Opportunities!
Information for University of Alaska Fairbanks Students with Disabilities			 

November 2007

Dear Student,

You are receiving this correspondence from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Disability Services office in partnership with UAF Career Services and DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology). The purpose is to inform you about some of the many opportunities available to you. We invite you to review this letter and participate in activities that are of interest to you.

On page two, you will find information about the UAF Career Center, What to do With Majors, College Funding Strategies, and upcoming events. Page three talks about Scholarships and Internships, What to do With Majors, projects called AccessSTEM and AccessComputing, and Adaptive Technology on campus. 

Disability Services, Career Services, and DO-IT sincerely wish you a successful and enjoyable college experience. To request this newsletter in an alternate format, call 907-474-7043 or email fydso@uaf.edu.

Sincerely,

Mary Matthews
Coordinator, Disability Services
PO Box 755580
Fairbanks, AK 99775
907-474-5655

Patti Picha
Director, Career Services
PO Box 756380
Fairbanks, AK 99775
907-474-7596

Sheryl Burgstahler
Director, DO-IT
University of Washington
Box 355670
Seattle, WA 98195-5670



Visit the UAF Career Center
The UAF Career Center provides students and alumni with career counseling, interest and personality assessment instruments, career and graduate school literature, and job search assistance. The Career Center also maintains a distribution list for internships and on-campus job information. Career Center services are free to students and alumni. The on-campus recruiting program includes individual recruitments and annual job fairs. The events provide UAF students and alumni with the opportunity to apply and interview for part-time, full-time, and internship positions with local, statewide, and national employers in a variety of fields. In addition, there are opportunities to network with employers and explore future career opportunities. For information, call 907-474-7596, email careerservices@uaf.edu, or visit online at www.uaf.edu/career/.


Spring Student Job Fair 2008
 January 30 & 31
 11:00-2:00,  Wood Center Commons
 http://www.uaf.edu/career/Events/student_fair/student_fair_2008/index.htm

Visitor Industry Job Fair 2008
 February 6, 2008
 UAF Wood Center - 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Students, alumni and community members are hired for summer and full-time jobs with Alaska's visitor industry employers. This event is a partnership with the Alaska Travel Industry Association.
http://www.uaf.edu/career/Events/VIJF/index.html

BUSINESS CAREER WEEK 2008
February 18-22, 2008
http://www.uaf.edu/career/Events/BW/index.html


What Can I Do With My Major?
Finally, a convenient website that helps you connect majors with careers! For each major that interests you, find out about common career areas, typical employers, and strategies designed to maximize career opportunities. Choose links to find a list of websites that provide information about listed majors and related careers. The website is hosted by the UAF Career Center, try it today by visiting http://www.uaf.edu/career/Majors/majors/majors.htm

College Funding Strategies for Students with Disabilities
To learn about strategies for funding your education, check out College Funding Strategies for Students with Disabilities at: http://www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Academics/financial-aid.html.



View Online Resources in the Student Lounge
Find out about accommodation strategies, legal issues, and resources for students with disabilities at the online resource called the Student Lounge at: http:/www.washington.edu/doit/Resources/postsec.html. At this site there are also  resources for faculty (The Faculty Room), student services organizations (The Conference Room), and administrators (The Board Room). Spread the word about this comprehensive site. 

Learn about Assistive Technology on the UAF Campus
Special hardware and software that has been designed to help people with disabilities access information is called assistive technology, or sometimes "adaptive technology" or simply "AT". Computers, software, and special equipment might provide:
    * alternatives to the standard keyboard and mouse;
    * access for blind users via speech output or Braille;
    * magnification of the screen for people with low vision;
    * use of speech recognition software as a writing tool;
    * tools to make the reading and writing process easier;
    * accessories to make computer use more comfortable;
    * the capability to create documents in alternate formats, and more!
To see some examples of assistive technology, visit the UAF Assistive Technology Lab! It's located in 420 Rasmuson Library. For more information, call 907-474-7967, or email fyatl@uaf.edu.

DO-IT Seeking Students with Disabilities for AccessSTEM and AccessComputing
DO-IT, which stands for Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology, is recruiting students with disabilities for two projects funded by the National Science Foundation. Both projects provide opportunities for students to engage in electronic mentoring. Through mentoring, students can learn how to locate work experiences, conduct labor market research, develop disability disclosure and accommodation strategies, and build their professional network. The AccessComputing project is seeking students pursuing computing careers, while the AccessSTEM project is looking for students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields. For more information, contact DO-IT Project Coordinator Scott Bellman at 206-685-3648 (voice/TTY) or swb3@u.washington.edu.

Financial Assistance for Women with Physical Disabilities
The Ethel Louise Armstrong Foundation, Inc., (ELA) provides financial assistance to women with physical disabilities who are enrolled in college. Awards are based on merit. Scholarships range from $500 to $2000 per year.  The application deadline is June 1, 2008. For more information, visit http://www.ela.org/.







ENTRY POINT!
ENTRY POINT! is a program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) offering Outstanding Internship Opportunities for Students with Disabilities in Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science, and some fields of Business. Students interested in applying for internships through the ENTRYPOINT program of AAAS must meet the following criteria: (1) Full-time student, with a disability, majoring in a science or engineering field. Some fields of business are also considered. (2) B average (3) U.S. citizen or work permit. For more information, visit: http://ehrweb.aaas.org/entrypoint/index.htm

Scholarships List at California State University Sacramento                        
CSUS web resources include a comprehensive list of disability-related Scholarships. The site is at: http://www.csus.edu/sswd/services/scholarshipsdisabilityrelated.htm.

American Association of People with Disabilities Internship Programs
AAPD partners with corporate sponsors to offer students with disabilities special summer internship programs. Visit the AAPD website regularly to find out about programs such as the Mitsubishi Electric America-AAPD Congressional Internship Program, the Microsoft-AAPD Federal Information Technology Internship program, and the Washington Center Internship program.  Applications are now available and deadlines are approaching! For more information, visit: http://www.aapd.com/awards/leadership.php#ip.

About this Publication
This publication is a joint venture between DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology), UAF Disability Services, and UAF Career Services. Its purpose is to inform students with disabilities about some of the many opportunities available to them.  This publication was developed with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF HRD-0227995). However, the contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the National Science Foundation, and you should not assume their endorsement.

About DO-IT
DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, Technology)
DO-IT serves to increase the participation of individuals with disabilities in challenging academic programs and careers. It promotes the use of computing and networking technologies to increase independence, productivity, and participation in education and employment. Based at the UW Seattle campus, DO-IT works with students preparing for college, in addition to those students currently attending any two or four-year college or university. For more information about DO-IT, contact 206-685-DOIT(voice/TTY), doit@u.washington.edu, or http://www.washington.edu/doit.