years, I have a much clearer sense of what I really want to do in my career. I was able to kind of, you know, plan ahead and determine what tools I would need it to be successful in school.
02:59
James Leahy: I learned how to use a computer, I learned more Braille, I learned more mobility, such as learning how to take a bus in the city. And so I learned a lot of the skills I use every day.
03:08
Kara Sittig: If you have those spline skills in place, and you have an education required of a position, the only real hurdle you have is confidence, willingness to disclose, and be able to feel like you can do the job and communicate with your employer.
03:29
Nicole Ross: It's about having a support system in place, knowing that they're not the first person to go through this experience and they don't have to reinvent the wheel themselves, that other people have gone through it, there are other strategies out there. There's always new and evolving technology out there.
03:46
Jimmy Lopez: MCB, they're here to help you and they want to help you. But they can only help you if you're open with them and if you communicate with them what your needs are and what your goals are.
03:56
Brittany Taylor: And as long as they are happy with the services that MCB provided, then that's all that matters and that's what makes up the success at the end of the day.
04:05
To learn more about and contact the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, find them online at mass.gov. Or call 800-392-6450.