I am an international student from Hong Kong, who completed a BA in English (subject matter concentration) at California State University, Northridge, and am currently pursuing an MA in Elementary Inclusive Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. My MA Program leads to both regular and special education teacher certification, with a focus on inclusive classrooms. I am passionate about the special education teacher profession because I strongly believe that all children deserve to be supported and nurtured in their development and learning, and achieve their individual immediate and long-term goals. I know that when a child has a disability, the physical or cognitive environment in schools could pose barriers to their access to learning. Facing and navigating through these challenges could be exhausting and discouraging, and I want to encourage children that no matter what their disability is, while they may need accommodations or modifications in their learning environment, they can keep moving forward and learn. Additionally, I want to create an inclusive and collaborative learning environment with mutual respect, where not only students' challenges or disabilities but also their strengths and abilities are recognized. While I believe there is a place for the self-contained special education classroom, I also think that inclusive classrooms where students with disabilities can get the support they need, such as integrated co-teaching classrooms, are crucial both for students with disabilities to be included in mainstream society and for students without disabilities to learn to interact with students of diverse backgrounds. Volunteer experiences I have done in Hong Kong include accompanying students with physical or intellectual disabilities who live in school dormitories on school outings, assisting autistic youth and youth in Down syndrome in fitness classes, and assisting deaf and hard-of-hearing students with schoolwork. These volunteer experiences showed me how each child is an individual with different personalities, strengths and challenges, as well as how their disability-related needs must be considered. For example, some autistic children may find loud noises stressful, making it important for them to have a sensory-appropriate environment during a fitness class. Through these and other volunteer experiences, such as giving food bags to low-income families or playing with the children of refugees or asylum seekers, I also saw how in addition to disability-related challenges, financial and family limitations could pose barriers to some children with disabilities. For example, I learned that some children with physical or mental disabilities in the special school dormitories came from families who could not care for them or were orphaned, which also shows me how as a teacher, it would be important to refrain from making assumptions about a student at first glance. I student taught in a 5th integrated co-teaching classroom in a high-poverty school last semester, which broadened my understanding of how teachers, other school staff and families could collaborate to help students. The school was a community school, meaning it collaborated with another organization to provide free medical and dental care for students. I also saw strong efforts to engage families in the students' learning. Strong collaboration between adults in a student's life would help them be supported the best they can, and help provide consistency in a students' life. Currently, I am an online volunteer English tutor to a secondary school student in Hong Kong through Principal Chan Free Tutorial World, which provides free tutoring to students, supporting them with their English homework and encouraging them to independently correct an answer when able to. These experiences show me how while it is important to use teaching strategies that benefit the whole class, it is also crucial to consider what an individual student needs when working with them on-on-one. Besides my volunteer experiences, my personal experiences with disabilities as a student diagnosed with autism and mental illness also ignited my passion for special education. While growing up, I was fortunate to receive plenty of additional support inside and outside of school. For example, due to receptive and expressive language delay as well as pronunciation difficulties, I benefited from speech and language therapy until I was fifteen. I also had occupational therapy for a few years to improve my motor skills, and during secondary school, received learning support services in the form of one-to-one in-class educational assistants and social skills, life skills, and study skills lessons. Without receiving these support services, I do not think I would have been able to access education as fully, which is something every student should be able to have. As someone with lived experiences of navigating society with disabilities, I am motivated to help students with experiences similar and different to mine get the support and encouragement they need. While I have been very fortunate regarding the care I did receive growing up, there were also times I faced a lack of understanding, so something vitally important is to listen to students and their families about what they need, instead of assuming. Although it was sometimes difficult living with some of my challenges, I think this could help me empathize with students, and to help them find out what could be done to address those challenges as well as further develop their strengths. Since childhood, I had experienced hallucinations and delusions. For example, there was a period of time when I believed that my mother and grandma were shape shifting and pretending to be each other. However, others were unaware of this delusion because I did not understand what I was experiencing was not real, so did not share it. Other times, I may have been too scared and reluctant to share these distressing experiences with others. While I remember my secondary school years as a positive experience overall, there were some challenging times, which my parents and school staff helped me to get through the year. Having been fortunate to receive support from others makes me want to give back to the community. During 2022, I joined the nonprofit Students with Psychosis. I learned about it through the TED Talk, “I Am Not A Monster: Schizophrenia”: by Cecilia Mcgough, who had recently founded it. Since then, I have learned that there are students with similar experiences to mine, which underscores the importance of not shying away from difficult topics and of addressing students’ mental health. I also saw the importance of valuing the input of people with lived experience, which goes for children too. I hope that together, we in education can help students feel included and to thrive. I see special education as a critical service which contributes to an inclusive and caring society. Special education teachers help ensure that students' human rights and needs are fulfilled, which makes a direct impact on students, and also has long-term and broader societal implications. Special education helps every student to be seen for who they are, and to fulfill their full potential.

