International Exchange: A valuable steps towards employability - Mobility International USA International Exchange Program to Costa Rica

American Rehabilitation, Spring-Summer, 2001 by Mary Ann C. Higgins

Jessica Lorenz, a 21-year-old San Francisco State University student, was one of 13 participants in the Mobility International USA (MIUSA) 3-week International Exchange Program to Costa Rica during the summer of 1999. During her last days in Costa Rica, Jessica wrote an article about her first international experience. She shared the following with her fellow participants, with and without disabilities (Lorenz, 1999):

"The MIUSA motto is an appropriate way to sum up the trip--'Challenge Yourself and Change the World." [TM] We pushed the envelope, as they say, and I don't know about anyone else, but I learned that my maximum capacity is a lot greater than I ever knew. We learned so much and were positively changed. I know none of us will ever be the same."

Ms. Lorenz is blind and is enrolled in California's vocational rehabilitation (VR) program working towards getting a multi-subject teaching credential with the goal of becoming an adapted physical education teacher. (1) In California, getting hired as a teacher often requires Spanish language skills, so Ms. Lorenz is also working towards a minor in Spanish. When she suggested the international exchange program as part of her vocational training, her VR counselor agreed that it would be an added asset to her education endeavors by increasing her Spanish skills and disability knowledge, both of which would ultimately make her more employable as a teacher. She was fortunate to have a VR counselor who understood the connection between this international experience and her future employability.

International exchange participation often leads to an advantage in seeking employment whether you have a disability or not. That is why Lynnae Ruttledge, assistant administrator for planning and policy with the Oregon Vocational Rehabilitation Division, feels it is vital for young adults with disabilities to include international experience as part of their preparations to enter the increasingly global U.S. job market. "Even with the ADA, people with disabilities in this country still are not always considered equally for positions of employment. A job applicant with a disability who has international experience brings that much more to the table to support his or her qualifications for the job." When an employer may be concerned whether an applicant with a disability can meet the demands of the job but then learns that the individual successfully studied in Brazil for a year, those worries may just disappear. The ability to be successful in an academic or structured international program implies that the person has a certain ability to be flexible, culturally aware, creative, and motivated, to say the least; and, if individuals have high employment expectations for themselves, an international experience may be just what is needed to lift them to the next level closer to reaching that goal. Lynnae Ruttledge and many other successful individuals with disabilities employed in influential positions have had international experience. A few of them are: Judith Heumann, former Assistant Secretary for the Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; journalist John Hockenberry; Heather Harker, a Kellogg fellow and a graduate student in the public administration program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University; Rich Spittler, director of the Bay Area Outdoor Recreation Program; and Jan Garret, executive director of the Berkeley Center for Independent Living.

Based on 20 years of international and disability experience, Mobility International USA has compiled the following list of benefits of participating in an international program-such as studying, volunteering, researching, working, or interning abroad-all of which add to an individual's employability. These benefits include:

* A more open and accepting attitude towards cultural and diversity issues;

* The experience of learning how to function in a new environment;

* The opportunity to develop or improve second language skills;

* An increased interest in local and global community involvement;

* Leadership skills;

* Self-confidence;

* Independent-thinking skills;

* Increased self-awareness and self-direction;

* Improved general job skills (i.e., interpersonal skills, flexibility, and adaptability);

* The opportunity to learn other cultural and world view perspectives; and

* The opportunity to achieve a goal and experience a sense of accomplishment.

Funding Options

If a person with a disability is pursuing a career in which international experience is vital, there are some options to consider for funding. An excellent source for up-to-date, free information is the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange (see Resources at the end of this article).

Vocational Rehabilitation Funding

"There is no federal regulation that prohibits the funding of an international program as part of an individual's vocational rehabilitation plan," according to Mary Davis, rehabilitation program specialist at the U.S. Department of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), the federal agency that oversees the state-federal vocational rehabilitation (VR) program. "Each state has flexibility in the nature and scope of what activities they cover, but cost alone can never be the only reason to deny a particular program." She adds, however, "There does need to be a clear link between the international activity and the individual's vocational objective." It also should be clear that the experience is not available through participation in a domestic program. If a VR counselor agrees that the experience would be valuable and the VR department is supportive, it should be written into the vocational plan. Also, if VR has approved funding for adaptive equipment or an assistant such as a note-taker to meet the vocational goal, it may be possible to use those funds to provide the same service while abroad. Ms. Davis recommends that individuals should discuss international program participation with their VR counselors if they feel it would increase their employability because some states may have state level VR policies that apply.