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Each episode on Unstoppable Mindset I ask all of you and my guests to feel free to introduce me to others who would be good guests on our podcast. Our guest this time, Erin Edgar, is a guest introduced to me by a past podcast guest, Rob Wentz. Rob told me that Erin is inspirational and would be interesting and that she would have a lot to offer you, our audience. Rob was right on all counts. Erin Edgar was born blind. Her parents adopted an attitude that would raise their daughter with a positive attitude about herself. She was encouraged and when barriers were put in her way as a youth, her parents helped her fight to be able to participate and thrive. For a time, she attended the Indiana School for the Blind. Her family moved to Georgia where Erin attended high school. After high school, Erin wanted to go to college where she felt there would be a supportive program that would welcome her on campus. She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapple Hill. After graduating she decided to continue at UNC where she wanted to study law. The same program that gave her so much assistance during her undergraduate days was not able to provide the same services to Erin the graduate student. Even so, Erin had learned how to live, survive and obtain what she needed to go through the law program. After she received her law degree Erin began to do what she always wanted to do: She wanted to use the law to help people. So, she worked in programs such as Legal Aid in North Carolina and she also spent time as a mediator. She will describe all that for us. Like a number of people, when the pandemic began, she decided to pivot and start her own law firm. She focuses on estate planning. We have a good discussion about topics such as the differences between a will and a living trust. Erin offers many relevant and poignant thoughts and words of advice we all can find helpful. Erin is unstoppable by any standard as you will see. About the Guest: Erin Edgar, Esq., is a caring, heart-centered attorney, inspirational speaker and vocal artist. She loves helping clients: -- Plan for the future of their lives and businesses, ensuring that they have the support they need and helping them find ways to provide for their loved ones upon death. --Ensure that the leave a legacy of love and reflect client values -- Find creative ways that allow them to impact the world with a lasting legacy. She is passionate about connecting with clients on a heart level. She loves witnessing her clients as she guides them to transform their intentions for their loved ones into a lasting legacy through the estate planning process. Erin speaks about ways to meld proven legal tools, strategies, and customization with the creative process to design legal solutions that give people peace of mind, clarity, and the assurance that their loved ones will be taken care of, and the world will be left a better place Ways to connect with Erin: Facebook: https://facebook.com/erin-edgar-legal LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/erinedgar About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Hi everyone, and welcome to another edition of unstoppable mindset. We're glad that you're here with us, wherever you may be. Hope the day is going well, and we have Erin Edgar on our episode today. Edgar is a very interesting person in a lot of ways. She's a caring, heart centered attorney. She is also an inspirational speaker and a vocal artist. I'm not sure whether vocal artistry comes into play when she's in the courtroom, but we won't worry about that too much. I assume that you don't sing to your judges when you're trying to deal with something. But anyway, I'll let her answer that. I'm just trying to cause trouble, but Erin again. We're really glad you're with us. We really appreciate you being here, and I know you do a lot with estate planning and other kinds of things that'll be fun to talk about. So welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Erin Edgar ** 02:14 Thank you, Michael. It's great to be here, and I haven't sung in a courtroom or a courthouse yet, but I wouldn't rule it out.   Michael Hingson ** 02:23 I have someone who I know who also has a guide dog and his diet. His guide dog, it's been a while since I've seen him, but his guide dog tended to be very vocal, especially at unexpected times, and he said that occasionally happened in the courtroom, which really busted up the place. Oh, dear.   Erin Edgar ** 02:45 I imagine that would draw some smiles, hopefully, smiles.   Michael Hingson ** 02:48 Well, they were, yeah, do you, do you appear in court much?   Erin Edgar ** 02:53 Um, no, the type of law that I practice, I'm usually, I don't think I've ever appeared in court after I've written people's wills, but I have done previous things where I was in court mediating disputes, which is a kind of a separate thing that I used to do, so I've been in court just not recently. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 03:17 Well, that's understandable. Well, let's start a little bit with the early Erin and growing up and all that sort of stuff. Tell us about that? Sure.   Erin Edgar ** 03:26 So I was born in cold, gray Indiana, and, yeah, chilly in the wintertime, and I started out I was blind from birth, so my parents thought it would be a good idea to send me to the school for the blind for a while. And back when I was born, um, teen years ago, they did not mainstream visually impaired and disabled students in that state, so you went where you could, and I was at the blind school for until I reached third grade, and then we moved to Georgia, and I've been in the south ever since I live in North Carolina now, and I started going to public schools in fourth grade, and continued on that route all the way up through high school.   Michael Hingson ** 04:21 Oh, okay. And so then, what did you do?   Erin Edgar ** 04:29 So after, after that, I, you know, I was one of those high school students. I really wanted to get out of dodge and leave my high school behind. I went visiting a couple of colleges in Georgia, and I said to my parents, I said, I really don't like this. It's like going to high school again. Literally, I was meeting people I had been in high school with, and I decided, and was very grateful that my parents. Were able to rig it some way so that I could go to an out of state school. And I went to UNC Chapel Hill here in North Carolina, Tar Heels all the way. And I was there for undergrad. And then I got into law school there as well, which I was very excited about, because I didn't have to go anywhere, and graduated from law school again a while ago in the early 2000s   Michael Hingson ** 05:31 Okay, and so then you went straight into law from that.   Erin Edgar ** 05:37 I didn't I did some other things before I actually went into law itself. I worked with some local advocacy organizations, and I also mediated, as I said earlier, I did mediations with the county court, helping mediate criminal disputes. And we're talking about like things with you get in a dispute with your neighbor and you yell at each other, those kind of People's Court type things. They were fun and interesting. And then I did go into law. After that, I started working with Legal Aid of North Carolina, which is a an organization that helps people in poverty who cannot afford a lawyer to go and have have their options communicated to them and some help given to them regarding their public benefits or certain other, you know, public things that we could help with we weren't able to help with any personal injury, or, you know, any of the fun stuff you see on TV. So and then, when the pandemic hit, I started my own law practice and completely changed gears and went into writing estate plans and wills for a living.   Michael Hingson ** 07:07 Do you think that your time doing mediation work and so on taught you a lot about humanity and human nature and people?   Erin Edgar ** 07:16 It did. I bet it did. It was invaluable, actually, in that area taught me a lot about, I don't know necessarily, about human nature. However, it did teach me a lot about how to talk to people who were on different pages. You know, they had, perhaps, values and principles that weren't quite the same, where they had a different way of looking at the same exact situation, and how to bring those those people together and allow them to connect on a deeper level, rather than the argument we're able to get them to agree to kind of move forward from that, so nobody has to be found guilty, right? And you know a judge doesn't have and you don't have to drag a criminal conviction around with you. I think the most rewarding cases that I had, by far were the education cases. Because I don't know if anyone knows this, but in most states, in the United States, if you don't send your kids to school, you are guilty of a crime. It's called truancy, and you can be arrested. Well, the county that I live in was very forward thinking, and the school system and the court said, that's kind of dumb. We don't want to arrest parents if their kids aren't going to school, there's something behind it. You know, there the school is not providing what the child needs. The child's acting out for some reason, and we need to get to the bottom of it. So what they did was they set up a process whereby we come in as neutral observers. We did not work for the court. We were part of a separate organization, and have a school social worker there or counselor, and also have a parent there, and they could talk through the issues. And in a lot of cases, if the children were old enough, they were teenagers, they were there, and they could talk about it from their perspective. And truly amazing things came out of those situations. We could just we would discover that the children had a behavioral issue or even a disability that had not been recognized, and were able to come up with plans to address that with you know, or the school was with our help,   Michael Hingson ** 09:42 going back a little bit, how did your parents deal with the fact that you were blind? I gather it was a fairly positive experience   Erin Edgar ** 09:50 for me. It was positive. I was so fortunate, and I'm still so grateful to this day for having parents who you. I were very forward thinking, and advocated for me to have and do whatever, not whatever I wanted, because I was far from spoiled, but, you know, whatever, yeah, yeah, you know. But whatever, however I wanted to be successful, they advocated for me. And so my mother actually told me, you know, when I was born, they went through all the parent things like, oh, gosh, what did we do wrong? You know, why is God punishing us? You know, all that. And they, very early on, found support groups for, you know, parents with children with either blindness or disabilities of some sort, and that was a great source of help to them. And as I grew up, they made every effort to ensure that I had people who could teach me, if they couldn't, you know, how to interact with other children. I think, for a while when I was very little, and I actually kind of remember this, they hired an occupational therapist to come and teach me how to play with kids, because not only was I blind, but I was an only child, so I didn't have brothers and sisters to interact with, and that whole play thing was kind of a mystery to me, and I remember it sort of vaguely, but that's just A demonstration that they wanted me to have the best life possible and to be fully integrated into the sighted world as much as possible. So when I was at the blind school, and I was in this residential environment, and there was an added bonus that my parents didn't really weren't happy in their jobs either, and they weren't happy with the education I was getting, that they decided, well, we're just going to pick up and move and that was, quite frankly, as I look back on it now, a huge risk for them. And they did it, you know, 50% for me and 50% for them, maybe even 6040, but as I look back on it now, it's another demonstration of how supportive they were, and all the way through my school age years, were very active in ensuring that I had everything that I needed and that I had the support that I needed.   Michael Hingson ** 12:19 That's cool. How did it go when you went to college at UNC?   Erin Edgar ** 12:25 Yeah, that's an interesting question, a very good question.   Michael Hingson ** 12:29 You didn't play basketball, I assume? Oh no, I figured you had other things to do.   Erin Edgar ** 12:33 Yeah, I had other stuff to do. I sang in the choir and sang with the medieval chorus group, and, you know, all this other, like, musical geek, geeky stuff. But, or, and when we were looking for colleges and universities, one of the criteria was they had to have a solid kind of, like disability, slash visually impaired center, or, you know, support staff that would help in, you know, allow people with disabilities to go through the university. So at UNC Chapel Hill, the they had as part of their student affairs department Disability Services, and it just so happened that they were very aware of accommodations that blind people needed. I wasn't the first blind student to go through undergrad there. That's not law school, that's undergrad. And so you know, how much was it? Time and a half on on tests if I was doing them on the computer, double time if I was doing them in Braille. A lot of the tests were in Braille because they had the technology to do it. And also the gentleman who ran the Disability Services Department, I think, knew Braille, if I'm not mistaken, and could transcribe if necessary. But I was at the stage at that point where I was typing most of my exams anyway, and didn't need much that was in Braille, because I had books either electronically or they had a network of folks in the community that would volunteer to read if there was not, you know, available textbooks from RFD, and what is it, RFP and D? Now was at the time, yeah, now Learning Ally, there wasn't a Bookshare at that time, so we couldn't use Bookshare, but if there weren't textbooks available, they would have people in the community who would read them for them, and they would get paid a little bit. Now, when I went to law school, it was a totally different ball game, because I was the first law student who was blind, that UNC Chapel Hill had had, and it was a different school within the school, so that student affairs department was not part of law school anymore, and we had quite a time the first semester getting my book. Works in a format that I could read them in. They did eventually, kind of broker a deal, if you will, with the publishers who were either Thompson Reuters or Westlaw at the time to get electronic versions. They were floppy disks. This is how old I am. Floppy disks. They were in this weird format. I think it was word perfect or something. Usually it was, and they   Michael Hingson ** 15:27 didn't really have a lot of them new or no, they didn't know now, newer publishing system,   Erin Edgar ** 15:32 yeah, there wasn't PDF even, I don't think, at the time. And the agreement was I could get those, and I actually had to buy the print textbooks as well. So I have this whole bookcase of law books that are virgin, unopened, almost. And they are, you know, some of them almost 25 years old, never been opened and of no use to anyone. But I have them, and they look nice sitting down there in that bookshelf antiques books. They're antiques. So the first year was a little rough, because for a while I didn't have books, and we were able to make arrangements so that I could kind of make up some classes on a later year and switch things around a little bit. And it ended up all working out really well once we got started.   Michael Hingson ** 16:16 Yeah, I remember when I was going through getting my bachelor's and master's in physics, I needed the books in braille because, well, it's the only way to be able to really deal with the subject. You can't do it nearly as well from recordings, although now there's a little bit better capability through recording, because we have the DayZ format and so on. But still, it's not the same as reading it in Braille and for mathematics and physics and so on. I think that the only way to really do it is in Braille. And we had challenges because professors didn't want to decide what books to use until the last minute, because then, oh, a new book might be coming out and we want to get the latest book, and that didn't work for me, right? Because I had a network that I, in part, I developed with the Department of Rehabilitation out here, helped our office for disabled students didn't really have the resources to know it. They were very supportive. They just didn't really deal with it. But the bottom line is that we had to develop, I had to develop the network of transcribers, but they needed three to six months to do the books, at least three months and and sometimes I would get them one or two volumes at a time, and they barely kept ahead of the class. But, you know, it worked, but professors resisted it. And my the person who ran the Office for Students with Disabilities, said, Look, you have to work on these things, but if you're not getting cooperation from professors, and you come and tell me, and I will use the power of this office to get you what you need, there's another thing you might consider doing, she said. And I said, What's that? And Jan said, Go meet the chancellor. Make friends, yeah, friends in high places. And so I did. And Dan, oh, there you go. Became pretty good friends over the years, which was pretty cool,   Erin Edgar ** 18:15 you know, it was weird because we didn't, I didn't have that problem with the professors. They were, you know, I had a couple of old codgers, but they weren't really worried about the books. They were fine with me having the books, but it was the publishers. The publishers were irritated that that I needed them, and, you know, in an alternative format. And I didn't really, I was not. I was one of those people that if someone said they were going to do something for me, I kind of let people do it. And at the time, I was really not an advocate, advocator for myself, at that time, a very good self advocate. And so I kind of let the school interface with that. I think it would have been really interesting, if I look back on it, for me to have taken a hand in that. And I wonder what would have happened well, and at this point, you know, it's neither here nor there, but that's really fascinating. Making Friends with the chancellor, sometimes you have to do stuff like that   Michael Hingson ** 19:15 well. And the idea was really to get to know Him. And what there was, well, obviously other motivations, like, if we needed to go to a higher court to get help, we could go to the chancellor. I never had to do that, but, but the reason for meeting him and getting to know him was really just to do it and to have fun doing it. So we did,   Erin Edgar ** 19:36 yeah, and I kind of had a comparable experience. I met the Dean of the Law School for that very reason. And he said, you know, if you've got trouble, come to me, my parents got involved a little bit. And we all, you know, met together and maybe even separately at some points just to make sure that I had everything that I needed at various times. Mm. Yeah, and I made friends with the some of the assistant deans at the law school, in particular because of the situation, and one of whom was the Dean of the Law School Student Affairs, who was helping me to get what I needed. And for a while, when I was in law school and beyond. He was like, We lent books to each other. It was very funny. We found out we had the same reading tastes beyond law books. It wasn't, you know, legal at all, but we were like, trading books and things. So a lot of really good relationships came out of that.   Michael Hingson ** 20:37 And I think that's extremely important to to do. And I think that's one of the things that that offices for students with disabilities that tend to want to do everything for you. I think that's one of the things that it's a problem with those offices, because if you don't learn to do them, and if you don't learn to do them in college, how are you going to be able to be able to really act independently and as an advocate after college, so you have to learn that stuff   Erin Edgar ** 21:05 Absolutely. That's a very good point.   Michael Hingson ** 21:09 So I, I think it was extremely important to do it, and we did, and had a lot of fun doing it. So it was, was good. What are some of the biggest misconceptions you think that people had about you as a blind child growing up?   Erin Edgar ** 21:25 Oh yeah, that's a great question. I think that one of the biggest misconceptions that people had about me, especially when I was younger, is that I would know I would be sort of relegated to staying at home with parents all of my life, or being a stay at home parent and not able to be kind of professionally employed and earning, you know, earning a living wage. Now, I have my own business, and that's where most of my money goes at the same at this point. So, you know, earning a living wage might be up in the air at the moment. Ha, ha. But the the one thing I think that the biggest misconception that people had, and this is even like teachers at the blind school, it was very rare for blind children of my age to grow up and be, you know, professionals in, I don't want to say high places, but like people able to support themselves without a government benefit backing them up. And it was kind of always assumed that we would be in that category, that we would be less able than our sighted peers to do that. And so that was a huge misconception, even you know, in the school that I was attending. I think that was the, really the main one and one misconception that I had then and still have today, is that if I'm blind, I can't speak for myself. This still happens today. For instance, if I'm if I want, if I'm going somewhere and I just happen to be with someone sighted, they will talk whoever I'm, wherever I'm at, they will talk to the sighted person, right? They won't talk to you. They won't talk to me. And so, for instance, simple example, if I'm somewhere with my husband, and we happen to be walking together and we go somewhere that I need to go, they will talk to him because he's guiding me, and they won't talk. And he's like, don't talk to me. I have no idea, you know, talk to her, and part of that is I'm half a step behind him. People naturally gravitate to the people that are leading. However, I noticed, even when I was a young adult, and I would go, you know, to the doctor, and I would be with my my parents, like, maybe I'm visiting them, and I need to go to the doctor, they would talk to them and not me, yeah, which is kind of sad. And I think it happens a lot, a lot more than people realize.   Michael Hingson ** 24:10 Yeah, it does. And one of my favorite stories is, is this, I got married in 1982 and my wife has always been, or had always been. She passed away in 2022 but she was always in a wheelchair. And we went to a restaurant one Saturday for breakfast. We were standing at the counter waiting to be seated, and the hostess was behind the counter, and nothing was happening. And finally, Karen said to me, she doesn't know who to talk to, you know? Because Karen, of course, is, is in a wheelchair, so actually, she's clearly shorter than this, this person behind the counter, and then there's me and and, of course, I'm not making eye contact, and so Karen just said she doesn't know who to talk to. I said, you know? All she's gotta do is ask us where we would like to sit or if we'd like to have breakfast, and we can make it work. Well, she she got the message, and she did, and the rest of the the day went fine, but that was really kind of funny, that we had two of us, and she just didn't know how to deal with either of us, which was kind of cute. Mm, hmm. Well, you know, it brings up another question. You use the term earlier, visually impaired. There's been a lot of effort over the years. A lot of the professionals, if you will, created this whole terminology of visually impaired, and they say, well, you're blind or you're visually impaired. And visually impaired means you're not totally blind, but, but you're still visually impaired. And finally, blind people, I think, are starting to realize what people who are deaf learned a long time ago, and that is that if you take take a deaf person and you refer to them as hearing impaired, there's no telling what they might do to you, because they recognize that impaired is not true and they shouldn't be equated with people who have all of their hearing. So it's deaf or hard of hearing, which is a whole lot less of an antagonistic sort of concept than hearing impaired. We're starting to get blind people, and not everyone's there yet, and we're starting to get agencies, and not every agency is there yet, to recognize that it's blind or low vision, as opposed to blind or here or visually impaired, visually impaired. What do you think about that? How does and how does that contribute to the attitudes that people had toward you?   Erin Edgar ** 26:38 Yeah, so when I was growing up, I was handicapped, yeah, there was that too, yeah, yeah, that I was never fond of that, and my mother softened it for me, saying, well, we all have our handicaps or shortcomings, you know, and but it was really, what was meant was you had Something that really held you back. I actually, I say, this is so odd. I always, I usually say I'm totally blind. Because when I say blind, the immediate question people have is, how blind are you? Yeah, which gets back to stuff, yeah, yeah. If you're blind, my opinion, if you're blind, you're you're blind, and if you have low vision, you have partial sight. And visually impaired used to be the term, you know, when I was younger, that people use, and that's still a lot. It's still used a lot, and I will use it occasionally, generally. I think that partially sighted, I have partial vision is, is what I've heard people use. That's what, how my husband refers to himself. Low Vision is also, you know, all those terms are much less pejorative than actually being impaired,   Michael Hingson ** 27:56 right? That's kind of really the issue, yeah. My, my favorite example of all of this is a past president of the National Federation of the Blind, Ken Jernigan, you've heard of him, I assume, Oh, sure. He created a document once called a definition of blindness, and his definition, he goes through and discusses various conditions, and he asks people if, if you meet these conditions, are you blind or not? But then what he eventually does is he comes up with a definition, and his definition, which I really like, is you are blind if your eyesight has decreased to the point where you have to use alternatives to full eyesight in order to function, which takes into account totally blind and partially blind people. Because the reality is that most of those people who are low vision will probably, or they may probably, lose the rest of their eyesight. And the agencies have worked so hard to tell them, just use your eyesight as best you can. And you know you may need to use a cane, but use your eyesight as best you can, and if you go blind, then we're going to have to teach you all over again, rather than starting by saying blindness is really okay. And the reality is that if you learn the techniques now, then you can use the best of all worlds.   Erin Edgar ** 29:26 I would agree with that. I would also say you should, you know, people should use what they have. Yeah, using everything you have is okay. And I think there's a lot of a lot of good to be said for learning the alternatives while you're still able to rely on something else.   Michael Hingson ** 29:49 Point taken exactly you know, because   Erin Edgar ** 29:53 as you age, you get more and more in the habit of doing things one way, and it's. Very hard to break out of that. And if you haven't learned an alternative, there's nothing you feel like. There's nothing to fall back on, right? And it's even harder because now you're in the situation of urgency where you feel like you're missing something and you're having to learn something new, whereas if you already knew it and knew different ways to rely on things you would be just like picking a memory back up, rather than having to learn something new. Well, I've never been in that position, so I can't say, but in the abstract, I think that's a good definition.   Michael Hingson ** 30:34 Well, there are a lot of examples, like, take a person who has some eyesight, and they're not encouraged to use a cane. And I know someone who was in this situation. I think I've told the story on this podcast, but he lived in New Jersey and was travel. And traveled every day from New Jersey into Philadelphia to work, and he was on a reasonably cloudy day, was walking along. He had been given a cane by the New Jersey Commission for the Blind, but he they didn't really stress the value of using it. And so he was walking along the train to go in, and he came to the place where he could turn in and go into the car. And he did, and promptly fell between two cars because he wasn't at the right place. And then the train actually started to move, but they got it stopped, and so he was okay, but as as he tells the story, he certainly used his cane from then on. Because if he had been using the cane, even though he couldn't see it well because it was dark, or not dark, cloudy, he would have been able to see that he was not at the place where the car entrance was, but rather he was at the junction between two cars. And there's so many examples of that. There's so many reasons why it's important to learn the skills. Should a partially blind or a low vision person learn to read Braille? Well, depends on circumstances, of course, I think, to a degree, but the value of learning Braille is that you have an alternative to full print, especially if there's a likelihood that you're going to lose the rest of your eyesight. If you psychologically do it now, that's also going to psychologically help you prepare better for not having any eyesight later.   Erin Edgar ** 32:20 And of course, that leads to to blind children these days learn how to read, yeah, which is another issue.   