I am an international student from Hong Kong, pursuing my MA in Elementary Inclusive Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. During May 2023, I graduated from California State University, Northridge with a BA in English (Subject Matter concentration). I am diagnosed with autism and mental illness, and also have reading challenges. I plan to work in education in order to reach all students and to create a more inclusive society. This is crucial, because every student has worth, and strengths they can use to help make their community a better place. While growing up, I was fortunate to receive plenty of additional support inside and outside of school. For example, due to receptive and expressive language delay as well as pronunciation difficulties, I benefited from speech and language therapy until I was fifteen. I also had occupational therapy for a few years to improve my motor skills, and during secondary school, received learning support services in the form of one-to-one in-class educational assistants and social skills, life skills, and study skills lessons. Without receiving these support services, I do not think I would have been able to access education as fully. As someone with lived experiences of navigating society with disabilities, I would like to help ensure that barriers to accessing resources are addressed so that students like me can get the support they need. While I have been very fortunate in regarding the care I did receive growing up, there were also times I faced a lack of understanding, so something vitally important for me is to listen to students and their families about what they need, instead of assuming. Although it was sometimes difficult living with some of my challenges, I think this could help me empathize with students, and to help them find out what could be done to address those challenges. I believe that not only students’ challenges but also their strengths must be considered and developed when working with them. I experienced psychosis, including hallucinations and delusions, since childhood. For example, there was a period of time when I believed that my mother and grandma were shape shifting and pretending to be each other. However, others were unaware of this delusion because I did not understand what I was experiencing was not real, so did not share what was happening. Other times, I may have been too scared and reluctant to share these distressing experiences with others. When I was fifteen, I had a two-month psychiatric hospitalization and missed six months of school for medical reasons. I benefited from psychiatric home visitation and a pre-employment training program. Therefore, I repeated a grade. While this was challenging in some ways, my parents and school staff helped me to get through the year. Having been fortunate to receive support from others makes me want to give back to the community. A few years ago, I came across the TED Talk, “I Am Not A Monster: Schizophrenia”: by Cecilia Mcgough, who had recently founded the nonprofit Students with Psychosis, which I joined. Since then, I have learned that there are students with similar experiences to mine, which underscores the importance of not shying away from difficult topics and of addressing students’ mental health. I also saw the importance of valuing the input of people with lived experience, which goes for children too. I hope that together, we in education can help students feel included and to thrive. My father is very kindly sponsoring my tuition, but this is challenging for him. Should I be awarded the scholarship, it would help me to pay my tuition more easily.

I am a senior international student from Hong Kong at California State, University Nothridge (CSUN), majoring in English Subject Matter. I believe literature and writing can highlight important topics and help catalyze positive action, and would also like to assist students with developing and mastering literacy and writing skills. During the 2023-2025 academic years, I will pursue an M.A. in Elementary Inclusive Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, in order to fulfill my career goal of teaching students with disabilities. While I am very fortunate to have my father sponsor my university tuition, his income was less than his expense and he has recently retired due to legal reasons. His retirement will increase his financial burden, as well as pose increased challenges for me to pay my tuition. One way I have been trying tol lessen my financial burden is by applying to scholarships, and I am very grateful that I received some of them. For example, I was awarded the NSP (Northridge Scholars Program) University Scholarship I was awarded for Fall 2020-Spring 2021, and as part of its scholarly activities requirement during Spring 2021 I was also a research assistant for IFiT-M, a research study at my university investigating the effects of peer-mentored physical activity intervention with a mindfulness component on autistic college students. I was also awarded the 2020-2021 Associated Students International Matador Scholarship, the Spring 2022 Linda Nichols English Joseph Merit Scholarship, and the 2022-2023 KFM Making A Difference For Autism Scholarship. Additionally, I have been working part-time at on-campus jobs since the 2021-2022 academic year. During Fall 2021, I was a lower division writing consultant at the CSUN Writing Center, guiding students through the writing process for 100- and 200-level courses. I was also working for CSUN Athletics as an event staff, assistant with the logistics of on-campus athletic competitions. Since Spring 2022, I am a SPICE (Student Panels for an International Curriculum & Education) panelist, preparing and delivering presentations to various CSUN classes about aspects of my home city Hong Kong such as childhood, the education system, and the perception of developmental disabilities. I have also implemented more creative ways of paying my tuition and related expenses, including participating in surveys or research studies that lead to a visa or Amazon gift card. The income I have earned and will earn from these jobs will help me pay my tuition. However, since I was only working at the Writing Center for 2.5 hours a week, and since both the Athletics and SPICE Panelist jobs involved sporadic work schedules, there would still be a large financial gap between my financial resources and the hefty tuition costs of Teachers College, Columbia University. I believe I meet the qualifications to apply to this scholarship due to being of Chinese ethnicity, currently working part-time, and having disabilities including autism, mental illness, and reading and handwriting challenges. Should I be awarded this scholarship, it would help me tremendously in my ability to afford the costs of a graduate degree, which I would use to help educate children with disabilities.

