Tiffany Jones Named Student Ambassador for the National Council for Exceptional Children

2014 May 15

Kutztown University student Tiffany Jones of Yardley, Pa., was named a student ambassador for the Division on Visual Impairment for the National Council for Exceptional Children, at this year's conference for the Council for Exceptional Children.

Anna Tellis, a Pottstown, Pa.-native, is a senior dual major in elementary education and special education-visual impairment. She presented a poster on assistive technology for children who are deaf-blind, with her partner, Allison Epting, at this year's Council for Exceptional Children conference.

Tiffany Jones, a Bristol, Pa.-native, is a junior dual major in elementary education and special education-visual impairment. At this year's conference, Jones and her partner, Geneva Steinmann, presented a poster on the role of the intervener for children who are deaf-blind. An intervener is a person who connects the student to the outside world, by signing to him or her and letting him or her know what others are saying, among other responsibilities.

As student ambassadors, Tellis and Jones will write a paper about what it's like for a student to become a teacher of visual impairments. This article will be published in the Division on Visual Impairments Quarterly. In addition, Tellis and Jones will develop a mentorship program with KU assistant professor of special education, Dr. Nicole Johnson. Students who have recently graduated and are in the field will be matched with a mentor who is already working in the field. They will also collaborate with students in programs around the country which focus on teaching persons with visual impairments. There are only four programs in the U.S., including KU, which offer this major.

Next year, Tellis and Jones will travel to San Diego for the annual Council for Exceptional Children Conference, to represent KU as student ambassadors.