Mentoring
National Federation of the Blind of Texas Mentoring Services
The National Federation of the Blind of Texas mentoring programs connect blind students to the resources and experiences that foster a fulfilling future. Our mentoring approach emphasizes blindness-specific mentorship, career education, independence-building, and self-advocacy. Our mentoring programs offer each student a community that is ready to both encourage and challenge them. We facilitate connections between students and successful blind individuals who understand the potential impact of blindness in education, careers, and daily life. We view mentoring as a vehicle to educate and empower students to actively fulfill their potential.
We offer monthly mentoring group activities in Austin and in the Rio Grande Valley. For students not in these regions, we offer individualized mentoring partnerships that are formed based on student needs and our organizational capacity. All students, regardless of location, have the opportunity to participate in various experiences that demonstrate the many ways in which blind people learn, lead, and thrive. We invite students to statewide and national events of the National Federation of the Blind, where they can connect with an energizing and knowledgeable community, giving an extra boost of support and encouragement.
Through these direct connections to examples of excellence in the blind community, students understand that they can live the lives they want, their own dreams for the future are within reach, and blindness is not what holds them back!
Available Mentoring Opportunities
CLASS: Confidence, Leadership, Advocacy, and Student Success
The CLASS program is our flagship mentoring opportunity and is open to students across the state of Texas. Each year (usually in September), we select a cohort of 12 dynamic and enthusiastic students who want to increase their confidence, advocacy, and leadership skills in new and challenging ways. At minimum, students will receive monthly group mentoring opportunities, including the chance to attend several in-state and out-of-state gatherings of blind people. CLASS students also benefit from access to and support from our diverse NFBTX Mentoring staff, making the program an excellent option for a wide variety of blind students.
To be eligible for the CLASS program, each applicant must
- be a blind, low vision, or visually impaired Texan
- be between the ages of 14 and 22, and
- have an open case with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). Students in the CLASS program are expected to communicate with their TWC counselor to assist in obtaining a Service Authorization for this program. The CLASS program is a Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) service program under contract #3021VRS040