Featured People

— filed under: African American, Latino, Diversity

Become acquainted with people with disabilities who have gone abroad and learn how the international experiences have changed their lives.

Do you want to be featured on this webpage? We are especially looking to feature people from other countries who had international experiences in the United States.

Share your experiences overseas by filling out our online form to become a Featured Person.

Meet Amanda, a who embraced Italy and went with the flow while studying abroad for the summer in Florence. She shares how her anxieties faded away or were processed overseas.
Meet Zach, who took a gap year to volunteer abroad after high school, and learn how he managed cultural differences related to his social anxiety and depression.
Meet Teresa Pichardo, a Harris Wofford Global Service Fellow who is Deaf and volunteered to "open the world" to deaf students in Ghana.
Meet Mounir Kheirallah, a Legislative Fellow from Morocco who is visually impaired. Mounir was placed in Chicago to visit several disability and independent living NGOs.
Meet Maegan Shanks, a traveler who is Deaf and believes that change results from breaking silence. Maegan did an internship with a disability organization in Kenya.
Meet Assia Hazzi, a professional from Algeria with a physical disability who took intensive English courses in the United States to advance her career in disability advocacy.
Meet Rachel Garaghty who conducted independent research on disability issues in Tanzania. Rachel has Muscular Dystrophy and works with a personal assistant.
Meet Shuhei Onishi from Japan, a community college student committed to meeting and helping people from around the world. Shuhei has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Meet Godson Ahortor, a PhD student from Ghana who earned an ISEP scholarship to complete research in the United States...twice! Godson has low vision.
Meet Shakeya Britton, who earned credit towards a degree in Social Work through a service learning course in the Philippines. Shakeya is a student who has cerebral palsy.
Meet Angela Marin, a Community Solutions Program leader who trained at an independent living center in the US for professional development. Angela, who is blind, will apply her new knowledge towards serving people in Peru.
Meet Ingrid Sala-Bars, a PhD student from Spain who received a grant to conduct research on students with disabilities in higher education.
Meet Sefakor Komabu-Pomeyrie, a woman from Ghana whose proactive character helped her earn a Ford Foundation Fellowship for U.S. study.
Meet Kathleen Coleman, a study abroad alumna to Spain, who feels that having a travel companion with Asperger's can enhance an already-unique experience.
Meet Michelle Wang to find out how she became involved in service learning in the United States. Michelle is a student from China who has a physical disability.
Meet Sumitra Krishnan, an American college student with vision and mobility disabilities. Sumitra studied the convergence of cultures in Spain and Morocco.
Meet Perseus McDaniel, a Deaf community college student from the US who studied Italian and Italian sign language in Florence.
Meet Patrick T., a business student who has Attention Deficit Disorder, and whose network of friends eased his transition into Barcelona life.
Meet Tony Ive, who indulged his passion for history and politics during a spring break in South Korea. Tony, who has ADHD and learning disabilities, explained how those ten days in Seoul altered his academic path.
Meet Mallory Watts, a Masters student in Deaf Education who spent a summer in Mexico teaching deaf children.
Meet Fredericka Banks, an active volunteer whose "travel bug" led her to teach in an orphanage in Thailand. Fredericka has a vision impairment and uses a cane.
Meet Sarah Funes, one of several young Americans and Syrians who collaborated on an effort to create the first disabled Muslim super hero.
Meet Zachary Grove. As someone who represents diversity through disability, socioeconomic background and academic focus, Zachary was awarded a Gilman Scholarship to fund his studies in Cyprus.
Meet Amanda Parkman, a Gilman scholar with a physical disability whose studies in Australia reaffirmed her sense of adventure and independence.
Meet Lindsey Newland, whose work with disabled children in Romania supplemented her progress towards a Master's in Family and Community Social Work. Lindsey has a physical disability.
Meet Stephanie Woodward, who cites her study abroad experience in Ireland as a major influence on her identity as a person with a disability. Stephanie uses a power wheelchair for mobility.
Meet Loren Ashton, who is Deaf, and learn how her dream to study abroad in France for a semester brought her closer to her parents.
Meet Ming Canaday and read about her summer of study in China, where she scaled the Great Wall and improved her ability to speak and write in Mandarin.
Meet David Albala, a student from Chile exploring narrative film production in the United States on a Fulbright Foreign Student Program.
Meet Raufhon Salokhodjaev, who first arrived in the United States as a high school exchange student and recently returned to fulfill graduate-level study on a fellowship.
Meet Daniel Erchick, and learn the different ways in which the Rice University graduate engaged with disability communities in Sierra Leone.
Meet Molly Bloom, a University of Colorado student with a physical disability, who secured scholarships to study in Scandinavia and New Zealand.
Meet Well Zhao, who demonstrates to young adults with disabilities in China how they, too, can become leaders.
Meet Akhilesh Bhambri, an Engineering student in Michigan, USA, and borrow his strategies for communicating in a new environment.
Meet Steven Mayers and find out how many different sign languages he learned in Europe.
Meet Kathryn Carroll who studied abroad in Norway twice and learned how to negotiate in the French fashion while in Paris.
Meet Andrey Tikhonov and learn how a Fulbright opportunity in the United States deepened his passion for language.
Meet Muzaffar Hussain Laghari who came from Pakistan to the United States on a U.S. Department of State exchange scholarship program.
Meet Arie Farnam whose career as a student, English instructor, and journalist extends over the landscapes of a dozen countries.
Meet Maged Nabawy who came from Egypt to study American Sign Language in the United States.
Meet Dr. Shonda McLaughlin and read about her experiences As a Center for International Rehabilitation Research Information and Exchange (CIRRIE) fellow in the United Arab Emirates.
Meet Jason Jones and read about his summer exchange to Japan and study abroad experience in England.
Meet Reveca Torres and read about how her international exchange program to Paris through Harper college changed the course of her life.
Meet Jen Fitz-Roy and find out how she has gone abroad 4 times all on scholarships!
Meet Christie Gilson and learn about her Fulbright Student scholarship experiences in Hong Kong.