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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hello Beach Citizens and CAGDU
Community:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Our beautiful president and her beautiful guide dog
co-president visited the White House! Aerie and I joined them.
Congratulations girls!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> PETER AND AERIE </FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=pat.sherman@tlnews.net
href="mailto:pat.sherman@tlnews.net">pat.sherman@tlnews.net</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=julietcody@cox.net
href="mailto:julietcody@cox.net">julietcody@cox.net</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, February 12, 2008 8:32 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> RE: POSSIBLE ARTICLE</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=5></FONT></STRONG> </P>
<P><SPAN class=464533002-13022008>Juliet, here is my story. I'll send the photos
tomorrow.</SPAN></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=5></FONT></STRONG> </P>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=5>Finding her way </FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=4>Escondido woman overcomes blindness via education and
enthusiasm </FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>By Pat Sherman | <A
href="mailto:pat.sherman@tlnews.net">pat.sherman@tlnews.net</A></STRONG> </P>
<P>Sunday, February 10, 2008</P>
<P>Though Juliett Cody once owned a day care center and has a background in
child development, after losing her sight in 2000, she found it difficult to
land a job.</P>
<P>Undeterred, the Escondido resident completed her education, starting at
Palomar College, then transferring to Cal State San Marcos, from which she
earned a bachelor’s degree in communication last spring.</P>
<P>To lessen her financial burden, Cody applied for scholarships and received
more than 20 grants and awards during the past five or six years.</P>
<P>It is her most recent award, however, that carries the most distinction.</P>
<P>Last week, Cody traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with first lady Laura
Bush. The trip was part of a $6,000 award from Recording for the Blind &
Dyslexic, a national nonprofit organization that produces textbooks for students
who are visually impaired or have dyslexia.</P>
<P>“One of the things I advocate for is to keep Braille in the schools,” Cody
said. “People think that electronics can take over and we don’t need to teach
children Braille. That’s wrong, because they’ll be illiterate next to their
peers.”</P>
<P>Cody and five other scholarship winners met with Bush in the East Wing of the
White House on Thursday morning.</P>
<P>“It went wonderful,” said Cody, who brought her guide dog Marley and her
friend Peter Mansell and his dog Aerie, also of Escondido.</P>
<P>“(Bush is) just very receptive to education, and she loved the dogs,” Cody
said. “She reached out and she grabbed my hands and she said, ‘Hello, Juliett,
congratulations. I’m very proud of you. What a beautiful dog.’ She was very,
very warm, and she actually hugged you and said, ‘More pictures.’</P>
<P>“You have very little time, but I said, ‘You know, we’re here advocating for
Braille literacy and education,’ and she agreed that it was of most
importance.”</P>
<P>In 1995, Cody was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a category of
inherited diseases causing retinal degeneration, and began losing her
eyesight.</P>
<P>“I had never been around any blind people,” Cody said. “I went to a seminar
of the National Federation of the Blind in San Diego, and I was just amazed that
people were walking around with their canes and their dogs and going to the
drinking fountain. I said, ‘Wow, that’s just how I’m going to be.’ ”</P>
<P>Cody immediately enrolled with the San Diego Service Center for the Blind in
Vista, where she learned Braille and other skills.</P>
<P>Though she initially returned to school with the goal of teaching disabled
children, Cody soon recognized a need for advocates on behalf of the disabled
and visually impaired.</P>
<P>“We have to get into our legislative offices and show them the need that
disabled people have and all the prejudice that’s going on,” said Cody, who
serves on the board of directors for the National Federation of the Blind. “I go
to Washington once a year and talk to the (legislators) and go visit my
legislators here.”</P>
<P>As a federation board member, Cody has met with congressional representatives
on both sides of the aisle, including Republican Duncan Hunter and Democrats
Susan Davis and Bob Filner.</P>
<P>One of the federation’s goals is to find a sponsor for legislation that would
establish a minimum sound standard for hybrid cars. Though the vehicles are
easier on the environment, as they decelerate, their approach is nearly
inaudible.</P>
<P>“We’re all about a cleaner environment, but we also need to have a minimum
sound standard so that we know that we’re safe,” said Robert Stigile, president
of the federation’s California chapter. The organization also is asking Congress
to fund $19 million a year for the next four years to digitize the Library of
Congress’s Talking Book Program and to increase the Social Security earnings
limit for blind individuals from $18,000 to $36,000.</P>
<P>Cody is completing her education with the assistance of Braille, audio
textbooks and an adaptive computer. She carries a note taker with her to class,
which has a Braille keyboard.</P>
<P>At first, learning Braille was a challenge for Cody. However, she said, “I
fell in love with it because it was going to make me literate again.” Cody is
completing her prerequisite work to enter the Literature and Writing Studies
program at Cal State San Marcos and obtain her master’s degree.</P>
<P>As part of her community service, she leads seminars for blind and visually
impaired seniors called “Blindness in a Positive Manner.” She also speaks to the
parents of blind children to urge them to focus on their children’s potential,
instead of their sight-based limitations.</P>
<P>John Segoria, director of disabled student services at Cal State San Marcos,
has written letters in support for Cody for scholarship applications.</P>
<P>“She’s a very good advocate for the (visually impaired),” Segoria said.
