Student Disability Services

By Elizabeth Brown-Shook

                One thing I really love about Corning Community College is how dedicated everyone is to student success--from the President of the College, to members of the Regional Board of Trustees, all the way down to the adjunct professors who only teach one course.  I think that having so many resources here which, if students utilize them, makes it so difficult to fail, makes Corning Community College unique among institutions of higher learning.  I will continue to write a blog each week about our Dignity and Respect topics; however, in my Student Perspective blogs, I’d like to highlight some of the services that, in my experience, have contributed to my success.  One of these resources is Student Disability Services.

                Student Disability Services is located on the lower floor of the Commons, Room M152.  Allison Zimmermann is the Coordinator and Delia Hall is the Program Assistant.  I would not be where I am today without these ladies.

                In the interest of letting you, the reader (hopefully a prospective student or alumnus/a), get to know me, I will be candid.  I came to Student Disability Services because of my clinical depression and anxiety.  I was hoping to find some leniency because sometimes the depression can interfere with my ability to complete my school work.  While they couldn’t assist me with that, what they were able to do for me was allow me to have a quiet, distraction-reduced environment in which to take my exams.  What Allison and Delia do is help students with documented disabilities get the necessary accommodations they need to be successful in the classroom.

                If you’re considering Corning Community College, you may qualify for Student Disability Services if you were on an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) or 504 Plan in high school.  If you’re not a recent high school graduate (I certainly was not when I came to Corning), you’re not out of luck!  If you have a disabling condition that interferes with your school work, and a doctor or therapist can document your disability, go see Allison and Delia.  They can help you get the ball rolling.
http://www.facebook.com/CCC.Disability.Services?fref=ts
http://www.corning-cc.edu/future/sds/

Say Thank You!

The Dignity and Respect campaign theme this week is "Say thank you."  Do you have a daily or weekly gratitude practice?  Every day, on my to-do list, I have "gratitudes."  This is meant to remind me to write down five things that happened to me that day for which I'm grateful.  I find that when I make a concerted effort to live in active gratitude, the opportunities to express that gratitude expand.  For me, this practice, along with prayer and journaling, keep me grounded and keep stress from eating me alive.  This semester, I'm juggling 14 credits, a position in Student Government that keeps me very busy, a work-study job, and that doesn't even count my obligations to my family: my husband, elderly father-in-law, and two small children.  If I didn't have my daily practice, part of which is flexing my gratitude muscle, I would go absolutely crazy.

Today, my five things are:

1. That my son slept through the night last night

2. That the first of my three five-week computer classes is finished.

3. Cooler weather (I abhor the heat of summer and the cold of winter, but I LOVE the moderate temperatures of spring and fall!)

4. That my beautiful Betty (my car, a 2000 VW Beetle I purchased in May and have gotten off to kind of a rough start with) has run beautifully all semester so far.

5. That it's Wednesday and half my super-stress*full week is over.

Some days coming up with five things is really hard.  Like Tammy said last semester, practicing gratitude can be like practicing the piano.  Some days you feel like Lang Lang (look him up on YouTube; he's amazing!), and some days you feel like Schroeder playing Lucy's favorite version of "Jingle Bells" and it's like pulling teeth to come up with five things you're grateful for.  But try it.  Give writing down some things you're grateful for a shot.  Commit to it for thirty days, or if that seems too daunting, just commit to it for this week.  It's never taken me longer than ten minutes (if I feel really stuck, I write down things like heat, shelter, and enough food to eat) to come up with five things.  Can you commit ten minutes to gratitude?

Elizabeth

Listening

You can open up your whole world by listening. I remember when I was in middle school; we had this huge project about WWII. Towards the end of the project, we actually interviewed veterans of WWII. My interviewee was a Holocaust survivor.  The horrible things she had seen and been through were just chilling. I don’t think I have ever listened as closely to anybody as her. I am a college freshman and we keep in contact to this day. I have the utmost respect for that brave woman. After hearing her story, I became intrigued with other survivors and their stories. I had broadened my mind by listening to her speak. The respect I have for that woman is prodigious. Now, think of a topic that inspires you. Does it inspire you because you can relate? Perhaps you frequently read about it. We all know how fulfilling it is to talk to somebody who shares a similar inspiration. There is a student here on campus that will play his guitar frequently after classes. He plays so beautifully it feels incredibly inspiring. There is respect in listening to music. You need not verbally chat with somebody to hear, feel, and respect what they are doing, or in this case, playing. With listening, truly listening, you gain so much perspective. Not only are you opening your mind, you are opening your soul. I would never have gained such respect for that courageous survivor had I not listened to her. By listening, you gain respect from others and respect for yourself. The moral of the story, and frankly, one of the biggest guidelines for life (a golden rule, if you will) is that listening and respect go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other. So listen up folks! You never know what you might gain! 

Cat