I am a senior international student from Hong Kong at California State University Northridge (CSUN), majoring in English Subject Matter. I believe literature and writing can be tools to highlight important topics and help catalyze positive action. During Fall 2019-Spring 2020, I regularly volunteered with the CSUN (California State University Northridge) Food Pantry. Through reading articles, I discovered there are many California State University students facing food insecurity and homelessness, and wanted to help ensure all CSUN students have steady access to food. I have diagnoses of autism and bipolar disorder. I also have a borderline Wechsler Individual Achievement Test reading speed score of 77 (6th percentile), a borderline Gray Oral Reading Test score of 70 (2nd percentile) and a below average overall Detailed Assessment of Handwriting Score of below 54. I was fortunate to receive additional, including speech and language therapy until I was fifteen, occupational therapy for a few years to improve my motor skills, and learning support services in the form of one-to-one in-class educational assistants and social skills, life skills, and study skills lessons. This made me realize the importance of meeting the needs of all students of disabilities, and makes me want to give back to other students. When I was fifteen, I was hospitalized for two months with a diagnosis of "mania with psychotic features” and missed six months of school for medical reasons, so I repeated a grade. A few times, a hospital school teacher came to my ward to teach me, allowing me some normalcy and continuity of education. Having benefited from the hospital teacher school's time and lessons motivates me to support other people through challenges. During some missed school months, I benefited from pre-employment training for people with disabilities. While repeating a grade, I struggled with writing in English class. According to my English teacher, based on looking at my previous writing for English class the quality of my writing regressed. During that year, for my mock IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education)/GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) exams (with an A*-G (lowest) grading scale), I got C for one mock exam and below Cs (including two Fs and Gs) for all other subjects. However, with increased exam accommodations and the calculation of coursework into some of my results, officially I got one A, two Bs, and 4 Cs. I was delighted with the improvement in my results. While I got F for the English Literature mock exam and G for the English Language mock exam, officially I got A for IGCSE English Language and B for IGCSE English Literature. This experience taught me that one can choose to persevere in life while facing one's challenges, and that a setback in life does not necessarily have to set one back forever. For a few years after my hospitalization, a mental health nurse visited me regularly at my home. I believe community mental health services are crucial, and must be made accessible to autistic people and other people with disabilities. Having experienced psychosis and wanting to find support and help other people experiencing psychosis, I joined the nonprofit Students with Psychosis as a student leader, where I can attend peer support groups and advocate for people experiencing psychosis. I plan to use my education to assist students, including those with disabilities or other barriers to learning, with learning the English subjects in my home country.

I am a senior international student from Hong Kong at California State University Northridge (CSUN), majoring in English Subject Matter. I believe literature and writing can be tools to highlight important topics and help catalyze positive action, including in mental health. During Fall 2019-Spring 2020, I regularly volunteered with the CSUN (California State University Northridge) Food Pantry. Through reading articles, I discovered there are many California State University students facing food insecurity and homelessness, and wanted to help ensure all CSUN students have steady access to food. Food insecurity and housing insecurity can be factors that may bring increase stress to students and worsen their mental health, so it is important to address these issues. I have diagnoses of autistic disorder and bipolar disorder. I also have a borderline Wechsler Individual Achievement Test reading speed score of 77 (6th percentile), a borderline Gray Oral Reading Test score of 70 (2nd percentile) and a below average overall Detailed Assessment of Handwriting Score of below 54. I was fortunate to receive additional, including speech and language therapy until I was fifteen, occupational therapy for a few years to improve my motor skills, and learning support services in the form of one-to-one in-class educational assistants and social skills, life skills, and study skills lessons. This made me realize the importance of meeting the needs of all students of disabilities, and makes me want to give back to other students. Accommodating the needs of all students would also help protect their mental health, since it is important to accommodate the needs of students with mental health disabilities to prevent them from getting worse, and since an unaccommodating environment can contribute to mental health challenges. When I was fifteen, I was hospitalized for two months with a diagnosis of "mania with psychotic features” and missed six months of school for medical reasons, so I repeated a grade. A few times, a hospital school teacher came to my ward to teach me, allowing me some normalcy and continuity of education. Having benefited from the hospital teacher school's time and lessons motivates me to support other people through challenges. During some missed school months, I benefited from pre-employment training for people with disabilities. While repeating a grade, I struggled with writing in English class. According to my English teacher, based on looking at my previous writing for English class the quality of my writing regressed. During that year, for my mock IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education)/GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) exams (with an A* (highest) - G (lowest) grading scale), I got C for one mock exam and below Cs (including two Fs and Gs) for all other subjects. However, officially I got one A, two Bs, and 4 Cs. I was delighted with the improvement in my results. While I got F for the English Literature mock and G for the English Language mock, officially I got A for IGCSE English Language and B for IGCSE English Literature. This experience taught me that one can choose to persevere in life while facing one's challenges, and that a setback in life does not necessarily have to set one back forever. Having experienced psychosis and wanting to find support and help other people experiencing psychosis, I joined the nonprofit Students with Psychosis as a student leader, where I can attend peer support groups and advocate for people experiencing psychosis. I have been an active leader in my community by volunteering with and advocating for specific populations in my community, including children and youth, the elderly, refugees and asylum seekers, and people with disabilities.

