🔥 4:07pm Hi, hope you're doing well today! Just a quick heads-up that your recent post was removed from Skoolers, but I wanted to follow up here so you know why. It was removed because it came across as self-promotion. To learn more about what qualifies as self-promotion in Skoolers, here's a quick video breaking it down: https://www.loom.com/share/6842d81c048a43df9aff2307ac51ce99 Here are the full Skoolers rules if you want to check them out: https://www.skool.com/skoolers/-/rules. They only apply inside Skoolers; your own community rules are totally up to you. 😄 4:54

I wanted to share an experience that made me more cautious about joining Skool communities. I accidentally violated the self-promotion rule in Skoolers. A Skoolers moderator contacted me directly, explained the rule, and removed the post. I appreciated the reminder and thanked them for it. After that, I was also contacted by the owner of another Skool community that appeared to be related to helping Skool owners. At the time, I was interested in joining that community. Like many Skool groups, the application process requested personal and contact information. I provided the requested information, but I was not admitted to the group. What surprised me is that the communication felt welcoming, yet I was ultimately not accepted. Later, I was unable to locate the group. My takeaway is simple: Before providing your email address, social media profiles, business information, or other contact details to any community application, make sure you're comfortable sharing that information even if you're never admitted to the group. Community owners have every right to approve or deny applicants. As applicants, we also have the right to be thoughtful about what information we share. Just a reminder to read application questions carefully and protect your personal information online.

https://youtu.be/JNt1k3ohkbs?si=7PqUMRZS32itSPf1

When you run into an accessibility barrier (like an online portal you can’t use), the key is to keep things moving step-by-step instead of stopping at the obstacle. What worked for me: 1. I made the initial records request. 2. I clearly stated I needed a disability accommodation for the portal. 3. I accepted an alternate method (email instead). 4. When they sent a PDF I couldn’t use, I didn’t restart the process—I just requested another accessible option (in-person signing + pickup). Lesson: don’t drop the request when a barrier shows up. Just identify the barrier and ask for the next workable step. It keeps your request active and creates a clear record of accommodation needs.

One thing I will always appreciate about California State University, Northridge was how visible and respected the Deaf community was on campus. 🧏📚 In my first semester, I took Chemistry for Biology Majors, and there was a Deaf student in the class with an interpreter. One day they asked if I would be willing to be a note-taker for her. They gave me this special carbon-copy style paper so that when I took notes, it automatically created a duplicate set for the student. I remember feeling genuinely honored that they trusted me to help support access in the classroom. And honestly, I also remember thinking her interpreter was really cute 😂 — but what stood out even more was how incredibly kind, professional, and competent he was while working with her. Watching the interpreter and student communicate so fluidly was actually fascinating to me and gave me a much deeper appreciation for accessibility and ASL interpretation as a skill. That experience stuck with me because it showed me that accommodations are not about “getting advantages.” They are about making sure everyone can participate fully and equally in education. It also made me proud of CSUN for having such a strong Deaf community and disability access culture. Seeing interpreters around campus regularly normalized accessibility in a really powerful way. ✨ Cool trivia fact:CSUN is known for having one of the largest Deaf and hard-of-hearing student populations of any university in the United States! The university has long been recognized for its Deaf studies programs, interpreting programs, and accessibility resources. Sometimes accessibility is not just policies and paperwork — sometimes it is one student helping another student succeed. 💙 #DisabilityAccess #DeafCommunity #CollegeAccessibility #MyAccessBuddy #CSUN