Michael Hingson ** 32:28 Which is another issue because educators are not teaching Braille nearly as much as they should, and the literacy rate is so low. And the fact of the matter is even with George Kircher, who invented the whole DAISY format and and all the things that you can do with the published books and so on. The reality is there is still something to be said for learning braille. You don't have sighted children just watching television all the time, although sometimes my parents think they do, but, but the point is that they learn to read, and there's a value of really learning to read. I've been in an audience where a blind speaker was delivering a speech, and he didn't know or use Braille. He had a device that was, I think what he actually used was a, was, it was a Victor Reader Stream, which is   Erin Edgar ** 33:24 one of those, right?   Michael Hingson ** 33:25 I think it was that it may have been something else, but the bottom line is, he had his speech written out, and he would play it through earphones, and then he would verbalize his speech. Oh, no, that's just mess me up. Oh, it would. It was very disjointed and and I think that for me, personally, I read Braille pretty well, but I don't like to read speeches at all. I want to engage the audience, and so it's really important to truly speak with the audience and not read or do any of those other kinds of things.   Erin Edgar ** 33:57 I would agree. Now I do have a Braille display that I, I use, and, you know, I do use it for speeches. However, I don't put the whole speech on   Michael Hingson ** 34:10 there that I me too. I have one, and I use it for, I know, I have notes. Mm, hmm,   Erin Edgar ** 34:16 notes, yeah. And so I feel like Braille, especially for math. You know, when you said math and physics, like, Yeah, I can't imagine doing math without Braille. That just doesn't, you know, I can't imagine it, and especially in, you know, geometry and trigonometry with those diagrams. I don't know how you would do it without a Braille textbook, but yeah, there. There's certainly something to be said for for the the wonderful navigation abilities with, you know, e published audio DAISY books. However, it's not a substitute for knowing how to   Michael Hingson ** 34:55 read. Well, how are you going to learn to spell? How are you going to really learn sit? Structure, how are you going to learn any of those basic skills that sighted kids get if you don't use Braille? Absolutely, I think that that's one of the arenas where the educational system, to a large degree, does such a great disservice to blind kids because it won't teach them Braille.   Erin Edgar ** 35:16 Agreed, agreed. Well, thank you for this wonderful spin down Braille, Braille reading lane here. That was fun.   Michael Hingson ** 35:27 Well, so getting back to you a little bit, you must have thought or realized that probably when you went into law, you were going to face some challenges. But what was the defining moment that made you decide you're going to go into law, and what kind of challenges have you faced? If you face challenges, my making an assumption, but you know what?   Erin Edgar ** 35:45 Oh, sure. So the defining moment when I decided I wanted to go into law. It was a very interesting time for me. I was teenager. Don't know exactly how old I was, but I think I was in high school, and I had gone through a long period where I wanted to, like, be a music major and go into piano and voice and be a performer in those arenas, and get a, you know, high level degree whatnot. And then I began having this began becoming very interested in watching the Star Trek television series. Primarily I was out at the time the next generation, and I was always fascinated by the way that these people would find these civilizations on these planets, and they would be at odds in the beginning, and they would be at each other's throats, and then by the end of the day, they were all kind of   Michael Hingson ** 36:43 liking each other. And John Luke Picard didn't play a flute,   Erin Edgar ** 36:47 yes, and he also turned into a Borg, which was traumatic for me. I had to rate local summer to figure out what would happen. I was in I was in trauma. Anyway, my my father and I bonded over that show. It was, it was a wonderful sort of father daughter thing. We did it every weekend. And I was always fascinated by, like, the whole, the whole aspect of different ideologies coming together. And it always seemed to me that that's what human humanity should be about. As I, you know, got older, I thought, how could I be involved in helping people come together? Oh, let's go into law. Because, you know, our government's really good at that. That was the high school student in me. And I thought at the time, I wanted to go into the Foreign Service and work in the international field and help, you know, on a net, on a you know, foreign policy level. I quickly got into law school and realized two things simultaneously in my second year, international law was very boring, and there were plenty of problems in my local community that I could help solve, like, why work on the international stage when people in my local community are suffering in some degree with something and so I completely changed my focus to wanting to work in an area where I could bring people together and work for, you know, work on an individualized level. And as I went into the legal field, that was, it was part of the reason I went into the mediation, because that was one of the things that we did, was helping people come together. I realized, though, as I became a lawyer and actually started working in the field, most of the legal system is not based on that. It's based on who has the best argument. I wanted no part of that. Yeah, I want no part of that at all. I want to bring people together. Still, the Star Trek mentality is working here, and so when I when I started my own law firm, my immediate question to myself was, how can I now that I'm out doing my own thing, actually bring people together? And the answer that I got was help families come together, especially people thinking about their end of life decisions and gathering their support team around them. Who they want to help them? If they are ever in a situation where they become ill and they can't manage their affairs, or if you know upon their death, who do they want to help them and support them. And how can I use the law to allow that to happen? And so that's how I am working, to use the law for healing and bringing people together, rather than rather than winning an argument.   Michael Hingson ** 39:59 Yeah. Yeah, well, and I think there's a lot of merit to that. I I value the law a great deal, and I I am not an attorney or anything like that, but I have worked in the world of legislation, and I've worked in the world of dealing with helping to get legislation passed and and interacting with lawyers. And my wife and I worked with an attorney to set up our our trust, and then couple of years ago, I redid it after she passed away. And so I think that there was a lot of a lot of work that attorneys do that is extremely important. Yeah, there are, there are attorneys that were always dealing with the best arguments, and probably for me, the most vivid example of that, because it was so captivating when it happened, was the whole OJ trial back in the 1990s we were at a county fair, and we had left going home and turned on the radio, only To hear that the police were following OJ, and they finally arrested him. And then when the trial occurred, we while I was working at a company, and had a radio, and people would would come around, and we just had the radio on, and followed the whole trial. And it was interesting to see all the manipulation and all the movement, and you're right. It came down to who had the best argument, right or wrong?   Erin Edgar ** 41:25 The bloody glove. If it doesn't fit, you must acquit. Yeah, yep, I remember that. I remember where I was when they arrested him, too. I was at my grandparents house, and we were watching it on TV. My grandfather was captivated by the whole thing. But yes, there's certainly, you know, some manipulation. There's also, there are also lawyers who do a lot of good and a lot of wonderful things. And in reality, you know, most cases don't go to trial. They're settled in some way. And so, you know, there isn't always, you know, who has the best argument. It's not always about that, right? And at the same time, that is, you know, what the system is based on, to some extent. And really, when our country was founded, our founding fathers were a bunch of, like, acted in a lot of ways, like a bunch of children. If you read books on, you know, the Constitution, it was, it was all about, you know, I want this in here, and I want that in here. And, you know, a lot of argument around that, which, of course, is to be expected. And many of them did not expect our country's government to last beyond their lifetimes. Uh, James Madison was the exception, but all the others were like, Ed's going to fail. And yet, I am very, very proud to be a lawyer in this country, because while it's not perfect, our founding documents actually have a lot of flexibility and how and can be interpreted to fit modern times, which is, I think the beauty of them and exactly what the Founders intended for.   Michael Hingson ** 43:15 Yeah, and I do think that some people are taking advantage of that and causing some challenges, but that's also part of our country and part of our government. I like something Jimmy Carter once said, which was, we must adjust to changing times while holding to unwavering principles. And I think absolutely that's the part that I think sometimes is occasionally being lost, that we forget those principles, or we want to manipulate the principles and make them something that they're not. But he was absolutely right. That is what we need to do, and we can adjust to changing times without sacrificing principles. Absolutely.   Erin Edgar ** 43:55 I firmly believe that, and I would like to kind of turn it back to what we were talking about before, because you actually asked me, What are some challenges that I have faced, and if it's okay with you, I would like to get back to that. Oh, sure. Okay. Well, so I have faced some challenges for you know, to a large extent, though I was very well accommodated. I mean, the one challenge with the books that was challenging when I took the bar exam, oh, horror of horrors. It was a multiple, multiple shot deal, but it finally got done. However, it was not, you know, my failing to pass the first time or times was not the fault of the actual board of law examiners. They were very accommodating. I had to advocate for myself a little bit, and I also had to jump through some hoops. For example, I had to bring my own person to bubble in my responses on the multiple choice part, it. And bring my own person in to kind of monitor me while I did the essay portion. But they allowed me to have a computer, they allowed me to have, you know, the screen reader. They allowed me to have time and a half to do the the exam. And so we're accommodating in that way. And so no real challenges there. You know, some hoops to jump through. But it got all worked out.   Michael Hingson ** 45:23 And even so, some of that came about because blind people actually had to go all the way to the Supreme Court. Yes, the bar to the Bar Association to recognize that those things needed to be that way,   Erin Edgar ** 45:37 absolutely. And so, you know, I was lucky to come into this at a time where that had already been kind of like pre done for me. I didn't have to deal with that as a challenge. And so the only other challenges I had, some of them, were mine, like, you know, who's going to want to hire this blind person? Had a little bit of, you know, kind of challenge there, with that mindset issue for a while there, and I did have some challenges when I was looking for employment after I'd worked for legal aid for a while, and I wanted to move on and do something else. And I knew I didn't want to work for a big, big firm, and I would, I was talking to some small law firms about hiring me, small to mid size firms. And I would get the question of, well, you're blind, so what kind of accommodations do you need? And we would talk about, you know, computer, special software to make a talk, you know, those kinds of things. And it always ended up that, you know, someone else was hired. And I can, you know, I don't have proof that the blindness and the hesitancy around hiring a disabled person or a blind person was in back of that decision. And at the same time, I had the sense that there was some hesitation there as well, so that, you know, was a bit of a challenge, and starting my own law firm was its own challenge, because I had to experiment with several different software systems to Find one that was accessible enough for me to use. And the system I'm thinking about in particular, I wouldn't use any other system, and yet, I'm using practically the most expensive estate planning drafting system out there, because it happens to be the most accessible. It's also the most expensive. Always that. There's always that. And what's it called? I'm curious. It's called wealth Council, okay, wealth. And then the word councils, Council, SEL, and it's wonderful. And the folks there are very responsive. If I say something's not accessible, I mean, they have fixed things for me in the past. Isn't that great? And complain, isn't that wonderful? It is wonderful. And that's, that's awesome. I had a CRM experience with a couple of different like legal CRM software. I used one for a while, and it was okay. But then, you know, everyone else said this other one was better and it was actually less accessible. So I went back to the previous one, you know. So I have to do a lot of my own testing, which is kind of a challenge in and of itself. I don't have people testing software for me. I have to experiment and test and in some cases, pay for something for a while before I realize it's not, you know, not worth it. But now I have those challenges pretty much ironed out. And I have a paralegal who helps me do some things that, like she proof reads my documents, for instance, because otherwise there may be formatting things that I'm not, that I miss. And so I have the ability to have cited assistance with things that I can't necessarily do myself, which is, you know, absolutely fine,   Michael Hingson ** 49:04 yeah. Now, do you use Lexus? Is it accessible?   Erin Edgar ** 49:08 I don't need Lexus, yeah, yeah. I mean, I have, I'm a member of the Bar Association, of my, my state bar association, which is not, not voluntary. It's mandatory. But I'm a member primarily because they have a search, a legal search engine that they work with that we get for free. I mean, with our members, there you go. So there you go. So I don't need Lexus or West Law or any of those other search engines for what I do. And if I was, like, really into litigation and going to court all time and really doing deep research, I would need that. But I don't. I can use the one that they have, that we can use so and it's, it's a entirely web based system. It's fairly accessible   Michael Hingson ** 49:58 well, and. That makes it easier to as long as you've got people's ears absolutely make it accessible, which makes a lot of sense.   Erin Edgar ** 50:08 Yeah, it certainly does well.   Michael Hingson ** 50:10 So do you regard yourself as a resilient person? Has blindness impacted that or helped make that kind of more the case for you? Do you think I do resilience is such an overused term, but it's fair. I know   Erin Edgar ** 50:24 I mean resilience is is to my mind, a resilient person is able to face uh, challenges with a relatively positive outlook in and view a challenge as something to be to be worked through rather than overcome, and so yes, I do believe that blindness, in and of itself, has allowed me to find ways to adapt to situations and pivot in cases where, you know, I need to find an alternative to using a mouse. For instance, how would I do that? And so in other areas of life, I am, you know, because I'm blind, I'm able to more easily pivot into finding alternative solutions. I do believe that that that it has made me more resilient.   Michael Hingson ** 51:25 Do you think that being blind has caused you, and this is an individual thing, because I think that there are those who don't. But do you think that it's caused you to learn to listen better?   Erin Edgar ** 51:39 That's a good question, because I actually, I have a lot of sighted friends, and one of the things that people just assume is that, wow, you must be a really good listener. Well, my husband would tell you that's not always the case. Yeah. My wife said the same thing, yeah. You know, like everyone else, sometimes I hear what I want to hear in a conversation and at the same time, one of the things that I do tell people is that, because I'm blind, I do rely on other senses more, primarily hearing, I would say, and that hearing provides a lot of cues for me about my environment, and I've learned to be more skillful at it. So I, I would say that, yes, I am a good listener in terms of my environment, very sensitive to that in in my environment, in terms of active listening to conversations and being able to listen to what's behind what people say, which is another aspect of listening. I think that that is a skill that I've developed over time with conscious effort. I don't think I'm any better of a quote, unquote listener than anybody else. If I hadn't developed that primarily in in my mediation, when I was doing that, that was a huge thing for us, was to be able to listen, not actually to what people were saying, but what was behind what people were saying, right? And so I really consciously developed that skill during those years and took it with me into my legal practice, which is why I am very, very why I very much stress that I'm not only an attorney, but I'm also a counselor at law. That doesn't mean I'm a therapist, but it does mean I listen to what people say so that and what's behind what people say, so that with the ear towards providing them the legal solution that meets their needs as they describe them in their words.   Michael Hingson ** 53:47 Well, I think for me, I learned to listen, but it but it is an exercise, and it is something that you need to practice, and maybe I learned to do it a little bit better, because I was blind. For example, I learned to ride a bike, and you have to learn to listen to what's going on around you so you don't crash into cars. Oh, but I'd fall on my face. You can do it. But what I what I really did was, when I was I was working at a company, and was told that the job was going to be phased out because I wasn't a revenue producer, and the company was an engineering startup and had to bring in more revenue producers. And I was given the choice of going away or going into sales, which I had never done. And as I love to tell people, I lowered my standards and went from science to sales. But the reality is that that I think I've always and I think we all always sell in one way or another, but I also knew what the unemployment rate among employable blind people was and is, yeah, and so I went into sales with with no qualms. But there I really learned to listen. And and it was really a matter of of learning to commit, not just listen, but really learning to communicate with the people you work with. And I think that that I won't say blindness made me better, but what it did for me was it made me use the technologies like the telephone, perhaps more than some other people. And I did learn to listen better because I worked at it, not because I was blind, although they're related   Erin Edgar ** 55:30 exactly. Yeah, and I would say, I would 100% agree I worked at it. I mean, even when I was a child, I worked at listening to to become better at, kind of like analyzing my environment based on sounds that were in it. Yeah, I wouldn't have known. I mean, it's not a natural gift, as some people assume, yeah, it's something you practice and you have to work at. You get to work at.   Michael Hingson ** 55:55 Well, as I point out, there are people like SEAL Team Six, the Navy Seals and the Army Rangers and so on, who also practice using all of their senses, and they learn, in general, to become better at listening and other and other kinds of skills, because they have to to survive, but, but that's what we all do, is if we do it, right, we're learning it. It's not something that's just naturally there, right? I agree, which I think is important. So you're working in a lot of estate planning and so on. And I mentioned earlier that we it was back in 1995 we originally got one, and then it's now been updated, but we have a trust. What's the difference between having, like a trust and a will?   Erin Edgar ** 56:40 Well, that's interesting that you should ask. So A will is the minimum that pretty much, I would say everyone needs, even though 67% of people don't have one in the US. And it is pretty much what everyone needs. And it basically says, you know, I'm a, I'm a person of sound mind, and I know who is important to me and what I have that's important to me. And I wanted to go to these people who are important to me, and by the way, I want this other person to manage things after my death. They're also important to me and a trust, basically, there are multiple different kinds of trusts, huge numbers of different kinds. And the trust that you probably are referring to takes the will to kind of another level and provides more direction about about how to handle property and how how it's to be dealt with, not only after death, but also during your lifetime. And trusts are relatively most of them, like I said, there are different kinds, but they can be relatively flexible, and you can give more direction about how to handle that property than you can in a will, like, for instance, if you made an estate plan and your kids were young, well, I don't want my children to have access to this property until they're responsible adults. So maybe saying, in a trust until they're age 25 you can do that, whereas in a will, you it's more difficult to do that.   Michael Hingson ** 58:18 And a will, as I understand it, is a lot more easily contested than than a trust.   Erin Edgar ** 58:24 You know, it does depend, but yes, it is easily contested. That's not to say that if you have a trust, you don't need a will, which is a misconception that some, yeah, we have a will in our trust, right? And so, you know, you need the will for the court. Not everyone needs a trust. I would also venture to say that if you don't have a will on your death, the law has ideas about how your property should be distributed. So if you don't have a will, you know your property is not automatically going to go to the government as unclaimed, but if you don't have powers of attorney for your health care and your finance to help you out while you're alive, you run the risk of the A judge appointing someone you would not want to make your health care and financial decisions. And so I'm going to go off on a tangent here. But I do feel very strongly about this, even blind people who and disabled people who are, what did you call it earlier, the the employable blind community, but maybe they're not employed. They don't have a lot of   Michael Hingson ** 59:34 unemployed, unemployed, the unemployable blind people, employable   Erin Edgar ** 59:38 blind people, yes, you know, maybe they're not employed, they're on a government benefit. They don't have a lot of assets. Maybe they don't necessarily need that will. They don't have to have it. And at the same time, if they don't have those, those documents that allow people to manage their affairs during their lifetime. Um, who's going to do it? Yeah, who's going to do that? Yeah, you're giving up control of your body, right, potentially, to someone you would not want, just because you're thinking to yourself, well, I don't need a will, and nothing's going to happen to me. You're giving control of your body, perhaps, to someone you don't want. You're not taking charge of your life and and you are allowing doctors and hospitals and banks to perpetuate the belief that you are not an independent person, right? I'm very passionate about it. Excuse me, I'll get off my soapbox now. That's okay. Those are and and to a large extent, those power of attorney forms are free. You can download them from your state's website. Um, they're minimalistic. They're definitely, I don't use them because I don't like them for my state. But you can get you can use them, and you can have someone help you fill them out. You could sign them, and then look, you've made a decision about who's going to help you when you're not able to help yourself,   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:07 which is extremely important to do. And as I mentioned, we went all the way and have a trust, and we funded the trust, and everything is in the trust. But I think that is a better way to keep everything protected, and it does provide so much more direction for whoever becomes involved, when, when you decide to go elsewhere, then, as they put it, this mortal coil. Yes, I assume that the coil is mortal. I don't know.   Erin Edgar ** 1:01:37 Yeah, who knows? Um, and you know trusts are good for they're not just for the Uber wealthy, which is another misconception. Trust do some really good things. They keep your situation, they keep everything more or less private, like, you know, I said you need a will for the court. Well, the court has the will, and it most of the time. If you have a trust, it just says, I want it to go, I want my stuff to go into the Michael hingson Trust. I'm making that up, by the way, and I, you know, my trust just deals with the distribution, yeah, and so stuff doesn't get held up in court. The court doesn't have to know about all the assets that you own. It's not all public record. And that's a huge, you know, some people care. They don't want everyone to know their business. And when I tell people, you know, I can go on E courts today and pull up the estate of anyone that I want in North Carolina and find out what they owned if they didn't have a will, or if they just had a will. And people like, really, you can do that? Oh, absolutely, yeah. I don't need any fancy credentials. It's all a matter of public record. And if you have a trust that does not get put into the court record unless it's litigated, which you know, it does happen, but not often,   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:56 but I but again, I think that, you know, yeah, and I'm not one of those Uber wealthy people. But I have a house. We we used to have a wheelchair accessible van for Karen. I still have a car so that when I need to be driven somewhere, rather than using somebody else's vehicle, we use this and those are probably the two biggest assets, although I have a bank account with with some in it, not a lot, not nearly as much as Jack Benny, anyway. But anyway, the bottom line is, yeah, but the bottom line is that I think that the trust keeps everything a lot cleaner. And it makes perfect sense. Yep, it does. And I didn't even have to go to my general law firm that I usually use. Do we cheat them? Good, and how so it worked out really well. Hey, I watched the Marx Brothers. What can I say?   Erin Edgar ** 1:03:45 You watch the Marx Brothers? Of course.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:49 Well, I want to thank you for being here. This has been a lot of fun, and I'm glad that we did it and that we also got to talk about the whole issue of wills and trusts and so on, which is, I think, important. So any last things that you'd like to say to people, and also, do you work with clients across the country or just in North Carolina?   Erin Edgar ** 1:04:06 So I work with clients in North Carolina, I will say that. And one last thing that I would like to say to people is that it's really important to build your support team. Whether you're blind, you know, have another disability, you need people to help you out on a day to day basis, or you decide that you want people to help you out. If you're unable to manage your affairs at some point in your life, it's very important to build that support team around you, and there is nothing wrong. You can be self reliant and still have people on your team yes to to be there for you, and that is very important. And there's absolutely no shame, and you're not relinquishing your independence by doing that. That. So today, I encourage everyone to start thinking about who's on your team. Do you want them on your team? Do you want different people on your team? And create a support team? However that looks like, whatever that looks like for you, that has people on it that you know, love and trust,   Michael Hingson ** 1:05:18 everybody should have a support team. I think there is no question, at least in my mind, about that. So good point. Well, if people want to maybe reach out to you, how do they do that?   Erin Edgar ** 1:05:29 Sure, so I am on the interwebs at Erin Edgar legal.com that's my website where you can learn more about my law firm and all the things that I do,   Michael Hingson ** 1:05:42 and Erin is E r i n, just Yes, say that Edgar, and   Erin Edgar ** 1:05:45 Edgar is like Edgar. Allan Poe, hopefully less scary, and you can find the contact information for me on the website. By Facebook, you can find me on Facebook occasionally as Erin Baker, Edgar, three separate words, that is my personal profile, or you can and Michael will have in the show notes the company page for my welcome as   Michael Hingson ** 1:06:11 well. Yeah. Well, thank you for being here, and I want to thank all of you for listening. This has been a fun episode. It's been great to have Erin on, love to hear your thoughts out there who have been listening to this today. Please let us know what you think. You're welcome to email me at Michael H i@accessibe.com M, I, C, H, A, E, L, H i at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, i, b, e.com, or go to our podcast page, www, dot Michael hingson.com/podcast, I wherever you're listening, please give us a five star rating. We really appreciate getting good ratings from people and reading and getting to know what you think. If you know anyone who you think might be a good guest, you know some people you think ought to come on unstoppable mindset. Erin, of course, you as well. We would appreciate it if you'd give us an introduction, because we're always looking for more people to have come on and help us show everyone that we're all more unstoppable than we think we are, and that's really what it's all about, and what we want to do on the podcast. So hope that you'll all do that, and in the meanwhile, with all that, Erin, I want to thank you once more for being here and being with us today. This has been a lot of fun. Thank you so much,   Erin Edgar ** 1:07:27 Michael. I very much enjoyed it.   Michael Hingson ** 1:07:34 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite

