Saturday, November 13, 2010

Article in UK's Telegraph about remarkable Romanian Adoptee

From Tina - A frequent commenter to the blog, Adelaide Dupont, just gave us this link, in her last comment, to this inspiring article in the UK about a brilliant young man who, like Daniela, was adopted from Romania. He has overcome incredible challenges and is now a student at Oxford. His challenges are much different than Daniela's but, like her, he is truly resilient and strives to make the most of his life regardless of the obstacles that he faces on a daily basis.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/8125688/The-Romanian-orphan-enjoying-his-first-time-at-Oxford.html


Thank you so much, Adelaide for the link to this article and for all your wonderful and supportive comments. They are much appreciated!


Tina

Friday, November 12, 2010

Another Great Article on Shepherds College,more about the program, and other news.

/From Tina - With The Christianity Today Article coming out this week on Shepherds College, this program is becoming much more widely known and talked about. Yesterday this article came out in (click link) Mission Network News.

The college has a Facebook page that details events and daily life for the students. It's great to hear the stories and see photos of all the activities. I know we will really appreciate them next year when Daniela is in them! (For the Shepherds College Facebook page and photos you can go to the college web-site link at: http://www.shepherdscollege.org/ Look in the bottom right hand corner to link to their Facebook page).


They have had lots going on at Shepherds College the past few weeks. Recently they had an accreditation team visit them to assess the program for U.S. Dept. of Education accreditation. Being accredited will mean many great things, first among them that it will allow students to apply for Pell grants, federal college loans, etc. The visit apparently went very, very well. The team was incredibly impressed and the college is now in candidate status and on their way to being fully approved next year!

This week at the college they had their dedication of the new college buildings. It was a very big event with lots of visitors. The students helped prepare the food (which looked incredibly tasty and beautifully prepared and presented). They also help create the gorgeous decorations for the tables. They sang to the audience during the ceremonies as well.

Today they are having another open house like the one we attended in September. This one is much larger than the one we attended. I know how excited those families and students are to see the program. I wish them all the best in their application process. Some of the students visiting today could be Daniela's best friends next year!

I have to say that we are so glad Daniela was accepted before all the recent publicity! I still think she would have been a strong candidate regardless but I also know they are so many talented, eager, independent-minded young adults across the nation who deserve a chance to attend a program like Shepherds College. I hope all of them find the program which best suits their desires and abilities.

In other news, I'm soon going to be writing a review of the documentary Hand Held here on the blog (see the post about Daniela's movie posters) which will accompany the one I wrote for Adoption Today Magazine. That article came out this week in the magazine and I'll provide info on how to buy that issue of the magazine.

Before I close this diverse post, I wanted to let you know that Daniela and I will be traveling to another I'm Determined youth summit (see the post on our trip to Washington DC) in Staunton Virginia this weekend. She was again selected by an essay which she wrote. I will be attending lectures for parents while she attends the student functions. She's thrilled to be going and to be meeting new people. It should be a very informative and exciting event!

Have a great weekend!

Tina

Monday, November 8, 2010

Article in Christianity Today on Shepherds College!

From Tina

The online version of the article on Shepherds College just came out in Christianity Today Magazine. It is  a wonderful description of just why we think Shepherds College is so amazing. When you read the stories about two of the senior students and see how far they have come in their lives, it will truly change your perceptions of individuals with intellectual disabilities. The writer did a great job and students featured are remarkable representatives of the students and the college. I can't wait to buy the print version, because it also has photos.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/november/12.17.html
 
I wrote an article for  Exceptional Parent Magazine about our visit to the college that will published in December so be sure to look for that as well!!