From April-August every year, ESP hosts an exciting project called Trades Win. The purpose of Trades Win is to capture the stories of people working in a range of occupations, including how they decided to follow that career path, what skills are needed, what education the received, what assistive technology they use, and what barriers they found along the way.
Students in Trades Win receive 7 weeks of online training (1-2 hours/week via Zoom), on how to interview, the importance of storytelling (including how to tell your own story), and project management. This is followed by 4 weeks of specific training on podcasting, videography, or writing. ESP students can then work throughout the summer completing project work interviewing/documenting interviews with people who are blind or visually impaired working in a variety of occupations.
Trades Win is also open to young adults who are blind or visually impaired through an MCB internship, so ESP students have the opportunity to work with and learn from young adults a little older than them. Last year’s team conducted 27 interviews with blind and visually impaired professionals, leading to three videos, 14 podcasts, and a publishable book. Learn more about Trades Win...