In this episode of Education Matters, hosts Cesar Roman and Sarah Milligan sit down with Kim Graham, Director of Organizing and Partnerships at EmpowerED Families, to unpack what school choice looks like across Indiana—and how families can make the most of it. With over two decades of experience as an educator, advocate, and mom, Kim shares how families can navigate Indiana's evolving K–12 landscape, from understanding new high school diploma options to partnering effectively with schools. She also highlights the importance of asking the right questions, staying engaged, and knowing what resources are available to help families find the best educational fit. Whether you're a parent, guardian, or advocate, this conversation offers practical insights on how informed families help drive student success. Key Takeaways:

A high-profile, public art project planned for Broad Ripple received zoning approval this week. The state of Indiana will deliver more than 27 million dollars to nearly 500 schools this year through its school safety grant program. July saw the largest number of passengers flying out of Indy ever recorded at the airport. Hundreds rallied at the Indiana Statehouse last month against a push to redraw congressional districts — while many Republican lawmakers were in Washington, meeting with the Trump administration about the same plan. Want to go deeper on the stories you hear on WFYI News Now? Visit wfyi.org/news and follow us on social media to get comprehensive analysis and local news daily. Subscribe to WFYI News Now wherever you get your podcasts. WFYI News Now is produced by Zach Bundy and Abriana Herron, with support from News Director Sarah Neal-Estes.