As a Christian, I believe that all humans are made in the image of God. Scientifically, a human starts to form in the womb. According to the American College of Pediatricians, "The predominance of human biological research confirms that human life begins at conception—fertilization. At fertilization, the human being emerges as a whole, genetically distinct, individuated zygotic living human organism, a member of the species Homo sapiens, needing only the proper environment in order to grow and develop." We cannot claim to love peace and hate violence, yet perform or condone violence against vulnerable and innocent unborn babies. Unfortunately, there are circumstances that make it challenging for a parent to take care of their future child. A parent may be living in poverty, not have the capability to care for a child, or be facing other serious circumstances that pose major challenges to them regarding their ability to care for their future child. These challenges must be acknowledged, and parents should be supported through these challenges. However, the solution to these challenges is not to kill an innocent unborn child, as the unborn child is made in the image of God and is not responsible for these challenges. There are also solutions to these challenges. For example, placing a child for adoption by a loving family may be a feasible option for some parents who are unable to raise their own child. Something that is sometimes proposed as a valid reason for abortion is knowing a child will be born with a disability. However, people with disabilities are no less valuable than people without disabilities, as they are made in the image of God, and are human beings like all of us. While children with disabilities may need additional or specialized support to fulfill their potential, all children are made in the image of God and have strengths and challenges, and a loving parent will do what they can to properly support and raise their child. As any child can acquire a disability at any time, the reality is that all parents should be prepared for the possibility of raising a disabled child, even if their child does not have a congenital disability. I believe that instead of aborting children with congenital disabilities, we need to ensure there is sufficient support for children with disabilities and their families. My personal experiences growing up and living with disabilities, including autism, receptive and expressive language delay, and severe mental illness also showed be the importance of accessibility in society, and motivates me to speak up against ableism in society, including aborting babies with disabilities. I advocate for the unborn children by letting people know my views about abortion, and plan to join a pro-life organization or activity that advocates for unborn babies. Since I value all humans, I have also volunteered with various populations, including the elderly, children and youth, refugees and asylum seekers, people with disabilities, people facing homelessness, and people facing food insecurity.

As someone who had speech and receptive and expressive language delay and difficulties, and who has diagnoses of autism and bipolar disorder, as well as a borderline Wechsler Individual Achievement Test reading speed of 77 (6th percentile), a borderline Gray Oral Reading Test reading comprehension score of 70 (2nd percentile), and an overall Detailed Assessment of Handwriting Speed of below 54, growing up, at school I faced disability-related challenges and unaccommodating school environments. Therefore, I believe one very important step that would make education better for future generations is school staff being more aware of students with visible and invisible disabilities, and knowing how to accommodate them, not just in classroom settings but also in other school settings, such as recess. For example, schools need to ensure a child has sufficient support to have meaningful social interaction during recess, and to have sensory processing needs met. Additionally, teachers and other school staff such as educational assistants should be informed of temporary physical or mental health, or other life challenges that both disabled and non-disabled students may face. This will reflect an inclusive society, and help make education accessible, so that every student can receive appropriate education in a safe and supportive environment to fulfill their own potential. Learning to accommodate students with disabilities will benefit not only students with disabilities but also students without disabilities, since non-disabled students can acquire temporary disabilities, since it will reflect an environment where students, teachers and school staff automatically include classmates and students regardless of their background or seen or unseen challenges, and since they will help non-disabled and disabled students alike to fulfill their full potential to contribute to society. There needs to be awareness of the types and severities of disabilities students may have, and how the school environment can have a positive or negative impact on them. Students' suggestions regarding how to improve the school environment must be considered. Accessibility also needs to be reflected in school policies. All school staff should be made aware of high-incidence disabilities, since it is likely that they will come across them. Teachers and school staff should be also prepared for the possibility of having a student with a low-incidence disability, and be given the adequate resources to support students with both high-incidence and low-incidence disabilities should they need to. It is important to know that not all disabilities are visible, and that severities of disabilities can fluctuate day to day and depending on the environment, in order to empathize with students, avoid misunderstandings, and adequately serve students. As someone who at the age of fifteen was hospitalized for two months with a diagnosis of "mania with psychotic features" and missed six months of school for medical reasons, so repeated a grade, I feel strongly that the needs of homebound students or hospital-bound students, and students who are returning to in-person school after being homebound or hospital-bound also must be evaluated. Making the school environment accessible to all students will greatly help students' development.

