Ann Chiappetta

Making Meaningful Connections

a new leaf, path, whatever you want to call it

| Filed under writing

 

Long post about going back to school

I’m sitting here at work thinking about the next twelve months and how to plan for it. I’ve pretty much decided to go back to school for a doctorate in counseling psychology.  My decision is based on the fact that if I ever want to break the six  digit earning figure I must obtain a Ph. D. Anything less, even another master’s, might not get me to this goal.  The other reason is that even without the salary  and earnings potential, I really want this. It’s my dream, the mere thought of being referred to as Dr. Chiappetta gives me the drive to push toward the top of the mountain. Is this what Maslow alluded to in his pyramid ? I remember  being  given the hierarchy of needs illustration in undergraduate school and thinking, what is self actualization ? I didn’t have the answer then and I only have a mere speck  of  understanding now. I hope this  iota of understanding helps me to enroll in a  great program next fall and  weather the storm of uncertainty,  years of hard work  and perseverance it  will take  in order to achieve a doctorate degree.

 

It will feel like I’ve almost gotten to the top. I say almost because there might very well be another goal after this one, lending to the hypothesis that self actualization is  a combination of smaller achievements  and disappointments packed together and  completing a  spiritual collection. There will also be smaller, short-term goals on the way to the doctoral enrollment and it’s possible that some of these smaller goals will assist me in gaining a better understanding of what it means to climb the  academic mountain. There will also be delays, frustrations, and barriers and I am acknowledging them here hoping that the bumps don’t stop my progress and only slow me down.

 

One of the elements I must contend with, of course, is how my disability is dealt with in respect to printed materials and online  computer applications and online tasks, like the blackboard program.

I’ve reflected upon what it was like in graduate school during another time of progressive vision loss. I started a  master’s program being able to take notes with low vision paper and black marker pens. I was able to walk to and from my classes with my cane and only had trouble navigating at night. I attended a local college so traveling long distances wasn’t an issue. I used screen magnification software back then, too, and a book magnifier (CCTB) for reading.

 

The impact  and combination of the years and  a degenerative eye disease has not just narrowed my visual field but also seriously restricted access to books, note taking, and other essential visual tools necessary to participate in academic endeavors as a student. I am anxious about this.

For instance, I no longer write by hand and rely on a keyboard type machine with speech output.  I no longer have the ability to use a magnifier and have transitioned over to a flatbed scanner with OCR technology to read books and typed materials. Hand written materials have to be read to me by another person and if required to hand write, I must rely on a person to transcribe  the information onto the hand written form.

 

Next, since I rely on a computer for all of the tasks to research and create written information, the computer applications and electronic databases used by an institution of higher education must be accessible to popular screen reading software. I also must be prepared for the inevitable, that materials aren’t  going to be accessible  in some cases and the contingencies I must  prepare  and rely upon and apply when this occurs must also be in place.

 

I have come a long way since fighting a Catholic nun for access to the computer lab during my bachelor’s program and going to bed almost every night from a migraine due to eye stress from reading 50 pages of ten point  text book font.

 

I know how to advocate for myself, communicate with the instructors and state my needs. I also know that this doesn’t always sink in and some may choose to ignore my requests until I go above them to explain that their role as an instructor is to provide appropriate  materials in a format most suited to the student’s needs  to enhance the learning potential of the student. If this is offered, then I will excel for sure. If I am denied this, I will surely struggle.

 

Then there are the physical barriers  to be overcome so I can travel safely with my  guide dog and the constant educational opportunities along the way. How will I commute? And, will I have to change my work hours or hump to class at night and on weekends?

 

As you can see, the road to applying for a  doctoral program   is, in itself, a process. If anyone has information on doctoral programs, please email me at dungarees@optonline.net

 

 

 

Long post about going back to school

I’m sitting here at work thinking about the next twelve months and how to plan for it. I’ve pretty much decided to go back to school for a doctorate in counseling psychology.  My decision is based on the fact that if I ever want to break the six  digit earning figure I must obtain a Ph. D. Anything less, even another master’s, might not get me to this goal.  The other reason is that even without the salary  and earnings potential, I really want this. It’s my dream, the mere thought of being referred to as Dr. Chiappetta gives me the drive to push toward the top of the mountain. Is this what Maslow alluded to in his pyramid ? I remember  being  given the hierarchy of needs illustration in undergraduate school and thinking, what is self actualization ? I didn’t have the answer then and I only have a mere speck  of  understanding now. I hope this  iota of understanding helps me to enroll in a  great program next fall and  weather the storm of uncertainty,  years of hard work  and

Long post about going back to school

I’m sitting here at work thinking about the next twelve months and how to plan for it. I’ve pretty much decided to go back to school for a doctorate in counseling psychology.  My decision is based on the fact that if I ever want to break the six  digit earning figure I must obtain a Ph. D. Anything less, even another master’s, might not get me to this goal.  The other reason is that even without the salary  and earnings potential, I really want this. It’s my dream, the mere thought of being referred to as Dr. Chiappetta gives me the drive to push toward the top of the mountain. Is this what Maslow alluded to in his pyramid ? I remember  being  given the hierarchy of needs illustration in undergraduate school and thinking, what is self actualization ? I didn’t have the answer then and I only have a mere speck  of  understanding now. I hope this  iota of understanding helps me to enroll in a  great program next fall and  weather the storm of uncertainty,  years of hard work  and perseverance it  will take  in order to achieve a doctorate degree.