Nancy Noel, a renowned impressionist artist from Indiana, is being celebrated posthumously through a documentary created by her son, Alex Kosene, who recently won an Emmy for his work.The documentary, which delves into Noel's life and artistic journey, highlights her struggles with dyslexia and her early career challenges. It also showcases her philanthropic efforts, including her support for the Indiana School for the Blind and a preschool in Kenya.Nancy Noel's art is known for its distinctive and spiritual qualities, attracting admirers worldwide, including celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Robert Redford.Her home in Zionsville was a testament to her love for animals, housing a variety of creatures, including a llama named Degas.Noel's son, Alex Kosene, who produced the Emmy-winning documentary, shared insights into his mother's life, noting her early struggles with dyslexia and how she overcame societal expectations to marry well.The documentary also explores her innovative beginnings in the art world, from chalk portraits to poster prints.Screenings of the documentary are scheduled as part of the Zionsville Art Walk, providing the public with an opportunity to experience Noel's inspiring story.The event will take place at the COhatch Gravity Room, with showings at 5 and 7 p.m. on Friday.The Emmy-winning documentary not only honors Nancy Noel's artistic legacy but also sheds light on her personal journey and the profound impact of her work on audiences worldwide.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Around 200 BA, MA, and PhD programs at Indiana University may be cut under new state laws targeting higher education. Advocates for clean energy tax credits release an ad aimed at Senator Todd Young. Budget cuts at the Indiana School for the Deaf are becoming a “crisis” according to advocates, with over a dozen staff already laid off. Host Brandon Smith is joined by Republican Chris Mitchem, Democrat Ann DeLaney, Niki Kelly of the Indiana Capital Chronicle, and Jon Schwantes of Indiana Lawmakers to debate and discuss this week's top stories.

Join my online school for eBay sellers here. Get my BOLO books (eBook format) hereGet my BOLO books (printed format) hereFollow me on FacebookJoin my private Facebook group here.Find me on YouTube here.Visit my website here.Email your comments, feedback, and constructive criticism to me at Suzanne@SuzanneAWells.comHappy Selling!Support the show

The Indiana Pacers return to the Circle City one win away from advancing to the next round of playoffs. Young people in Indianapolis came together for the annual Peace Walk to raise awareness about the impact of gun violence on youth. Martin University hosted its annual reentry resource fair on Friday. A rural school district in Randolph County that also runs a large virtual learning program will be dissolved under the state's new property tax plan. Want to go deeper on the stories you hear on WFYI News Now? Visit wfyi.org/news and follow us on social media to get comprehensive analysis and local news daily. Subscribe to WFYI News Now wherever you get your podcasts. WFYI News Now is produced by Drew Daudelin, Zach Bundy and Abriana Herron, with support from News Director Sarah Neal-Estes.

A towering portrait of Tamika Catchings is set to join the Mass Ave neighborhood, and the community has a chance to weigh in on the final design. Indiana school districts stand to lose half a billion dollars under the latest plan to cut property taxes for Hoosier homeowners. An Indianapolis Public Library program offers residents a chance to learn about the city's diverse population. Workers at the Indianapolis VA Hospital are required to be in-person starting on April 14th, as part of a new federal policy. Want to go deeper on the stories you hear on WFYI News Now? Visit wfyi.org/news and follow us on social media to get comprehensive analysis and local news daily. Subscribe to WFYI News Now wherever you get your podcasts. WFYI News Now is produced by Drew Daudelin, Zach Bundy and Abriana Herron, with support from News Director Sarah Neal-Estes.

