Fatuma Kuti, a citizen of Kenya, stood before a group of higher education advisors and regional coordinators from around 44 nations in 麻豆传媒高清鈥檚 鈥極le Jim Alumni House on July 29, 2024. Without the aid of an interpreter, she used American Sign Language to ask them for advice on how to apply for admission to a U.S. college or university. When she finished her query, a prolonged silence filled the room.

鈥淭hat shows what it鈥檚 like to feel left out,鈥� said B. Mutisya Nzyuko, Immigration Compliance Coordinator in Gallaudet鈥檚 Office of International Affairs (OIA), breaking the silence as an ASL interpreter voiced his words. This bit of role play performed by Kuti, in reality a Public Administration graduate student at Gallaudet, was part of a forum hosted on campus by OIA, and led by International Relations assistant Samer Alhassany, to help visitors from EducationUSA learn more about the University and the deaf community. EducationUSA is a U.S. Department of State network that promotes U.S. higher education to students around the world by offering accurate, comprehensive, and current information about opportunities to study at accredited postsecondary institutions in the U.S., and offers a wide range of in-person and virtual services to students and their families.

The visit proved to be a landmark event that informed EducationUSA about the needs of the global deaf community in seeking higher education in the U.S., and opening new relationships between the organization and Gallaudet. Each year, EducationUSA advisors respond to millions of inquiries from international students. Besides dramatically emphasizing what would likely happen for deaf people around the world who wish to pursue higher education in the U.S., should one seek help at one of EducationUSA鈥檚 more than 430 international student advising centers in more than 175 countries and territories, the forum sought to enlighten the audience about the aspirations and abilities of deaf people.

The day began with an Introduction to Deaf Life Experiences by OIA鈥檚 Fiona Grugan, manager of Education Abroad and International Fellowships, and Rowena Winiarczyk, manager of Operations, who explained to them the many ways of being deaf 鈥� culturally, educationally, and linguistically. In the afternoon, the group was taken on a campus tour to expose them to visual accessibility, interpreter services, Deaf rights, and other offerings at Gallaudet.

鈥淢any countries don鈥檛 believe that deaf people can succeed,鈥� said Nzyuko; in fact some believe the families who produce a deaf child are cursed. 鈥淲e want to change that perspective,鈥� he added. Nzyuko proposed that the 鈥�,鈥� a guide to navigating the U.S. higher education application process that EducationUSA advisors use to help international students identify and enroll in a U.S. college or university, needs to be expanded to include deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind people in order to ensure clear communication. He recommended that advisors ask deaf students what kind of access they prefer, and said that in the event sign language interpreters are not available, to identify alternatives, such as asking family members to assist with interpreting, writing questions and answers between parties, or communicating orally if the individual agrees and feels confident in comprehending the exchange of information.

The goals and ambitions to succeed in professional careers were manifested to EducationUSA visitors in a panel of international students and alumni who summarized their early lives, how they learned about Gallaudet, and how the University has changed their lives. In addition to Kuti, the panelists were Keaobaka Dabutha, Botswana, a Public Health program student; Afan Nyam, Nigeria, who graduated with a BSc in Social Work; Zahra Ketoun, Morocco, Critical Studies in the Education of Deaf Learners Ph.D. student; Misa Suzuki, Japan, an M.A. in Linguistics and M.A. in Sign Language Education student; Wadha Alshammari, Saudi Arabia, a Deaf Education graduate student; and Fabricio Flores, El Salvador, who graduated with a B.A. International Studies.

These students鈥� stories vividly exemplify the 鈥渞eturn on impact鈥� model OIA promotes to countries in encouraging them to invest in a Gallaudet education for their deaf citizens. When international students graduate from Gallaudet, their nation gains access to experts and innovators in key fields, credentialed individuals who can advance opportunities for deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind citizens, expert capacity to develop compliance projects for the United Nations鈥� Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Sustainable Development Goals, and other national commitments. In addition, the nation鈥檚 deaf community gains leaders and role models for deaf youth.  

President Roberta Cordano elaborated on this concept, and deaf people鈥檚 right to communication, for the group, saying, 鈥渨hat happens here (Gallaudet) is an accelerator to what happens in other parts of the world; when an international alum goes home, it can quadruple the return.鈥� The ability for Deaf people to connect with each other, to have access to language, 鈥渋s a human right,鈥� said Cordano. The lamentable fact is that, because 90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents, many deaf people鈥檚 language development is delayed, but they overcome the challenges this poses and find their way to Gallaudet, a place where are not only educated, but where their 鈥渋nner soul” is discovered, where they find others who are 鈥渓ike-spirited,鈥� she explained. They are part of a link of resources that lead to positive change for the global deaf community. 鈥淲e are asking you to invest in the next generation of deaf people,鈥� Cordano said.

鈥淐ommunication is the key to success,鈥� agreed Neal Murata, deputy director of the U.S. Department of State鈥檚 Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Office of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. For more than 16 years, Murata has been dedicated to exchange programs and other initiatives to engage Deaf communities globally. He reminded the advisors and coordinators that it is their responsibility to help students when they want to come to the U.S. for a higher education, and if they need accommodations 鈥� in this case, communication access 鈥� to get in touch with the public affairs sector of U.S. embassies in their region of the world to try and locate sign language interpreters. Other resources are available to EducationUSA advisors and coordinators who need to identify interpreters, said Murata. One is Deaf Diplomacy at State, which addresses implications of meaningful inclusion of deaf and hard of hearing people in diplomacy. Also, 鈥淵ou can also contact OIA; they have the expertise to help you,鈥� he suggested.