A few months ago I was made aware of a scholarship opportunity for families who wish to attend the national AG Bell conference. The application process was rather rigorous. We had to have letters of recommendation from an AG Bell member (I am not a member, never have been, and do not currently intend to become one) as well as a letter of recommendation from a professional who could speak to our financial need (because they don't want to be giving the scholarships to the 1%!) I also had to write an essay about our journey and why we felt like we wanted to attend the conference. They asked that the letter be less than two pages....my rough draft was six!
Eventually Hubby was able to cut it down (and shrink the font and margins!) and we sent it off, along with exceptional letters written by the wonderful people at Miss Kat's school. (They wrote such wonderful things...I can not say how thankful I am!) So, I waited the two weeks and got my email...NOPE! We didn't make the cut :(
Well, it turns out that we were first runner up! Another family was unable to attend, so now they have rewarded the scholarship to us!! We will be attending our first national AG Bell conference.
7 comments:
It is a waste of time going to AG Bell conference.
You can go to NAD instead where there are true deaf people there who can look forward to meeting you.
Why? Why go there? They will brainwash you.
NAD will welcome you and you will meet role models that Kat will make connections with!
Congrats, MKM and Miss Kat! I will eagerly look forward to hearing all the details about your experience. I've heard good things about the AG Bell conferences. For one, they're attended by plenty of Deaf people signing ASL, and also provide ASL interpreters. there might even be some deaf kids like Miss Kat who are bilingual, bimodal, and have CIs. have fun!
Anonymous the Third (we're not all clueless idiots)
You will have a blast! You will learn a ton, meet all kinds of people to share information with, and Miss Kat will also have loads of fun with other kids with CIs and who sign. The only thing that puzzles me is that you say you will never join AGBell. Why not? If you feel so negative about joining the organization, why are you willing to take a scholarship to go to their conference?
I'm not saying that I would never join AG Bell...I am just not totally comfortable yet. I have not had the opportunity to figure out what I have been told that is true, and what isn't. I think that this experience will help be figure out where the organization ACTUALLY stands on issues.
The only organization out there right now that I can fully support is Hands & Voices. They are totally unbiased and supportive of all choices.
We'll see if they can change my mind!
Hi Melissa, we're also attending the AG Bell convention. Hopefully we can meet together.
Cristina Ramirez
That's great!! I stumbled upon your amazing blog while researching iep goals for my daughter!
We also applied for the schlorship and didn't make it! Have an awesome time for us! And please share ur experience.
Post a Comment