In this episode, hosts Drs. Peter Lu and Temara Hajjat talk to Dr. Jean Molleston about drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in children.  Dr. Molleston is the former Division Chief of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at Riley Children's and Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at University of Indiana School of Medicine.Learning Objectives:Understand the definition of DILI and signs that should raise our concern for this diagnosis.Recognize common causes of DILI, including both medications and supplements.Recognize the signs of drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms or DRESS syndrome.Links:LiverTox: Searchable resource on drug-induced liver injurySupport the showThis episode may be eligible for CME credit! Once you have listened to the episode, click this link to claim your credit. Credit is available to NASPGHAN members (if you are not a member, you should probably sign up). And thank you to the NASPGHAN Professional Education Committee for their review!As always, the discussion, views, and recommendations in this podcast are the sole responsibility of the hosts and guests and are subject to change over time with advances in the field.Check out our merch website!Follow us on Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all the latest news and upcoming episodes.Click here to support the show.

A public library branch on the west side of Indianapolis will reopen this weekend, after being closed for over a year. An archeological excavation of a small part of the city's first public cemetery is complete, along the eastern bank of the White River. A Republican-proposal would allow school districts to voluntarily shift control of their facilities and transportation to independent local boards. A transitional housing complex for veterans in Indianapolis is set to reopen this summer. Want to go deeper on the stories you hear on WFYI News Now? Visit wfyi.org/news and follow us on social media to get comprehensive analysis and local news daily. Subscribe to WFYI News Now wherever you get your podcasts. WFYI News Now is produced by Drew Daudelin, Zach Bundy and Abriana Herron, with support from News Director Sarah Neal-Estes.

Scott Schober, Cyber Expert, Author of "Hacked Again," and CEO of Berkeley Varitronics Systems, sits down with host David Braue to discuss a recent ransomware attack on the Penn-Harris-Madison school district in Indiana, including a broader look at how cyberattacks are impacting K-12 schools across the country. This episode of Data Security is sponsored by Cimcor, the developer of CimTrak, a Real-time, File Integrity Monitoring, Network Configuration, and Compliance solution. Learn more at https://cimcor.com • For more on cybersecurity, visit us at https://cybersecurityventures.com

A new TIF proposal will help create added housing units in Indianapolis. Approximately 200 Indiana school districts and schools are facing a major cybersecurity breach involving a widely used education software provider. The severe winter storm that swept through the region prompted a State of Emergency being called in several areas – a group of Jeep-driving volunteers in Evansville helped essential workers get to work. Want to go deeper on the stories you hear on WFYI News Now? Visit wfyi.org/news and follow us on social media to get comprehensive analysis and local news daily. Subscribe to WFYI News Now wherever you get your podcasts. Today's episode of WFYI News Now was produced by Drew Daudelin, Zach Bundy and Abriana Herron, with support from News Director Sarah Neal-Estes.

“I can go back to when I was sixteen, and I was at a movie theater and I was watching a really great scene in a movie where the violinist was, like, moving his bows, you know, the camera was like panning around him. And I got to the end of that scene, and, like, he lifts his bow up, and I started clapping in the theater. And I realized that that film had just totally taken me out of the movie theater and put me in, like, a concert hall. And I was like, ooh, I want to do that. I want to basically use sound to bring people to another world, and I pretty much at sixteen decided I wanted to be a film composer.” – Sherene Strausberg This episode's guest is an Emmy-nominated art director and a unique creative, combining her experience in film, music, and sound engineering with graphic design and illustration. She creates animated videos for her clients at the company she founded almost ten years ago, 87th Street Creative. She knew at the age of sixteen that she wanted to be a film composer, and, after ten years of pursuing that while also working as a broadcast engineer at National Public Radio, she changed careers, first to graphic design and then to motion design. Motion graphics returned her to her true passion of how sound and moving images together can immerse the viewer and listener. Combining this with her desire to work with clients who believe in sustainability and social justice, 87th Street Creative has worked with nonprofits and businesses that help make the world a better place.Her name is Sherene Strausberg, and our conversation covers a range of topics, from how sound enhances visuals to the role sound plays in helping her clients promote their brands. Whether you're an ad creative, have a company that's looking for an innovative way to reach your clients, or you're just interested in the power of sound, we could all learn a thing or two from her experiences. As always, if you have questions for my guest, you're welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you'll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and what the newest audio chats will be about. If you're getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I'd love to feature your review on future podcasts. (0:00:00) - From Film Scoring to AnimationOur discussion starts off with a look back at a pivotal memory in Sherene's life, the moment when, as a teenager, she realized she wanted to work in sound. “I was watching a really great scene in a movie,” she recalls, “where the violinist was, like, moving his bows. You know, the camera was panning around him. And I got to the end of that scene and like he lifts his bow up and I started clapping in the theater and I realized that that film had just totally taken me out of the movie theater.” She shares her journey from the Indiana School of Music, where she studied music and played piano, to working in Hollywood as a film composer. “What you learn in school,” she says, “is a very small piece of the puzzle, and learning how to manage client relationships, how to find work, how to manage projects and manage the funds and fees and all the financial sides of it, I mean, none of that I got out of

Today on the show Steven tells Shaun about his recent trip to the loft in his house, where he discovered various forgotten tech gadgets, including a docking station for his MacBook Pro and an Apple TV 4K. Nostalgia takes center stage as they reminisce about past Apple products and their evolution. Listener Brian Clark shares a conversation he had with the team behind an incredible new Braille display called Cadence, which Tactile Engineering showcased at an ACB event recently in Ohio. Brian learned about the innovative design and applications of the Cadence device used by students at the Indiana School for the Blind, ensuring accessibility and equitable access to technology for visually impaired students there.Listener comments bring us back to the subject of Neuralink and the varying perspectives on vision restoration within the blind community. Additionally, it addresses the complexities of blind culture, identity, and the dynamics within the blind and visually community, highlighting the need for understanding and acceptance among different groups.Get in touch with Double Tap by emailing us feedback@doubletaponair.com or by call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also now contact us via Whatsapp on 1-613-481-0144 or visit doubletaponair.com/whatsapp to connect. We are also across social media including X, Mastodon and Facebook. Double Tap is available daily on AMI-audio across Canada, on podcast worldwide and now on YouTube.Chapter Markers:00:00 Intro02:58 Exploring Steven's Loft: Hidden Treasures18:02 Braille Technology: The Cadence Display34:00 Neuralink and Perspectives on Vision Restoration39:12 The Complexity of Blind Culture and Identity45:16 Navigating Community Dynamics and Acceptance

Listen to the inspiring story of Jim Conklin, co-founder and Executive Director of Cultivate Food Rescue in South Bend Indiana.

Indiana School of the Sky 19xx.xx.xx What Men Are Made Of

Indiana's school voucher program, described as one of the largest of its kind in the nation, continues to expand, prompting questions about its sustainability and the extent to which it benefits all students. Emil Ekiyor, a WISH-TV contributor, joined News 8 on Wednesday for a conversation about the program.Launched in 2011, the program's primary goal was to provide low-income families with greater educational choices. By offering financial assistance through vouchers, the initiative aimed to allow parents to enroll their children in private schools.As the program's spending increases, concern is growing that up-and-coming, lower-income families may not be fully aware of its benefits.Critics argue that increased outreach is necessary to ensure that minority students and their families are informed about the program.Despite these concerns, the voucher program is seen as a significant opportunity for minority-led private schools.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A call for transparency and accountability is growing after recent local news investigations unveiled misconduct within the Hogsett administration. High school seniors who hope to attend college next in the fall of 2025 can soon fill out the federal application for college financial aid – but like last year the form will be slightly delayed for most students. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb talks about running an abbreviated campaign, which Vice President Kamala Harris is in the midst of now. Leaders from the Indiana School for the Deaf and the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired broke ground on a project to join the two schools on one campus. Want to go deeper on the stories you hear on WFYI News Now? Visit wfyi.org/news and follow us on social media to get comprehensive analysis and local news daily. Subscribe to WFYI News Now wherever you get your podcasts. Today's episode of WFYI News Now was produced by Drew Daudelin and Abriana Herron, with support from News Director Sarah Neal-Estes.

ALSO: Trump warms to debate... Olympic triathlon in troubleSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Indiana School of the Sky 19xx.xx.xx What Men Are Made Of

In this episode, Jim Mayer interviews Sean Dobbs, Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations at the Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. Sean shares his inspiring journey from losing his vision at a young age to becoming a leader in talent acquisition and advocacy for people who are blind. The Lighthouse for the Blind empowers individuals with disabilities by creating diverse and meaningful employment opportunities. Sean discusses the challenges and successes of training blind individuals for manufacturing jobs and the importance of continuous improvement and career development. Overall, this conversation highlights the power of resilience, empathy, and inclusion in creating a more inclusive and diverse workforce. In this conversation, Shawn Dobbs, the Vice President of Marketing and Development at the Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, shares the impact of the organization on people's lives. He emphasizes the importance of creating a culture of support and opportunity, where everyone can thrive. Shawn discusses his leadership philosophy, which focuses on helping others succeed and creating a positive and inclusive environment. He reflects on the evolution of his leadership style and the lessons he has learned. Shawn also highlights the significance of empathy in talent acquisition and building a strong organizational culture. He shares his goals for the Lighthouse and the opportunities they aim to provide for people who are blind. Additionally, Shawn talks about his passion for outdoor cooking and stand-up comedy. Takeaways Creating a culture of support and opportunity is crucial for individuals to thrive and for organizations to succeed. Leadership is about helping others succeed and creating a positive and inclusive environment. Empathy plays a crucial role in talent acquisition and building a strong organizational culture. Setting goals and continuously evolving as a leader is important for personal and professional growth. Chapters Shaun's Journey (00:00:01) Shaun's journey from childhood challenges to professional success. Professional Growth (00:01:15) Shaun's career progression and passion for vocational readiness. Diverse Passions (00:02:32) Shaun's impact beyond professional achievements, including stand-up comedy and outdoor cooking. Introduction and Warm Welcome (00:03:09) The podcast host's warm welcome and introduction to the conversation. Early Life and School Experience (00:04:25) Shaun's experiences at the Indiana School for the Blind and the challenges he faced. Challenges in the Workplace (00:07:01) Shaun's early work experience at McDonald's and the challenges he encountered as a blind employee. College and Career Development (00:08:37) Shaun's college experience, fraternity involvement, and career development. Impactful Work Experience (00:10:22) Shaun's pragmatic approach to job hunting and impactful experiences in various roles. Mission of the Lighthouse (00:14:16) An overview of the Lighthouse for the Blind Inc.'s mission and employment statistics. Organization's Services (00:16:46) Details about the services and programs provided by the Lighthouse for the Blind Inc. Bold Thinking and Impact (00:17:43) The organization's commitment to bold thinking and creating employment opportunities for people who are blind. Historical Background and Manufacturing (00:18:13) The historical evolution of the organization and its current manufacturing capabilities. Recruitment and Training (00:20:15) Challenges in recruiting blind and low vision individuals and the training process for manufacturing roles. Career Development and Accommodations (00:23:21) Strategies for career development, continuous improvement, and accommodations for employees with vision loss. The timestamp's title (time it starts) short description, with max 20 words, of what is covered in this topic. Leadership Philosophy and Empathy (00:25:50) Discussion on leadership philosophy, empathy, and creating a culture of opportunity and belonging in organizations. Evolution of Leadership Style (00:27:12) Reflection on the evolution of leadership style, learning from failure, and the importance of trust and a holistic view. Incorporating Empathy into Talent Acquisition (00:28:15) Incorporating empathy into talent acquisition, onboarding processes, and creating a sense of belonging in the organization. Goals for the Lighthouse (00:37:13) Discussion on the goals for the Lighthouse, expansion plans, and advancing opportunities for people who are blind. Passions and Hobbies (00:39:51) Conversation about outdoor cooking, grilling, and exploring different hobbies, including stand-up comedy and brewing beer. Closing Remarks and Job Opportunities (00:45:05) Inviting individuals to explore job opportunities at the Lighthouse and expressing gratitude for sharing the organization's story. Connect with Shawn on Linkedin A big shoutout to Speroni, the leader in tool management systems. Their dedication to precision and innovation in the manufacturing industry is unparalleled. Speroni is not just a sponsor; they are integral to advancing manufacturing excellence. Their support allows us to bring these valuable insights and discussions to you. We're also thrilled to welcome our new partner, ShopFloor Coffee. More than just a coffee brand, ShopFloor Coffee is a cause-driven business dedicated to supporting workforce development efforts. A portion of their proceeds goes towards apprenticeships and scholarships in Advanced Manufacturing, making every sip count towards a brighter future for the industry. And here's something exciting for our listeners! Use the promo code "SkillUpAZ" to get 10% off your order at ShopFloor Coffee. Not only do you get a great deal on your coffee, but you also contribute to supporting apprenticeships and scholarships in Advanced Manufacturing. It's a win-win – enjoy fantastic coffee while helping to skill up the next generation of manufacturing professionals.

