APPLES make an effort to make a difference
By: Jordan Lawrence, Staff Writer
Issue date: 4/11/07 Section: Online Exclusives
Sometimes APPLES can help more than doctors.
Thanks to a computer science class taught by Diane Pozefsky and sponsored by the APPLES Service Learning Program, handicapped people are getting a helping hand.
The class focuses on making technology more accessible, and students enrolled in it presented three projects they have been working on at APPLES' Fruits of Our Labors showcase on Tuesday.
Students displayed a computer with a Hawking Toolbar, which allows paralyzed individuals to manipulate Web browsers through handheld clickers.
They also presented a program called Sami Says, which allows visually impaired children to work on their creative writing skills by putting together audio stories.
APPLES is a student-led organization that strives to support and expand service learning on campus.
After the presentation - the last of many that displayed the group's efforts this year - Ned Brooks, professor in the School of Public Health and master of ceremonies for the evening, said that this year's presentations were exceptional.
"I have been enormously impressed," he said. "It's really, really remarkable."
The event, in its fifth annual incarnation, began with presentations by each of APPLES' committees, including those in charge of Alternative Spring Break, International Service Learning and the Service and Leadership Learning Community in Ehringhaus Residence Hall.
Those displays were followed by an awards ceremony honoring some of this year's most valuable contributors.
Richard Goldberg, who teaches a class focused on developing technology to help the disabled, won the Faculty Excellence Award.
Awards also were extended to the non-University community, as the Community Partner Excellence Award was given to Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools' office of volunteers and partners.
"The APPLES program continues to serve as an essential to faculty," said Provost Bernadette Gray-Little, who presented the awards. "Your support and the University's continuing commitment will make APPLES thrive."
Ashley Murray, who works with AmeriCorps VISTA in the APPLES office, said that Fruits of Our Labors is an excellent opportunity for students to show the University community what they have accomplished each year.
"It gives those students who are working very hard the opportunity to showcase what they've done," she said. "It also attracts new members and gives community sponsors a chance to see what they've done."
Brooks ended the show, saying that APPLES is an essential part of UNC.
"I think it really is the best of the University," he said. "Every year I think, 'It can't get any better', and every year it does."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Thanks to a computer science class taught by Diane Pozefsky and sponsored by the APPLES Service Learning Program, handicapped people are getting a helping hand.
The class focuses on making technology more accessible, and students enrolled in it presented three projects they have been working on at APPLES' Fruits of Our Labors showcase on Tuesday.
Students displayed a computer with a Hawking Toolbar, which allows paralyzed individuals to manipulate Web browsers through handheld clickers.
They also presented a program called Sami Says, which allows visually impaired children to work on their creative writing skills by putting together audio stories.
APPLES is a student-led organization that strives to support and expand service learning on campus.
After the presentation - the last of many that displayed the group's efforts this year - Ned Brooks, professor in the School of Public Health and master of ceremonies for the evening, said that this year's presentations were exceptional.
"I have been enormously impressed," he said. "It's really, really remarkable."
The event, in its fifth annual incarnation, began with presentations by each of APPLES' committees, including those in charge of Alternative Spring Break, International Service Learning and the Service and Leadership Learning Community in Ehringhaus Residence Hall.
Those displays were followed by an awards ceremony honoring some of this year's most valuable contributors.
Richard Goldberg, who teaches a class focused on developing technology to help the disabled, won the Faculty Excellence Award.
Awards also were extended to the non-University community, as the Community Partner Excellence Award was given to Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools' office of volunteers and partners.
"The APPLES program continues to serve as an essential to faculty," said Provost Bernadette Gray-Little, who presented the awards. "Your support and the University's continuing commitment will make APPLES thrive."
Ashley Murray, who works with AmeriCorps VISTA in the APPLES office, said that Fruits of Our Labors is an excellent opportunity for students to show the University community what they have accomplished each year.
"It gives those students who are working very hard the opportunity to showcase what they've done," she said. "It also attracts new members and gives community sponsors a chance to see what they've done."
Brooks ended the show, saying that APPLES is an essential part of UNC.
"I think it really is the best of the University," he said. "Every year I think, 'It can't get any better', and every year it does."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
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