 

It will feel like I’ve almost gotten to the top. I say almost because there might very well be another goal after this one, lending to the hypothesis that self actualization is  a combination of smaller achievements  and disappointments packed together and  completing a  spiritual collection. There will also be smaller, short-term goals on the way to the doctoral enrollment and it’s possible that some of these smaller goals will assist me in gaining a better understanding of what it means to climb the  academic mountain. There will also be delays, frustrations, and barriers and I am acknowledging them here hoping that the bumps don’t stop my progress and only slow me down.

 

One of the elements I must contend with, of course, is how my disability is dealt with in respect to printed materials and online applications.

I’ve reflected upon what it was like in graduate school during another time of progressive vision loss. I started a  master’s program being able to take notes with low vision paper and black marker pens. I was able to walk to and from my classes with my cane and only had trouble navigating at night. I attended a local college so traveling long distances wasn’t an issue. I used screen magnification software back then, too, and a book magnifier (CCTB) for reading.

 

The impact  and combination of the years and  a degenerative eye disease has not just narrowed my visual field but also seriously restricted access to books, note taking, and other essential visual tools necessary to participate in academic endeavors as a student.

For instance, I no longer write by hand and rely on a keyboard type machine with speech output.  I no longer have the ability to use a magnifier and have transitioned over to a flatbed scanner with OCR technology to read books and typed materials. Hand written materials have to be read to me by another person and if required to hand write, I must rely on a person to transcribe  the information onto the hand written form.

 

Next, since I rely on a computer for all of the tasks to research and create written information, the computer applications and electronic databases used by an institution of higher education must be accessible to popular screen reading software. I also must be prepared for the inevitable, that materials aren’t accessible and the contingencies I must rely upon and apply when this occurs.

 

I have come a long way since fighting a Catholic nun for access to the computer lab during my bachelor’s program and going to bed almost every night from a migraine due to eye stress from reading 50 pages of ten point  text book font.

 

I know how to advocate for myself, communicate with the instructors and state my needs. I also know that this doesn’t always sink in and some may choose to ignore my requests until I go above them to explain that their role as an instructor is to provide appropriate  materials in a format most suited to the student’s needs  to enhance the learning potential of the student.

 

Then there are the physical barriers  to be overcome so I can travel safely with my  guide dog and the constant educational opportunities along the way.

As you can see, the road to applying for a  doctoral program   is, in itself, a process. If anyone has information on doctoral programs, please email me at dungarees@optonline.net

 

 

 

Ann Chiappetta M.S.

Family Therapist

The Vet Center

Dept. of Veterans Affairs

300 Hamilton Avenue Suite C

White Plains, New York 10601

914.682.6250

ann.chiappetta@va.gov

Veteran

 

perseverance it  will take  in order to achieve a doctorate degree.

 

It will feel like I’ve almost gotten to the top. I say almost because there might very well be another goal after this one, lending to the hypothesis that self actualization is  a combination of smaller achievements  and disappointments packed together and  completing a  spiritual collection. There will also be smaller, short-term goals on the way to the doctoral enrollment and it’s possible that some of these smaller goals will assist me in gaining a better understanding of what it means to climb the  academic mountain. There will also be delays, frustrations, and barriers and I am acknowledging them here hoping that the bumps don’t stop my progress and only slow me down.

 

One of the elements I must contend with, of course, is how my disability is dealt with in respect to printed materials and online applications.

I’ve reflected upon what it was like in graduate school during another time of progressive vision loss. I started a  master’s program being able to take notes with low vision paper and black marker pens. I was able to walk to and from my classes with my cane and only had trouble navigating at night. I attended a local college so traveling long distances wasn’t an issue. I used screen magnification software back then, too, and a book magnifier (CCTB) for reading.

 

The impact  and combination of the years and  a degenerative eye disease has not just narrowed my visual field but also seriously restricted access to books, note taking, and other essential visual tools necessary to participate in academic endeavors as a student.

For instance, I no longer write by hand and rely on a keyboard type machine with speech output.  I no longer have the ability to use a magnifier and have transitioned over to a flatbed scanner with OCR technology to read books and typed materials. Hand written materials have to be read to me by another person and if required to hand write, I must rely on a person to transcribe  the information onto the hand written form.

 

Next, since I rely on a computer for all of the tasks to research and create written information, the computer applications and electronic databases used by an institution of higher education must be accessible to popular screen reading software. I also must be prepared for the inevitable, that materials aren’t accessible and the contingencies I must rely upon and apply when this occurs.

 

I have come a long way since fighting a Catholic nun for access to the computer lab during my bachelor’s program and going to bed almost every night from a migraine due to eye stress from reading 50 pages of ten point  text book font.

 

I know how to advocate for myself, communicate with the instructors and state my needs. I also know that this doesn’t always sink in and some may choose to ignore my requests until I go above them to explain that their role as an instructor is to provide appropriate  materials in a format most suited to the student’s needs  to enhance the learning potential of the student.

 

Then there are the physical barriers  to be overcome so I can travel safely with my  guide dog and the constant educational opportunities along the way.

As you can see, the road to applying for a  doctoral program   is, in itself, a process. If anyone has information on doctoral programs, please email me at dungarees@optonline.net

 

 

 

Ann Chiappetta M.S.

Family Therapist

The Vet Center

Dept. of Veterans Affairs

300 Hamilton Avenue Suite C

White Plains, New York 10601

914.682.6250

ann.chiappetta@va.gov

Veteran

 

 

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