A protest outside Newfields Sunday afternoon swelled calls for transparency and criticism from the community.  A judge temporarily stopped Indianapolis Public Schools from selling a closed school building on Friday.  Participation in Indiana's school voucher program surged this year.  Indiana is now surrounded on three sides by recreational marijuana. Want to go deeper on the stories you hear on WFYI News Now? Visit wfyi.org/news and follow us on social media to get comprehensive analysis and local news daily.  Subscribe to WFYI News Now wherever you get your podcasts. Today's episode of WFYI News Now was produced by Darian Benson, Abriana Herron, and Kendall Antron with support from Sarah Neal-Estes.

Mary Pieroni Harper - The Sound of Her Voice: My Blind Parent's Story. This is episode 591 of my podcast Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Mary Pieroni Harper is a happily retired psychotherapist and author of The Sound of Her Voice: My Blind Parents' Story. Her stirring book documents the remarkable lives of her parents from the time they fell in love at the Indiana School for the Blind through their challenges, determination, and successes as blind people. Born in Muncie, Indiana and a graduate of the University of Virginia, Harper earned her Master's in Social Work from the University of Houston. Perhaps as a legacy from helping her parents with everything from reading their mail to them to inspecting their clothing for spots, she has always been interested in helping others. She became active in the Fibromyalgia Association of Houston after being diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1992 and has served in leadership capacities, including newsletter editor of The Fibromyalgia Connection, and as president for 15 years. Harper has two adult children and loves being a grandmother. They are part of the legacy her husband, Jeff, left behind when he died after a short battle with cancer in 2012. She lives with a blind rescue cat in Houston, Texas. For more information, please consult: www.MaryPHarper.com What an inspiring story! Before you go... Could you do me a favor? Please go to my website at https://www.stevenmiletto.com/reviews/ or open the podcast app that you are listening to me on, and would you rate and review the podcast? That would be so cool. Thanks! If you are listening on Apple Podcasts on your phone, go to the logo - click so that you are on the main page with a listing of the episodes for my podcast and scroll to the bottom. There you will see a place to rate and review. Could you review me? That would be so cool. Thank you! Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you! Thanks for sharing! Thanks for listening! Connect & Learn More: https://www.marypharper.com/ https://www.facebook.com/MaryHarperAuthor https://www.instagram.com/mary_p_harper/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-harper-ba8a8829/ Length - 49:03  

Wendy Reed is a singer & musician based out of Indianapolis, Indiana. She rejoices with Jimmy about getting the chance to work with Jimmy's dad Chooch, as part of Chooch & The Enchanters. She recalls meeting Tony Bennett in New York and getting to work with stars like Eddie Money as part of a Live Day experience with the Bob & Tom Show. Wendy also shares her experience working at the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, helping people gain & keep employment in spite of their adversity. For more information about Wendy including her upcoming gigs and rates to hire, visit her page Wendy Reed Vocalist on Facebook. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jbkonair/support

https://youtu.be/Gxkik6v0bkI Mary Pieroni Harper is a happily retired psychotherapist and author of The Sound of Her Voice: My Blind Parents' Story.  Her stirring book documents the remarkable lives of her parents from the time they fell in love at the Indiana School for the Blind through their challenges, determination, and successes as blind people. Born in Muncie, Indiana and a graduate of the University of Virginia, Harper earned her Master's in Social Work from the University of Houston. Perhaps as a legacy from helping her parents with everything from reading their mail to them to inspecting their clothing for spots, she has always been interested in helping others. https://youtube.com/shorts/hgObm85jNdA She became active in the Fibromyalgia Association of Houston after being diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1992 and has served in leadership capacities, including newsletter editor of The Fibromyalgia Connection, and as president for 15 years. Harper has two adult children and loves being a grandmother. They are part of the legacy her husband, Jeff, left behind when he died after a short battle with cancer in 2012. She lives with a blind rescue cat in Houston, Texas. https://youtube.com/shorts/onSFmJBuPac?feature=share For more information, please consult: www.MaryPHarper.com

Indiana released its statewide ILEARN test results top schools for performance on English, math and both assessments.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ALSO: Cautious optimism on debt limit deal... Pacers get their lottery resultsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Listen to the inspiring story of Nick Pease and the Grace Care Center in Hamilton County Indiana and how they partnered with K-12 Food Rescue to lead the #FoodIsNotTrash Movement in Hamilton County Schools, leading to the rescuing of an estimated 500,000 food items in 7 years in Hamilton County Schools.

Your day ahead forecast, Indiana measure to pay for teachers' gun training advances, health experts warn against TikTok trend after the death of Ohio teen, Damar Hamlin cleared to return to football, business headlines and more See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Mary Harper, author of the book entitled The Sound of Her Voice: My Blind Parents' Story, shares how she documented her parents remarkable lives from the time they fell in love at the Indiana School for the Blind through their challenges, determination, and successes.Linkshttps://www.marypharper.com/bookdebbiewilliamspodcast.comSupport the show

My guest for this episode is Nathan Warner. Nathan is an eclectic guy. His path has led him from attending the Interlochen Arts Camp to a bachelor's degree in Jazz Studies at the Indiana School of Music, a master's degree in classical trumpet from the Manhattan School of Music, and finally, a DMA from Stony Brook University. He's a busy performer, passionate educator, and co-founder of the Apex Trumpet Symposium. And he manages to do everything with some serious swag and perfect hair. Check out what Nathan has to say about How the Apex Trumpet Symposium was born, toxic environments, giving permission to be where you are, learning to live with uncertainty, the importance of the struggle, aligning with his motivations, dealing with the negative voices, spirituality and music, the sound of Gabriel's trumpet, the importance of having your own voice, being the best version of yourself, the roles of affirmation and confrontation, and so much more! So pour yourself a big glass, pull up a chair, and let the hang begin! -------------------------------------------------------------- Get the skinny on Nathan at: https://www.nathanplaystrumpet.com/ Interested in learning more about the Apex Trumpet Symposium? https://apextrumpet.com/ Sound like a million bucks without breaking the bank with Barkley Microphones: http://barkleymic.com/ Let Vennture Mouthpieces help you on your search for the perfect mouthpiece. Use the code "TRUMPETGURUS21" to get 10% off your purchase: https://www.vennture.mp/ If you play hard, you need to make sure you show your chops some love with Robinson's Remedies products: bit.ly/ChopLove Let Jose help you master your mental game: bit.ly/MindfulnessSecrets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:56 How the Apex Trumpet Symposium was born 00:17:56 Toxic environments 00:23:41 Giving permission to be where you are 00:37:25 Learning to live with uncertainty 00:43:32 The importance of the struggle 00:48:26 Aligning with his motivations 00:50:29 Dealing with the negative voices 00:54:11 Spirituality and music 00:59:39 The sound of Gabriel's trumpet 01:07:42 The importance of having your own voice 01:16:12 Being the best version of yourself 01:23:01 The roles of affirmation and confrontation 01:28:01 Sound Off 01:31:53 Geared Up 01:39:06 Rapid Fire Round --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thetrumpetgurus/support

Tony Kinnett of Chalkboard Review joins the Hammer & Nigel Show to talk about drama at an Indiana school, what to look for ahead of the midterms in regards to education, and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your day ahead forecast, police arrest a man for Mooresville bus stop crash, Miami County superintendent arrested and out of a job, Broad Ripple Avenue shuts down, business headlines and more See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Indiana School of the Sky 19xx.xx.xx Darwin Puts It Into Words

The inflation rate in May was 8.6 percent, the highest since the bad old days of the Great Inflation 40 years ago. We're all paying higher prices. So are our school districts. School districts face some costs that increase as prices rise, and other costs that don't. Food, fuel and equipment prices rise, and schools must pay. But teacher salaries are set in contracts, and until those contracts expire, inflation won't have an effect. In 2021, Indiana public schools paid 62,000 teachers $4.4 billion in salaries and benefits. That's more than one-third of total school budgets. Teacher contracts run for one or two years, and until they expire, pay will rise at rates set before inflation increased. After a year or two contracts will be renegotiated, and it's likely that teachers will expect their pay to keep up with higher inflation.

