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Thursday, March 27, 2008

The Professor Is In



Well, I sure felt like a professor today, as I was a guest speaker in not one, but two classes in Temple University's Therapeutic Recreation department. The subject of my talks was accessibility, which is near and dear to me, of course, as it is the focus of my own master's research on urban parks. I did talk about park access, but I also spoke about access in other aspects of city life -- cultural institutions, sports facilities, hospitals, education, transportation, etc. In addition, I talked about the assistive technology I use on a daily basis.

The students asked a number of interesting questions, but my favorite came from a girl who asked if I go to parties on the weekend.

"No, not typically...Why, do you know of any? I'll give you my number," I said.

My nurse (who was thinking the same thing) nearly hit the floor, shocked at my newly-discovered bravado. It all comes with maturity, my friends. I am 30 years old, after all -- a fact which was surprising to one young female student.

"You don't act like you're 30," she told me.

I'll take that as a compliment! And if you know of any parties, you know where to find me...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Josh!! I was just checking into your blog and was excited to see that you made an entry about my class that you visited. I just wanted to say thank you for coming in and sharing your experiences with us. It was quite interesting to learn about all the different kinds of adaptive technology. Good luck with everything you want to accomplish and congrats on your book publishing!

Thank you once again,
Chloe

Anonymous said...

but chloe never said anything about parties!

Anonymous said...

Hey Josh! I can't believe you quoted me! It's Sarah, we talked after class and yes, i said, "You don't act like you're thirty." If your looking for an explanation I don't have one, I don't think before I talk most of the time, it's unfortunate haha. Well I second what Chloe said and I'm so glad that I got to meet you and hear your story. Here's my email if you want to reply to that.
Candy4me3@aol.com
(Don't make fun of it, I've had it since i was like twelve haha)
Hope to hear from ya
-Sarah Mumper
From North East Philly

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