3 Questions Under 3 Minutes with Magan Rowan

Music.

Voiceover: Three questions under 3 minutes.

Magan Rowan standing in her AT lab with magnifiers behind her.

Off screen: Welcome to today's episode of 3questions under 3 minutes with Megan Rowan, Assistive Technology Specialist. Why did you switch from rehabilitation teaching to assistive technology?

Rowan: Well, when I first started with the agency, I was doing rehab teaching, and that consist of full in-home services for our clients. So if I go into a home, I may be helping with how to do laundry with low vision, how to cook safely with any kind of visual impairment, medication management, those type of things which I do enjoy.

Rowan: I enjoy working with our older population, but I really loved when they needed some help with maybe their phone, their computers. We got to work on some, you know, software, and that's kind of where my passion was. And when the opportunity came that assistive technology needed somebody, I decided to scoot over into that role and I took to it like a fish to water.

Off screen: Cool.

Off screen: Now what is CATIS? ‘

Rowan: So CATIS is Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Specialist. I found out about the certification when I was getting my master's degree. My teacher approached me about a graduate certificate that I could add on top of my master's, and it was specifically in it for blind and low vision. And so I moved and added that to that graduate certificate on and with cats, it's specifically for learning software, hardware devices designed for blind and low vision users, where other service stations you can get really focused on all assistive technology and very little on low vision.

Rowan: And since I was going to be working for services for the blind and visually impaired, I decided this was what I really wanted to do. Instead, I was one of the first in Oklahoma to get certified in Cats, and so I feel really proud about that, to be able to, you know, lead the way. And we've already had a few more get certified in Oklahoma.

Rowan: So that's really a great opportunity for us. But this way I can really I have that knowledge to work with our clients and really accomplish their goals of employment. Do you have someone special at home? Well, I do. Marshall. He is furry orange and walks on four legs. So he's my cat and I've had him for about six years.

Rowan: And it actually a supervisor. More of my supervisors at the time essentially told me I was taking this cat home that she had found and trapped in her garage. And so I was like, well, I guess if your boss tells you you're going to do something, you do it. And she knows the cat person anyway. So I took him home and he turns out he loves me and I love him.

Rowan: So it worked out really well.

Off screen: Three questions under 3 minutes.

Logo, Oklahoma Rehabilitation Services