Kathleen Champlin graduated with a doctorate in Contemporary American Literature from Ball State University in Indiana (USA) in 2015. Currently, she is an online writing tutor with Pearson's Smarthinking and a copyeditor for several companies. In this episode,  Kathleen will provide an example of a disabled PhD's career transition in the humanities. From her story, you can learn how her disability impacted her academic and professional paths and how she was able to overcome the many barriers that came up along the way. Kathleen will also share how her love for the written word has been a driving force throughout her journey and how she hopes to contribute to a world without ability barriers. Enjoy listening! TRANSCRIPT My name is Kate Champlin. I have a PhD in literature from Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, USA. I've trained in online college teaching, but I'm currently an online writing tutor and copyeditor. My story is unusual for two reasons: I'm changing careers post-PhD and when I went to graduate school, I was already deaf.  A little background: I started losing my hearing when I was around 18 and lost it completely when I was 24. I've got a genetic disorder that makes benign tumors grow (among other places) on both hearing nerves. I was diagnosed in the summer before I started college. I went through about 6 years of college as a person with progressively worse hearing loss and 7 more years of college classes and dissertation work as a deaf person. I also started my first real career search 5 years after I went deaf. My previous jobs had either been assistantships from the colleges that I attended or jobs that I had as a teenager. American Sign Language is a common language in the USA and Canada. I've taken classes in it, but I never really learned the language. My preference is written English.  Meanwhile, I've always loved English literature classes. I took advanced English classes in high school and signed up as an English major without hesitation when I first went to college. After my senior year, I was invited to teach and earn a Master's degree at Pittsburg State University. I enjoyed teaching, and I realized that I wanted to teach college classes professionally. I needed a PhD to teach college classes so, at that point, a PhD seemed like the natural next step on my career path. At the time, I'd known for several years that I'd eventually lose my hearing and, by the time I enrolled at Pittsburg State, I knew I was going to lose my hearing within the next couple of years. I reached out and asked several people if I'd be able to teach online classes when I had my doctorate. They all told me that online classes were the future of education, and that there would be a market for online teachers by the time that I got my degree. Unfortunately, the prediction turned out to only be sort of true. I'll discuss that more when I talk about my career change.  People ask me how I overcame my disability but, the truth is, I have no choice. This is the body and the life that I have, and I have to live the best life that I can with them. I've had support from my family, the schools where I studied, and many people that I've met professionally, and that's been wonderful. I've had the opportunity to join the workforce after I went deaf, and that made my survival possible.  My first experiences at college were interesting, and my disability only added a little bit of difficulty. I had fairly normal hearing for my first four years of college. For my last two years as a hard-of-hearing person, someone hooked me up with CART captioning, a system where a court reporter listens to classes or conversations and types them on a computer screen. It can either be done remotely through the internet or the reporter can attend the class. I used the first method while I earned my master's degree and the second method while I got my PhD. There have been times when the equipment or something else failed. One of my captionists got a computer virus an hour before one of my classes, and I had to miss the class. One of my teachers told me that she didn't want the captioning to disrupt her classes, and I took that as a sign that she didn't want me in her class at all. So, when she did things like walk away from the CART microphone to write on the chalkboard – which was her way of trying to help me but which actually made it harder for the captionist to hear her – I didn't say anything because I didn't think she cared whether I could understand the lectures or not. It took us months to straighten that out. Never talk about disruptions with a disabled student or a disabled client. Ask them what they need instead. In the unlikely event that there ever is a disruption, you can discuss that with them later.  After I went completely deaf, I continued to use CART captioning in my classes. My teachers at Ball State were great about this and also great about making sure that I understood. We'd have entire conferences where I spoke and they typed whatever they needed to say. I also had conversations with people who wrote down their half of the conversation in a notebook. Nevertheless, my biggest problem was isolation. I'd attend workshops and miss out on group conversations or encounter people who were intimidated. People would say “I wish I could talk to you” in the middle of conversations. I also taught online classes (English composition) because I had trouble communicating with the students through CART captioning. There was a slight delay to the captions, so I was interrupting students to ask if there were responses. It got to be a real barrier and online classes eliminated that. When I went on the market, things got really interesting. After I graduated, I wasn't eligible for CART, and CART is very expensive. Suddenly, I realized that I wasn't sure how to request accommodations from people who hadn't already agreed to work with me. I tried using the notebook face-to-face, and people took that as a sign that I could only teach online classes (which was true but limited my career search). I had phone interviews, and people would get nervous because of the pauses for the captions. I could tell, because I noticed them talking more to fill the silences. I already had one part-time job at that point, but I was afraid that no one else would hire me. All in all, I think many people let the verbal communication barrier become more of a problem than it needs to be. They assume that because I have to ask for clarification or I'm slow to answer, I don't know the information that they asked for – and that is not the case. I'm fully trained in English, in disability studies (the topic of my dissertation), and in teaching. There is a communication barrier and, because of it, I sometimes let myself sound less confident than I should. I know that people take slow speech and lack of confidence as signals but, if they look around the signals, they find my expertise and my work ethic. That's true about my value, and it's true about a lot of other people on the job market with communication issues.  I eventually learned to look for the employers who are willing to do unusual things because of my needs. My audio and captions actually failed in an online interview once. It turned out that, in addition to the problem with the captions, my computer had muted itself without my permission. I ended up speaking my half of the interview while the other person typed their questions. I really, really appreciated their flexibility. I've also learned to get people I know to recommend other contacts. A job counselor told me that if you can take people through a typical day, they'll understand that you can do the job in spite of the communication barriers. He also noted that we (personally, in that conference) didn't have any communication issues, but that's because of really great translation software that I recently found on the internet. Finding technical ways to remove barriers is not a perfect solution. Finding people who are open to the idea of disabled employees is.  At the moment, I'm planning a slight career change. Although I enjoyed online teaching, there are budget cuts throughout the college teaching market (at least in the US). I'm not the only one who's had trouble finding a niche in that market, and communication in the classroom would still be a barrier. Many schools in the US also won't hire teachers to teach only online classes, and I hadn't anticipated that when I started my PhD. I found a job as a writing tutor through one of the websites where higher education jobs are posted. That was the job I got before I got my PhD. The tutoring company is owned by a producer of college textbooks, and it's a lot like working in a college writing center – except that it's online. So far, it has lasted longer than many contract jobs teaching online classes do in the US. We're also international. The company has contracts with a few colleges in Australia/New Zealand, at least one college in Canada, and at least one college in the Caribbean. I find that fascinating, because I grew up in the years before the internet really existed. There really is a global community online now, and it includes amazing possibilities both for hearing people and for deaf people. American Sign Language users can contact each other through Zoom and sign to each other remotely – instead of relying on written communication. People who prefer written English, like me, can send messages through email and also contact people all over the world. Programs like Google Meet include captions, so I can do face-to-face meetings through them. I also recently found a very useful speech-to-text translation software online. It's called AVA. I use that in programs like Zoom that don't always generate their own captions and also carry a copy on my phone. It allows me to participate in face-to-face conversations even in daily life. All that took was someone who understood computer coding and understood accommodations. I've read that the software was created by a child of deaf adults. They knew coding and also knew about a community need. There are also more remote jobs opening up, along with more chances to contact companies across geographic lines. I look forward to exploring that more in the future. In fact, I'm already beginning to, since the jobs that I'll mention are all remote and are in very different areas of the US.    In 2020, I applied for a remote internship with an education company based in Georgia (in the southeast USA). The company creates teacher education courses aimed at elementary, middle, or high school teachers – about things like virtual (Zoom) field trips and building robots in the classroom. The idea is that the teachers learn those skills and pass them on to their students. It was unpaid, but it offered practice at social media marketing and more practice at curriculum design. I really wanted that. I ended up proposing a course on making classes accessible for students with disabilities. My boss agreed that the topic was especially important because of the pandemic. In the US, most classes were moving online, and that often meant that teachers who were unprepared to deal with online classes had to manage them anyway. I saw some news stories about students with certain disabilities getting left behind in the mad rush to put school online. That first course led to my boss extending my contract, twice, and also paying me. Later on, since she liked my unpaid work at pointing out small issues with her online courses, she offered a contract to copyedit her first book. It was a great book about grant writing specifically for teachers. In the US, teachers often need to use their own funds to purchase classroom supplies or find funds for projects like building robots in the classroom. My boss also contracted me to check her courses when she moved them to a new website. That meant copyediting but also things like checking formatting and making sure that links worked. Some sources on the internet just vanish after a few years. Have you ever noticed?  Lately, I've made contact with another copyediting business in Vermont (which is in the northeastern USA) and with a foundation related to the Indiana School for the Deaf (which is in the Great Lakes region of the USA). I haven't received any contracts from them yet but, hopefully, they will remember me when they need copyediting work. My dream job is a permanent position in publishing or a non-profit that publishes. I earned a PhD in English partly because I believe that the written word can help to change the world. I still do believe it, and I want to be part of that change – whether that means editing ground-breaking fiction or choosing ground-breaking articles for a newsletter. I look forward to working my way toward that goal.  It hasn't always been easy. I've felt at sea. I've wondered if I would ever get a job, and I've also felt like the only disabled PhD out there. I wanted to tell everyone else that they aren't alone, and I am hoping other people will reach out and share their stories. I know disabled people can have major problems both on the career market and in colleges. I'd love to see a world where disability isn't an issue for any qualified job candidate and where all employers are willing to be flexible. That would mean people being willing to work with my need for written English, employers being willing to hire American Sign Language translators at a moment's notice (for people whose first language is American Sign), employers automatically assuming that websites must be accessible to screen-readers [which is a software that reads the screen for blind users] etc. That's a world totally without ability barriers. I look forward to working toward that goal too. 

Election Day is coming up – on Tuesday, May 3 – and school referendums will be on the ballot in nine school districts. It's best if voters investigate the referendum issues in advance, so they know whether to vote yes or no. What if you didn't do your homework and want to do the benefit-cost comparison on the fly, in the voting booth? Larry Deboer has advice just for you.

Laura White Ludvik is a San Diego native and fundraising professional for over 20 years. Currently the President of the USS Midway Foundation, she has had several leadership roles with organizations focused on serving underprivileged communities throughout San Diego: Casa de Amparo, TERI Inc., Monarch School, and Support The Enlisted Project. A graduate of Chico State University and the Indiana School of Philanthropy at IU, Ludvik feels passionate about giving back to the city she loves.

Laura White Ludvik is a San Diego native and fundraising professional for over 20 years. Currently the President of the USS Midway Foundation, she has had several leadership roles with organizations focused on serving underprivileged communities throughout San Diego: Casa de Amparo, TERI Inc., Monarch School, and Support The Enlisted Project. A graduate of Chico State University and the Indiana School of Philanthropy at IU, Ludvik feels passionate about giving back to the city she loves.

Your day ahead forecast, Flood Watch in effect and winter warnings for parts of Indiana, power outages and downed lines, Senate committee votes to strip most components of controversial education bill, other bills up for debate in Senate, CDC weighs in on dropping mask mandates, Russia/Ukraine tensions, animal shelter overcrowding and more See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you ever eat at Taco Bell, you have surely noticed that they sometimes have Nacho Fries on the menu - but most of the time they do not. Why? Why do Nacho Fries come and go? Why don't they just leave them on the menu all the time? This episode begins with the crafty explanation. https://www.businessinsider.com/taco-bell-is-bringing-back-nacho-fries-for-the-sixth-time-2021-7  What determines your personality? Obviously there are a lot of things. What you may not realize is that the list might include things like your genes, microbes or even parasites in your gut. Listen as I speak with Bill Sullivan, a professor at Indiana School of Medicine and author of the book Pleased to Meet Me: Genes, Germs and the Curious Forces That Make Us Who We Are (https://amzn.to/2t2VOYT). He explains how these forces can actually determine and even alter who you appear to be.  Have you heard the advice that you shouldn't store tomatoes in the fridge or that you shouldn't fry food in olive oil. These are just a couple of common kitchen practices that may not stand up to scientific scrutiny. Listen as I explain why. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4539884/Should-continuously-stir-risotto-soak-onions.html It can sometimes be hard to explain something to someone so that they really and truly get it. Listen as scientist, Dr. Dominic Walliman offers the four key ingredients that will help you explain anything to anyone. If you would like to hear more from Dominic: Link to Dominic's YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/2TaTOIW Link to Dominic's books: https://amzn.to/39TRko7 Link to his TED talk: https://bit.ly/2FGCMKp PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! We really like The Jordan Harbinger Show! Check out https://jordanharbinger.com/start OR search for it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen!  Helix Sleep is offering up to $200 off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners at https://helixsleep.com/sysk.  Truebill is the smartest way to manage your finances. The average person saves $720 per year with Truebill. Get started today at https://Truebill.com/SYSK Take control of your finances and start saving today! To see the all new Lexus NX and to discover everything it was designed to do for you, visit https://Lexus.com/NX Discover matches all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year! Learn more at https://discover.com/match https://www.geico.com Bundle your policies and save! It's Geico easy! Download Best Fiends FREE today on the App Store or Google Play! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey gang.  We have some quick news on the front end and then we take a look at this Gary Indiana School take over at the request of a long term program subscriber. 

Hey gang.  We have some quick news on the front end and then we take a look at this Gary Indiana School take over at the request of a long term program subscriber. 

She's devoted nearly 30 years of service to the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and now, a fund has been created in her honor.Laura Alvarado, Executive Director for The Indiana Blind Children's Foundation, introduces us to Toula Oberlies – as she shares her passion for helping give children with visual impairments unique and creative experiences.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As imaging techniques have improved and become more commonly used, health care professionals are finding more adrenal incidentalomas. Join endocrine experts Diane Donegan, MD, Chair, AACE Disease State Network Pituitary, Gonadal, Adrenal, & Neuroendocrine, and Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Indiana School of Medicine, and Irina Bancos, MD, AACE Disease State Network Pituitary, Gonadal, Adrenal, & Neuroendocrine expert, and Associate Professor of Medicine and Adrenal Endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic, as they discuss several interesting adrenal case studies and recommendations for clinical management of patients with adrenal incidentalomas.

ALSO: Police officer accused of child sex crimes... Colts cut QBSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In other top stories: Illinois attorney general's office investigating Joliet Police Department; Glen Ellyn now has 2 new murals; Joliet chicken joint closing after more than 40 years; and more.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our SFN Mentor Father this week is Kyle Malone of Indianapolis has two children: Zion (12) and Noah (19). We'll hear about the Malone family and how Noah has overcome his inability to see and is setting records in track at Indiana State University, participating in the Paralympics and his TEDx Talk. It's an uplifting and inspiring story and you'll hear it on this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast.Contact Kyle at: K.Malone@me.comNoah's TEDx Talk – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQRxEkxhY7w WTHR 13 Video – https://www.wthr.com/video/news/local/the-amazing-noah-malone/531-6be42a1d-c32d-4580-a6ff-3e42900a241c Indiana School for the Blind & Visually Impaired – https://www.in.gov/isbvi/ Lebers - https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/6870/leber-hereditary-optic-neuropathy Fishers Disability Council – https://fishers.in.us/999/March-Disability-AwarenessAbout the Special Fathers Network - SFN is a dad to dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. Many of the 500+ SFN Mentor Fathers, who are raising kids with special needs, have said: "I wish there was something like this when we first received our child's diagnosis. I felt so isolated. There was no one within my family, at work, at church or within my friend group who understood or could relate to what I was going through."SFN Mentor Fathers share their experiences with younger dads closer to the beginning of their journey raising a child with the same or similar special needs. The SFN Mentor Fathers do NOT offer legal or medical advice, that is what lawyers and doctors do. They simply share their experiences and how they have made the most of challenging situations. Special Fathers Network: https://21stcenturydads.org/about-the-special-fathers-network/Please support the SFN. Click here to donate: https://21stcenturydads.org/donate/

Gail is a powerful, inspirational, and entertaining speaker, author, performer, and facilitator who is totally blind. Independence, strength, and resiliency are words that describe Gail. Her unstoppable soaring spirit has led Gail to sing the leading roles in “La Boheme” and “La Traviata” in graduate school, build her own Habitat for Humanity home, crown Ms. Colorado Senior America 2013, win fourth runner-up in the national Ms. Senior America Pageant, and publish her memoir “Soaring into Greatness: a Blind Woman’s Vision to Live her Dreams and Fly.”Since the pandemic, Gail has spoken to virtual audiences in Florida, Pennsylvania, Canada, Colorado, California, Washington, and Melbourne, Australia. Her blogs cover everything from “How to get over a funk” to “Do you see what I see” (found on social media, YouTube, and her website) has electrified audiences to live Unstoppable, Unforgettable, and Unbelievable lives.Before the pandemic, Gail has spoken to a wide variety of audiences, including faculty, students, and parents at the Florida School for the Deaf and blind in Florida; the Colorado and North Dakota Lions State Conventions; the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired’s Senior Awards dinner; the National Ms. Senior America Pageant in New Jersey; and the No Barriers Symposium for people with disabilities in California; among others.Gail has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music--William Woods University; a Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance--Pittsburg State University; and a Master of Arts Degree in Transpersonal Counseling and Psychology--the Naropa Institute. She is certified as a Reiki Master and a Gestalt and EMDR psychotherapist.Gail has experienced firsthand what it is like to Cope with and overcome a disability walkthrough societal, personal, and career discriminations and how to endure mental and physical atrocities. Gail’s blindness enables her to see with her inner vision, providing a unique and transforming perspective. Gail’s heart desires that her presentations--humorous and musical--will provide hope to others, let them know they aren’t alone, and encourage everyone to persevere. Gail has learned that we must choose to align ourselves with our passions, focus our mind’s attitude on positivity, and take action allowing us to harness our adversities and break through our barriers, creating a life of greatness.(720) 984-8082. Email: gail@SoaringIntoGreatness.com  Discover Morehttps://soaringintogreatness.com/https://www.facebook.com/gail.hamilton.9231https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2ETmkavYKd75Gz9NKBgPhwSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/The_Josh_Bolton_Show)

A group of school choice bills are prompting lengthy and emotional debates about school funding at the Indiana Statehouse, with dozens of individuals and organizations testifying on the legislation at committee hearings Wednesday.

