Dreaming of an International Career?
Love to travel? Want to make a difference in the world?
After high school graduation, Andrea Shettle, who is Deaf and also has attention deficit disorder, read a World Federation of the Deaf report about the widespread lack of access to education and employment for Deaf people in other countries. Almost fifteen years later, this realization would eventually lead Andrea to a position at the World Bank.
Photo Caption: Andrea Shettle
When asked, "What do you want to do with your future?" few young adults who are Deaf or have disabilities think to say, "An international career." Yet there is a whole world of opportunities open in the international affairs, exchange and development fields. This can include working in U.S. embassies overseas or the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC. It can mean working in an international consulting firm, college or university study abroad office or international refugee organization in the United States or abroad.
For Andrea, her career took a roundabout path. "My problem was that I had no clue how on earth I could get involved," she says of her college years. "I had zero contacts in the international community at that point. I had never heard that there was a field called 'international development' that so perfectly captured the kind of work I wanted to do, even though I had not yet narrowed down my interests to a more specific sphere of tasks."
Check out Preparing for an International Career: Pathways for People with Disabilities! This free 80-page booklet full of specific resources intends to direct youth with international interests in the right direction from the start. Many pathways exist, so read this along with the short checklist below to help in exploring some of the possibilities.
Checklist For Becoming Globally-Aware
The following suggestions are not only fun for you to do, but they can be valuable for building skills towards an international career. As you'll see, 
there are plenty of ways to learn about the world without leaving your own community. However, planning for an educational program abroad will give you the key qualifications needed in the international field. See how much of this list you can do in the next couple of years. Working with your parents and teachers to write these as goals into your IEP or 504 transition plans can be one way to keep yourself on target.
Photo Caption: Transitions Abroad magazine can provide you with useful tips and resources directly from travelers who are volunteering, working, living or studying abroad. Check it out at: www.transitionsabroad.com.
INTERACTING WITH PEOPLE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
- Hosted an international student or visitor in our home
- Attended international festivals in my town
- Volunteered to teach English to children who just moved to the United States
- Participated in summer camps or sports competitions that bring together people from all around the world
- Joined an online youth network or pen pal program to write back and forth with youth in other countries
EXPLORING INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL PROGRAMS
- Attended an informational session on high school study abroad programs
- Browsed websites to learn about high school volunteer abroad opportunities or international youth conferences overseas
- Asked my teachers, coaches, music instructors and others about educational trips overseas
- Read the Mobility International USA online stories by students with disabilities who went abroad
- Discussed with my parents my interest in going on a short-term or year long high school program to another country
PRACTICING FOREIGN LANGUAGES
- Participated in foreign language courses in school
- Listened to tapes, watched TV or read books online in other languages
- Attended summer camps that teach foreign languages
LEARNING INTERNATIONAL TOPICS
- Joined a Model United Nations program in my community
- Read international youth web pages on global topics
- Explored international degree programs at colleges and universities
- Requested a mentoring or job shadowing experience with someone who works in an international organization
- Applied for an internship with the U.S. Department of State or other international office (Read about one student’s experience interning at a youth exchange organization when she graduated from high school)