Congratulations, International Students with Disabilities!

With the end of the school year comes graduations and other transitions – time to celebrate the achievements and hard work that so many students with disabilities have put in to pursue their academic goals! Among them are the many international students with disabilities who have traveled from around the world to study at U.S. colleges and universities this past year.

So Much to Celebrate

NCDE recently hosted a virtual gathering and celebration for these students to learn about their years, accomplishments, and plans for the future. Here are just a few of the many achievements that international students are currently celebrating:

• Tur Chung from Malaysia became a PhD candidate this Spring semester and is working on his dissertation in Deaf Education at The University of Tennessee on a Fulbright grant.
• Zeynep from Turkey recently defended her dissertation for the University of Arizona’s College of Education.
• Vadim from Russia just graduated with his bachelor’s degree from Tennessee Tech University in computer science with a focus on cyber security and is working on a paper that will likely be published in August.
• Julius from Kenya graduated from American University on the Fulbright program and was recognized with an award from the School of International Service for “Outstanding Professional and/or Policy Contribution”.
• Michael from Peru completed his first year of Fulbright studies at the University of Georgia and recently experienced his first goalball tournament.
• Sohaib from Pakistan completed his Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistantship and received offers from multiple U.S. universities to pursue his Ph.D. starting this fall.
• Michael and Sohaib both received scholarships through the American Council of the Blind and will travel to ACB’s national conference this summer.
• Chantsa from Mongolia finished community college and will transfer this fall to her “dream school” of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
• Eric from Rwanda has been doing well in his studies at Michigan Tech University and is starting an internship with a U.S. company this summer.

Outstanding! Congratulations to these students for their hard-won accomplishments.

The Highs

Students and recent grads described other highlights about their year in the U.S. including:

• traveling to different cities in the U.S.,
• getting involved in committees and groups to improve disability accessibility on campus,
• trying new sports and activities, and
• sharing about their culture with the local community.

Find photos illustrating their highlights from throughout the year – and accompanying stories – below!

The Lows

Students also discussed some of the challenges of being an international student with a disability in the U.S., such as:

• finding scholarships and funding,
• securing affordable housing,
• encountering inaccessible exams and environmental barriers, and
• searching for jobs.

Stay in Touch!

For international students with disabilities who couldn’t be on the virtual celebration, you’re invited to share your achievements, highlights, fun photos or other updates with NCDE by email: clearinghouse@miusa.org. And for those starting or continuing their studies in the fall, get in touch with NCDE to be notified about our next virtual meetup in September or October 2024!

Yearbook 2023-24: A Year in Photos

Michael from Peru (front row, far right, with hand raised) celebrates with other blind and visually impaired athletes and teammates at his first goalball tournament! While attending the University of Georgia, Michael joined the Atlanta-based Georgia Blind Sport Association, which provides spaces for blind and visually impaired people to practice adaptive sports. He recently participated in a goalball tournament, which was his first taste of competing in the sport. Furthermore, “It was really amazing because I met blind and visually impaired people from different states across the U.S.!”

During his nine months in the U.S., Sohaib savored opportunities to travel around the country. In fact, he visited 17 U.S. states (and counting)! Pictured here, Sohaib stands on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.

As a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA), Sohaib taught University of Oregon students languages commonly spoken in his home country of Pakistan, including Urdu and Hindi. And by organizing a workshop for students and community members to discover the joys of playing blind cricket, he found a way to share his country culture as well as disability culture! Sohaib is pictured far right, holding a cricket bat, going over the rules of the game.

As the recipient of departmental honors in his degree program at American University, Julius had the honor of leading his fellow students in their graduation procession, carrying the American flag. “It was a coincidence that while that was happening, Kenya, my country, and the US were celebrating 60 years of partnership. The President even came to the U.S., to Washington, DC! I saw it as a privilege to share that kind of partnership between Kenya and the US, and I appreciate the U.S. people and government, and the support of the Fulbright scholarship.”

As a student from Kenya with a professional interest in international development, Julius felt a connection with the people he met in the Amish community during a trip to Pennsylvania. “These are the people who live with old systems and traditions. They don’t use cars. They don’t use electricity and things like that. They don’t use the schools or hospitals outside of their community. I never expected that I would find such a community in the United States. From our perspective and what we know, especially where we come from, we perceive that everything in the U.S. is modern. And yet even in this part of the world, there are people who still want to maintain their unique identity and culture that they’re proud of. It was a very fascinating trip for me.” Above is a horse and buggy in which Julius and his friends rode during their visit to the Amish community.

On his graduation day, Vadim shakes hands with the President of Tennessee Tech University after earning his Bachelor degree in computer science, with a concentration in cybersecurity. Vadim’s mother was able to attend the graduation virtually via livestream from Russia!