In this episode, Dr. Kim Kohne, Associate Dean of Students and Clinical Professor at Indiana School of Optometry, discusses what makes IUSO unique, the applicant and interview process, and how prospective students can become competitive applicants. If you enjoyed this episode make sure to give it a 5-star rating on Apple Podcast and follow the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify and Instagram @keepin.it.od --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/keepinitod/message

In a very special COVID episode, Christine and Alaa talk to Diana Berrent, founder of Survivor Corps. Survivor Corps is one of the largest and fastest growing grassroots movements connecting, supporting, educating, motivating and mobilizing COVID-19 Survivors to support all medical, scientific and academic research, help stem the tide of this pandemic and assist in the national recovery. Diana founded Survivor Corps after her own battle with COVID early on left her with few resources to draw from in her lingering side effects and recovery. Through their online community, survivors have found a place to share their stories, symptoms and methods of treatment. Recently they partnered with the Indiana School of Medicine to conducting and publishing a COVID-19 fever survey report. They are also working in alliance with several blood and plasma centers, encouraging those with COVID antibodies to donate as more research becomes available about convalescent plasma and antibody therapy treatment.  To learn more and offer your support, visit www.survivorcorps.com and their facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/COVID19survivorcorps/ Instagram: @survivorcorps Twitter: @survivor_corps Co-hosted by Christine Lakin and Alaa Khaled @alecledd and @yolakin Get YO MERCH!  www.worsteverpodcast.com @worsteverpodcast Questions? Comments?  worsteverpodcast@gmail.com

Bryce Weiler is a co-founder for the Beautiful Lives Project and disability consultant for the Baltimore Orioles. Bryce was born four months premature and developed an eye condition called Retinopathy of prematurity that caused him to be blind. Bryce attended public school from elementary through his freshmen year of high school and completed his high school education at the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Indianapolis. Bryce’s passion for sports on the radio led him to commentate on radio sports broadcasts for the University of Evansville, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management and Communication, and Western Illinois University, where he earned a master’s degree in Sports Administration. After college, Bryce began developing programs for fans with disabilities. The first teams to join him in his work were the Baltimore Orioles and the New Britain Bees baseball teams. There's a lot of focus on how to use technology to better engage fans but implicit in most of these discussions, and the accompanying technology innovations, is the focus on engagement for abled-bodied fans. But how can sports teams and leagues better cater to all of their fans, including those with disabilities? Bryce shares his unique perspective on how to disability should not be a barrier to sharing in the fundamental human experience of sports. Shownotes: https://sportstechfeed.com/

In this episode David interviews Assistant Professor Regan Stevenson from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana School of Business about his research looking at entrepreneurial pivots. For full notes from the podcast go to https://www.oxford-review.com/entrepreneurial-pivots-research-interview/

Bryce Welier joins our podcast to discuss the leadership and mindset that has led him to where he is at today. About Bryce: Bryce Weiler is a co-founder for the Beautiful Lives Project. Weiler was born and raised in Claremont, Illinois. Born four months premature and developed an eye condition called Retanopothy of prematurity that caused him to be blind. Bryce attended public school from elementary through his freshmen year of high school and completed his high school education at the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Indianapolis. Bryce’s passion for sports on the radio led him to commentating on radio sports broadcasts for the University of Evansville, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management and Communication, and Western Illinois University, where he earned a master’s degree in Sports Administration.

Listening to music is more than just a pleasant experience. It is also good for you in several ways. This episode begins with a discussion of how valuable music is to your mental and physical well-being. http://www.emedexpert.com/tips/music.shtmlCould your genes or microbes or even a parasite actually dictate parts of your personality? Likely so, according to Bill Sullivan, a professor at Indiana School of Medicine and author of the book Pleased to Meet Me: Genes, Germs and the Curious Forces That Make Us Who We Are (https://amzn.to/2t2VOYT). Listen as he explains how these forces can actually determine and even alter what makes you – you. You’ve probably heard that you shouldn’t store tomatoes in the fridge or that you shouldn’t fry food in olive oil. These are just a couple of common kitchen practices that may not stand up to scientific scrutiny. Listen as I explain why. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4539884/Should-continuously-stir-risotto-soak-onions.htmlIt can sometimes be hard to explain something to someone so they really and truly get it. Listen as scientist, Dr. Dominic Walliman offers the four key ingredients that will help you explain anything to anyone.Link to Dominic’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/2TaTOIWLink to Dominic’s books: https://amzn.to/39TRko7Link to his TED talk: https://bit.ly/2FGCMKp

Dr. Leibow graduated with honors for the Indiana School of Dentistry and immediately went to Boston for a 2 year residency and received a masters degree along with a certificate for Endodontics. He was taught by Dr. Herb Schilder, one of the icons of Endodontics and the father of warm vertical condensation. He was the 5th Endodontist to open a practice limited to Endodontics in the metropolitan Phoenix area. He is presently an Assistant Professor and full time Co-Director of Endodontics.

Before Emily transitioned from outreach director to superintendent, she attended the 2019 COSB Outreach Forum, which brings together professionals from all over the country to discuss the current state and future of outreach in blind education.  She rounded up eight of her colleagues to join her in this roundtable discussion of the challenges and joys of the job.  Joining Emily are: Adrian Amandi, California School for the Blind Tanya Armstrong, Nebraska Center for the Education of Children who are Blind or Visually Impaired Julie Johnson, New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired Pam Parker, Washington State School for the Blind/Washington State Sensory Disability Services Tiffany Sanders, Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired Dawn Soto, Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired Brandon Watts, Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind Cindy Williams, North Dakota Vision Services School for the Blind  

Welcome to the September edition of the OSSB Podcast. This month we will be talking about the preparations our track team has made to get ready for track conference which will be held at the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. We meet our new fourth grade teacher and had a podcast discussion with the fourth grade class. If you are interested in reading the fourth grade blog, you can find it here. https://ossb4thgrade.edublogs.org/ We talked to Mrs. Wendy who is now an advisor at the Ohio State University. For the first year Ohio State School for the Blind and the Ohio State University are collaborating to help up and coming teachers at the undergraduate level be better prepared to work in the field of vision. We are very excited to have had a visit from Captain John Turnbull. He is an active duty captain in the army who lost his eye sight in a terrorist attack. His story is captivating, and motivating. Emily gives us a glimpse into the catering program as they completed one of their first events this year. Thank you as always for being great listeners and supporting what the students are doing at the Ohio State School for the Blind.

In this podcast, Dr. Richard Frankel stops by and we talk about a varied number of sociological factors that physicians have to face - in terms of their training, their eventual job, and other factors outside their job. Dr. Frankel is a professor of medicine and geriatrics at the Indiana School of Medicine, and he researches organizational culture change, face-to-face communication, and the role of technology and its effect on the human dimensions of healthcare, especially empathy.  In addition to his research interests he has been a medical educator for the past 35 years. He was the co- director of the internal medicine residency program at Highland Hospital/University of Rochester and also served as co-director of the Program and Fellowship in Advanced Biopsychosocial Medicine. From 2003-2013, he was the statewide director of Indiana University School of Medicine’s professionalism competency and responsible for both curriculum and remediation in this arena. We talked about his experiences in academia and his interests around medicine, and how I could learn from different perspectives outside of just the clinical aspects of medicine.

A professor from the Indiana School of Medicine has indeed confirmed that Rock 'N' Roll legend Ozzy Osbourne is a genetic mutant.  His excessive drug use is well known. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

On this episode of the NavigatingBlindness podcast, we speak with Laura Alvarado, Executive Director of the Indiana Blind Children’s Foundation. During the podcast, Laura discusses their work with the Indiana School for the Blind, their partnership with Bosma Enterprises and the importance of equipping children who are blind with the skills and training needed to advocate for themselves.

An Indiana School District Sends Unused Cafeteria Food Home - Is This A Good or Bad Idea?

Indiana school district turns unused food into take home meals for students!

This month on the podcast we travel to the CloverNook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Cincinnati, Ohio to hear about the Braille Challenge. We listen to excerpts from the Little NC pep rally held on March 7. Our little NC squad traveled to the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired to compete in wrestling, cheerleading, swimming and goalball. We hear from Jeff Ransey who works in the Conservation department at the Columbus Zoo. And why does OSSB have a chocolate fair every year? Stay tuned and find out. You will hear information about the alumni reunion taking place on the OSSB campus the first weekend in June. We catch up with some alumni and see what they are up to these days and we talk about bell Camp happening here on campus in July put on by the Ohio Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind. Andre and Mrs. Smith visit the OSU College of Optometry and conduct an informative reach and teach activity. We look at some new technology coming on the market for the blind and visually impaired with a visit from Jim Sullivan from Humanware. He discusses the features of the new BrailleNote Touch Plus. 3d printing is becoming ever so much more popular and OSSB is using 3d-printing in the model club with help from experts from see3d. See3D is designed to connect people who enjoy 3D printing with their visually impaired neighbors. Low vision and blind individuals can request models to give new meaning to words that some students have never been able to understand. We conclude this month’s podcast with another listen-in on a reach and teach activity with our students and the O&M department. They visit a Mennonite school and shared a great day of learning together. Thank you all so much for tuning in every month and supporting the students and staff at OSSB and all the things we do.

Timely topics on public policy issues related to state and local government in Indiana published once a month.

Christy Gauss, Indiana's School Mental Health Facilitator, shares what is happening state-wide to assist students, educators and parents regarding this issue of mental health.https://lookupindiana.org/: Look Up Indiana website: a one-stop shop for all things mental health in the state of Indiana. https://www.nami.org/: The National Alliance on Mental Illness websitehttps://www.nasponline.org/: the National Association of School Psychologistshttps://self-reg.ca/: Dr. Stuart Shanker Self Reg website

Christy Gauss, Indiana's School Mental Health Facilitator, shares what is happening state-wide to assist students, educators and parents regarding this issue of mental health.https://lookupindiana.org/: Look Up Indiana website: a one-stop shop for all things mental health in the state of Indiana. https://www.nami.org/: The National Alliance on Mental Illness websitehttps://www.nasponline.org/: the National Association of School Psychologistshttps://self-reg.ca/: Dr. Stuart Shanker Self Reg website

An Indiana school bus driver let students take turns driving the school. Not so shockingly, Dog doesn't think it's that big of a deal.

8a-9a

The "culturally competent harm reduction" edition. At the Drug Policy Alliance's October 2017 conference in Atlanta, I got the chance to speak with four harm reduction and public health activists and researchers, including Lyn Ayala (Condom Program Coordinator at Washington Heights Corner Project), Zina Age (Founder & CEO, Aniz, Inc., in Atlanta, GA), Carrie Ann Lawrence (Director of the Indiana School of Public Health's Project Cultivate), and Sasanka Jinadasa (of Reframe Health and Justice, in Washington, DC). We took a beautiful Saturday morning to talk about how to define "culturally competent harm reduction," and to discuss what it should mean in a racial justice context. We also discussed the challenge of confronting structural inequality, the problem of white privilege within the harm reduction movement, and what it means to have a liberationist frame and mission in harm reduction.

Dr. Brian Smith is the Executive Director of the Indiana School Board Association (ISBA). This organization helps your local school board and superintendent by providing legal advice, training and onboarding for new board members, and acting as representation to the Indiana legislature. Dr. J.T. Coopman and Dr. Brian Smith talk this week about how the ISBA helps your local school board plus they talk about how some of the latest bills impact your school district. 

Timely topics on public policy issues related to state and local government in Indiana published once a month.

This week on Noon Edition, we'll discuss school referenda.

In March of 2015, Scott County made headlines with a major spike in HIV diagnoses relative to needle sharing. What's the status one year later? Guests: Jake Harper WFYI/Side Effect; Kelly McEvers (NPR); Dr. Carrie Ann Lawrence PhD Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention, Indiana School of Public Health-Bloomington, Project Director, Project Cultivate.

Al Hubbard sits down with Paul E. Peterson to discuss the state of school choice and other reforms in his home state of Indiana.