Resource Library

Personal Stories
Three young women with their backs to the camera face a view overlooking a valley far below.

A Semester of Discovery in Ghana

It was typical for Jennifer Smith* to meander through different wards of the nearby hospital in Ghana where she volunteered after the day’s classes. But on one less-than-typical day, in the children’s ward, she saw her post-college plans snap into focus where they had once been hazy.

Tip Sheets
A middle-aged woman addresses an audience while two younger women stand behind her to interpret in sign language. A screen behind them reads "Top Tips for English Language Learning."

Learn English

What motivates YOU to learn English? Whether it's to get a better job or to meet people around the world, take the first step to reach your goal. Join an English as a Second Language (ESL) program in the U.S. or online.

Personal Stories
People pose for a group photo outside the White House during their tour of the East Wing

Watching History Unfold: My Fulbright Experience in Washington, DC

The most fascinating, and therefore rewarding, part of my U.S. experience was being in Washington, DC during a U.S. presidential election (2004). Through the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program, I had an opportunity to conduct research at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) during a sabbatical leave from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Personal Stories
Chart in graduation regalia

Accessing U.S. Studies to Advance Disability Rights in Thailand

Chart traveled to the United States from Thailand to get a Master's Degree in International Public Policy and Management from the University of Southern California (USC) with the support of the Ford Foundation’s International Fellowships Program (IFP). At the time, he just wanted to get the top-notch education that the American system would open up for him. Just what he would do with that master’s degree would come later.

Having grown up as a blind man in a small town about three hours from Bangkok, Chart knew what it was like to live in a place with limited resources.

Books and Journals
Stylized bubble letters read "Greetings from Travelers Abroad: Life after exchange" with images of travelers with disabilities filling in the letters of 'Abroad"

Commemorate in a Postcard Your #LifeAfterExchange

Who says your exchange experience has to end when you get home? We know that going abroad - for study, volunteerism, professional exchange and more - has a lasting impact on Deaf and disabled people's lives in many ways.

Did it have an impact on you? Create your own #LifeAfterExchange digital postcard to commemorate your time abroad and celebrate what it's helped you accomplish.

Tip Sheets
four young people smiling

How to Welcome Staff and Interns with Disabilities to Your International Education Organization

Here, we asked people with disabilities to share their tips for what international education organizations can do to fill jobs, internships, or practicum positions with talented professionals and interns with disabilities. You might notice that many of these tips also apply to including people with disabilities as participants in your international exchange programs!

Tip Sheets
A Middle Eastern woman and African American woman wearing professional attire lean towards one another in their wheelchairs smiling.

People with Disabilities Needed in International Education Careers

As part of our ongoing work on the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange (NCDE) project, we reach out to professionals in the international exchange field - from study abroad advisors to program administrators to faculty leaders - to broaden their understanding of disability inclusion and access and how it can increase the diversity of their participants.

Personal Stories
Group photo of people from different countries with different disabilities, many in traditional dress

Finding Her Stride in a New International Career

Rebecca Berman is about to achieve a significant milestone: her one-year anniversary working with World Learning is fast approaching. Since learning about the organization's work in international education and development as well as its commitment to disability inclusion, Rebecca knew it would be a good fit for her. Over the past year, she has come to appreciate the importance of finding balance in various aspects of her work.

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