hullo Mr. sanjay, thanks for sharing such a nice article on the topic of career for our visually challenged persons to evaluate their writing abilities. this will certainly prove to be a bright sunlight given to a blossoming flower. i once again express my hearty appreciation for forwarding such a inspiring topic amongst us. with warm regards, v mukesh jain.
On 2/2/08, Sanjay <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > (Editor's Note: Some of you may remember Gynger Ingram, a scholarship winner > in 1986. In 1995, she legally changed her name to facilitate her writing > career.) > > In 1986, the American Council of the Blind generously awarded me the $1,500 > Floyd Qualls Memorial Scholarship. Subsequently, the Louisiana Council of > the > Blind provided an additional $300 to sponsor my trip to the ACB national > convention in Knoxville, Tenn. to accept the scholarship in person. That was > 21 > years ago, yet I remain most thankful for the award and the experiences it > brought me. I used the funds for tuition, textbooks and a large-print > thermal > typewriter, an indispensable tool for a visually impaired student in the > days before laptop computers. As a measure of gratitude, I would like to let > ACB > members know what they got for their investment in my future. > > I went on to graduate summa cum laude from Northwestern State University of > Louisiana in May 1989, earning a bachelor of arts in English. I then > proceeded > to graduate school at Texas A&M University at College Station, earning a > master of arts in English in August 1991. During my master's program, I > developed > an interest in scientific and technical writing that augmented my original > goal of being an author and university administrator. In the second year of > my graduate program, I earned a split assistantship, continuing to teach one > class of freshman composition while also working as a technical writer in > the university's Supercomputer Center. This role defined the future course > of my career. Better Communicators > > In today's global work force, one cannot underestimate the value of clear, > precise communication. In the fall of 1991, I took a teaching position at > the > College Station, Texas branch of Blinn College, the oldest community college > in Texas, which regularly prepares students for advancement to Texas A&M and > other four-year institutions throughout the state. I taught courses in > freshman composition, introductory literature and technical writing. My > department > head quickly discovered that I possessed an unusual gift for working with > international students, who often began their course work at the community > college > level to improve their language skills before moving on to their advanced > degree programs. Between 1989 and 1995, I taught over 1,000 American and > international > students to be better writers. Over the years, I have heard from many of my > former students who have taken what they learned and successfully applied it > to their own careers. > > Interestingly, throughout six years of teaching, I had only one student who > blatantly took advantage of my low vision. His own peers called his > treachery > to my attention and made him apologize to me. Ironically, the culprit was a > physical therapy major studying to work with disabled people. I took him > privately > into the hallway and encouraged him to evaluate more closely his career > choice. The rest of the semester passed uneventfully. > > A Safer World > > In the summer of 1994, the head of Texas A&M's Department of Nuclear > Engineering spotted me teaching a technical writing class and remembered me > from the > Supercomputer Center. He was considering adding a technical writer to his > staff pending an upcoming large-scale research project. I took the position > in > December 1994, although I continued to teach in the evenings for another > year. That research project turned out to be the Amarillo National Resource > Center > for Plutonium (ANRCP), a program established by the U.S. Department of > Energy to look into options for disposing of excess weapons- grade plutonium > from > the Cold War era. For the next three and a half years, I worked with > scientists from around the world as they investigated the best options for > dealing > with the excess plutonium. My role involved everything from sending e-mail > reminders about technical meetings to preparing abstracts and progress > reports > to serving as the technical editor of a full- length book containing the > proceedings of a NATO conference on nuclear waste management. > > I also assisted professors in the department with their technical > publications by typesetting their equations, correcting their English and > checking galley > proofs of their articles prior to final publication. I felt particularly > honored when one of the department's lead professors invited me to serve > with > him on the university's Council of Principal Investigators. In fact, he had > made it clear that he would not accept the CPI's nomination of him as > secretary > unless he had my help. In this capacity, I worked with researchers > throughout the Texas A&M University system by helping coordinate the > meetings, taking > the extensive minutes, and streamlining the dissemination of electronic > information throughout the