“She’s well-spoken and very independent. She’s definitely the real deal.”</P>
<P>Katherine Brown, an associate professor of communication at Cal State San
Marcos, served as Cody’s faculty mentor in a student research competition.</P>
<P>Cody chose to study how comfortable sighted individuals were with blind
people who used a cane, versus those accompanied by a guide dog. Her research
found that the dog acts as a conversational icebreaker and that people are more
apt to approach a blind person with a guide dog than those using a cane.</P>
<P>“I’ve enjoyed working with her,” Brown said. “Every time I’ve had a
conversation with her I go away enthused, energized and excited. … She’s a
contagious speaker and communicates her enthusiasm well. She teaches her peers
really to focus on what is possible.” </P>
<P><STRONG>Reach reporter Pat Sherman at (760) 752-6774.</STRONG></P>
<DIV class=rightbartext><BR></DIV></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> Juliett Cody
[mailto:julietcody@cox.net]<BR><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, February 12, 2008 12:18
PM<BR><B>To:</B> Sherman, Pat<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: POSSIBLE
ARTICLE<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hey Pat,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Congratulations! The article was wonderful. Could
you please e-mail me the articles and photos just for me?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Juliet and Marly</FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=pat.sherman@tlnews.net
href="mailto:pat.sherman@tlnews.net">pat.sherman@tlnews.net</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=julietcody@cox.net
href="mailto:julietcody@cox.net">julietcody@cox.net</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, January 31, 2008 6:26
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> FW: POSSIBLE ARTICLE</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=837212502-01022008>Juliet, congratulations! I would love to meet with
you to talk about your scholarships. Let me know if you'll have some time to
chat tomorrow or early next week.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=837212502-01022008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=837212502-01022008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=837212502-01022008>Regards,</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=837212502-01022008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=837212502-01022008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=837212502-01022008>Pat Sherman</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=837212502-01022008>Today's Local News</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=837212502-01022008>(760) 752-6774</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=837212502-01022008>(619) 261-6200 (cell)</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=837212502-01022008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=837212502-01022008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> Walker, Cheryl
<BR><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, January 31, 2008 2:50 PM<BR><B>To:</B> Sherman,
Pat<BR><B>Subject:</B> FW: POSSIBLE ARTICLE<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> Juliett Cody
[mailto:julietcody@cox.net]<BR><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, January 31, 2008 2:13
PM<BR><B>To:</B> Walker, Cheryl<BR><B>Subject:</B> POSSIBLE
ARTICLE<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Sheryl, </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I received a scholarship for six thousand
dollars and an opportunity to go to Washington DC and speak to first lady,
Laura Bush. I will be talking to her about Braille literacy and education. I
am a blind student at Cal State San Marcos. I could not get a part time job
so I started applying for scholarships and have received over twenty
of them.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Juliet Cody</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>760-522-0288</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If interested either call or
e-mail..</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>