There
exists a sparse representation of blind and low-vision students in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. This
is due in part to these individuals being discouraged from pursuing
STEM degrees as well as a lack of appropriate adaptive resources in
upper level STEM courses and research. Mona Minkara is a rising
fifth year graduate student in computational chemistry at the University
of Florida. She is also blind. This account presents efforts conducted by an expansive
team of university and student personnel in conjunction with Mona
to adapt different portions of the graduate student curriculum to
meet Mona’s needs. The most important consideration is prior
preparation of materials to assist with coursework and cumulative
exams. Herein we present an account of the first four years of Mona’s
graduate experience hoping this will assist in the development of
protocols for future blind and low-vision graduate students in computational
chemistry.
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