membership. > > The most rewarding aspect of my position, though, involved helping nuclear > engineering graduate students prepare their theses and dissertations. Again, > I strove to impart principles of good writing and clear communication to > these young professionals who would go on to work at nuclear power plants > and > serve as stewards of nuclear arsenals. After all, I reminded them again and > again, the Chernobyl accident was a direct result of miscommunication. > > By April 1998, the ANRCP investigators had identified vitrification and deep > burial as the best methods for disposing of excess plutonium. Vitrification > involves combining the plutonium with a glass-like medium from which > extraction is extremely difficult. The plutonium/glass material is then > encapsulated > in safe containers and buried deep in the earth at a secret location. These > processes deter future recovery and destructive use of the plutonium. With > the project at an end, it was time for me to move on with my career. > > A More Sustainable Rio Grande Valley > > During my time with the Department of Nuclear Engineering, I worked on a > number of proposals, including the original proposal for the ANRCP project. > I marketed > this skill across campus, and in May 1998 I joined the Center for Housing > and Urban Development in the College of Architecture, also at Texas A&M. > There, > I worked as a proposal development specialist for the center's nationally > recognized Colonias Program. Colonias are unincorporated settlements along > the > Texas/Mexico border that lack even the most basic infrastructure such as > paved streets, municipal sewers, telephone service, health care facilities > and > so forth. To help the colonias become more sustainable communities, the > Colonias Program established a series of local community centers to provide > housing, > education, health care, senior care, employment and other essential services > and information to residents. Beneficial as these programs are, they require > money, and lots of it. While with the center, I helped other Colonias > Program team members develop proposals to institute helpful programs in > these needy > communities. > > Of course, I found the outcomes of my efforts rewarding, but the intensely > collaborative environment proved quite stressful. The Colonias Program is, > by > its nature, a very social entity, whereas I find myself to be a very > scientific entity, much more effective and productive as an individualist. > Call me > odd if you will, but I missed editing technical conference proceedings and > typesetting equations. Hence, I requested and received a departmental > transfer > that brought me full circle back to my days with computers, technical > abstracts and lots and lots of equations. > > A Cleaner Environment > > After a year with the Colonias Program, I transferred to the Institute for > Scientific Computation. As a communications specialist, I primarily assisted > the Institute's director, who was and is by far the most versatile > scientific professional I have ever had the honor to serve. A mathematician > at heart, > he worked extensively within the petroleum industry developing computer > models to simulate fluid flow through porous media. In plain English, that > means > he studied how oil and other petroleum byproducts or contaminants might > behave if they leak into the soil or groundwater. From this knowledge, he > developed > recommendations for preventative measures and contingency plans to mitigate > contamination incidents. His work necessitated frequent travel to > conferences > to give presentations on his work, presentations which I often prepared for > him. I also maintained his numerous publications, edited articles for him > and > his colleagues and assisted with scientific grant proposals. > > More To Come > > By late 2000, I was in trouble. Despite my reliance on a CCTV and a catalog > case full of magnifying glasses, I suppose all that technical editing had > taken > its toll. Or perhaps it was just because I had officially reached middle > age. Either way, my residual vision was going, and I knew it. I started > making > too many typos of my own and failed to catch those of others. My time as a > technical writer and editor was ending, so I started to investigate my other > options, such as medical transcription. Then, a secondary near-fatal illness > sidelined me completely in early 2001. > > The illness is improved now, and I am becoming accustomed to living with the > lowest visual acuity I have ever had. I worked in supportive roles during my > first career, and I hope you find that I attached myself to worthy > coattails. I am currently researching options for a second career with a > leadership > role this time, perhaps as the proprietor of my own business. Whatever the > outcome, I will always remember the generosity of the American Council of > the > Blind and other sponsors who contributed to making me a productive > individual. Thank you. > > > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with > the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > -- Mukesh Jain email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] mobile: 09977165123 "happiness and joy are the wealth of prosperous life" To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
