The Value of Study Abroad

People with disabilities have much to gain from work, study and volunteer abroad experiences. Like their non-disabled peers, exchange participants with disabilities are likely to find international experiences to be life-changing ones, offering opportunities to gain greater understanding of other people and cultures, acquire language skills, expand career opportunities and much more. Further, the presence and participation of community college students with disabilities in study abroad offers other participants opportunities to increase their awareness and appreciation of diversity, and in doing so, broadens and enriches the international experience for all participants.

“Perhaps I’m emphasizing the challenges too much,” reflects Carola Smith, whose community college in Santa Barbara has been sending students abroad for 33 years. “For a student who used a wheelchair, the two programs he participated in were life changing. For him to have that experience and be able to make it through a semester program in China was a tremendous satisfaction. A success story is that the student successfully completed the program, and got something out of that without a major safety issue. I don’t know if returning early is even a failure then, it might be still worthwhile for the student to have given it a try.”

The presence and participation of community college students with disabilities in study abroad offers other participants opportunities to increase their awareness and appreciation of diversity.

For many students with disabilities, international experiences offer a range of new challenges and experiences related to accessibility, and opportunities to explore new strategies for independence and inclusion. International exchange participants, with and without disabilities, often return home with an expanded sense of what is possible, a greater willingness to explore new directions and try new experiences, and increased self-confidence to set and achieve life goals. In a few disabled students’ words, the impact of having gone abroad reaches into all corners of their lives despite, or because of, the challenges they encountered abroad.

“I made a presentation at a conference, and spoke to a class at my community college.  It was something that I wasn’t doing before the international exchange program,” says Natalie Barrett, a student with a visual impairment who went to Japan and attends Kapiolani Community College in Hawaii. “To me, it was a big accomplishment. It was because I went on this trip that they wanted me to speak.”

“Going abroad changed my life,” says Reveca Torres, who has a spinal cord injury and studied abroad in Europe while in community college in Illinois. “It gave me courage to travel to different places, internationally, and to go away from home to [continue] school at the University of Arizona. It was kind of like a stepping stone for me on what to do after community college.”

Azulai Booker, an African-American student with dyslexia from Montgomery College, who went on two overseas trips as a community college student, says, “Now I get bored with Americans – they do the same thing. I like to meet new people and new cultures. I learned about other differences that I never even thought about. I also met people who are just like me, who every day struggle with different things just like I do, but are still getting up every morning and trucking it out.”

“I get out of my comfort zone,” says Drew Hunthausen, a deaf-blind community college student who volunteered in Jamaica twice over winter break. “It can be hard but rewarding. I definitely have a broader view on things. I live close to Mexico and going there, or even in California where I live, there are people who are wealthy and well off and people on the streets – a contrast – I can really appreciate it more and experience that in a different sense. It has changed me a lot.”

Tracee Garner, a wheelchair user, also talks about the impact her Costa Rica experience had on her while in community college. “As I look back after having this international experience, I am inclined to try doing things differently – especially in new situations.  Although as people with disabilities we know ourselves best, we should be open to suggestions and willing to try new approaches. Some new settings will be very challenging, but if we take a moment to think about it, we’re sure to find a new way to do it.”

Conclusion

While study abroad can be challenging and full of unexpected obstacles for students with and without disabilities, this temporary discomfort gives growth to positive changes in cultural and personal understanding. Community college advisors can make it easier but not less fulfilling for students with disabilities by finding that balance between empowerment and support when planning for their participation on study abroad programs.

“Our experiences have been pretty positive ones overall,” says Carolyn Kadel, a community college colleague who has joined NCDE’s network of professionals willing to share their disability experiences. “As much planning upfront is the key and having a very specific idea of the kind of situations that the student is going to be in that may be challenging and may need support, then working with both sides to find that support. That’s what I see as the office responsibility. And then the students themselves need to be very well oriented and aware of how it is different.”

Some suggestions to guide study abroad staff in this role include:

• Prepare even before you have a student with a disability
• Become familiar with disability-related organizations and services in the host community
• Build a disability-related accommodation fund over time
• Recruit students with disabilities for internships
• Talk with host country coordinators or faculty leaders about the commitment to include students with disabilities
• Begin an ongoing evaluation of what has worked successfully and the lessons learned
• Discuss with the student with a disability necessary vs. preferred accommodations and alternatives available
• Identify who will be the disability liaison on the program for the student to consult with
• Tap into local volunteers in the host country to assist with negotiating stairs, serving as guides or note takers, etc.
• Think broadly and creatively about accessibility – a few steps can easily be ramped, a classroom moved to ground floor, a freight elevator located, etc.
• Include disability information in orientation sessions even if there aren’t students with known disabilities present
• Contact the NCDE staff for other tips and advice.