As someone diagnosed with autism and bipolar disorder, I understand the importance of protecting people’s mental health, accommodating people with disabilities, and accommodating mental health needs. As someone who has had social communication as well as receptive and expressive verbal communication challenges, I believe that in order to help everyone who has mental health challenges, we also need to consider the needs of people with additional disabilities in all settings including mental health treatment settings. For example, someone who cannot orally communicate may be able to write, use sign language, communication devices or other communication methods, presenting one piece of information at a time or presenting visual information with verbal information may help someone with receptive language disabilities, and someone with sensory processing needs needs to have their sensory processing needs met. This will make mental health treatment accessible to more people. Community mental health services are crucial, since they help people with mental illness be connected to the community and manage their own needs. Therefore, there needs to be adequate support and funding for community mental health services. Additionally, considering the difficulties many people with mental illness have in obtaining and keeping employment, there needs to be proper support for employees with mental illness, and supportive vocational rehabilitation services. Since many people with mental illness have experienced trauma, and since medical trauma exists, mental health services must be trauma-informed. Schools and colleges also need to be aware about prevention and treatment of mental illness, and have the training and resources to support students and staff with mental illness. Furthermore, to effectively help people with mental illness, that the voices of people with mental illness are listened to. One practical solution to helping people with mental illness is to listen to them, and use non-ableist, evidence-based and trauma-informed practices.

I am a junior international student from Hong Kong at California State University Northridge (CSUN), majoring in English Subject Matter. I believe literature and writing can be tools to highlight important topics and help catalyze positive action. During Fall 2019-Spring 2020, I regularly volunteered with the CSUN (California State University Northridge) Food Pantry. Through reading articles, I discovered there are many California State University students facing food insecurity and homelessness, and wanted to help ensure all CSUN students have steady access to food. I am diagnosed with autism and bipolar. I also have a borderline Gray Oral Reading Test score of 70 (second percentile) and a below average overall Detailed Assessment of Handwriting Score of below 54. As an autistic female university student with severe mental illness, I hope to counteract ableism and sanism in higher education. During my first year at CSUN, I benefited from the Thriving and Achieving Program (TAP), where I met weekly with a TAP coach who was also a CSUN student at the time, helping me with goal setting and time management. I use the software Read & Write with text-to-speech and other literacy and writing functions. I took the initiative to find and join Bookshare, an e-book library for people with a print disability. I also obtained electronic accessible versions of my class textbooks from DRES (Disability Resources and Educational Services). I use my approved academic and testing disability accommodations (permission to audio record professors’ lectures and use a laptop/tablet for note-taking, and shared notes from a peer notetaker), and my testing accommodations (use of a computer without spell-check and 50% extra time). Accommodations and support services help provide equal access for all college students. When I was fifteen, I was hospitalized for two months with a diagnosis of "mania with psychotic features” and missed six months of school for medical reasons, so I repeated a grade. A few times, a hospital school teacher came to my ward to teach me, allowing me some normalcy and continuity of education. During some missed school months, I benefited from pre-employment training for people with disabilities. While repeating a grade, I struggled with writing in English class. According to my English teacher, based on looking at my previous writing for English class the quality of my writing regressed. During that year, for my mock IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education)/GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) exams (with an A* (highest) - G (lowest) grading scale), I got C for one mock exam and below Cs (including two Fs and Gs) for all other subjects. However, officially I got one A, two Bs, and 4 Cs. I was delighted with the improvement in my results. While I got F for the English Literature mock and G for the English Language mock, officially I got A for IGCSE English Language and B for IGCSE English Literature. This experience taught me that one can choose to persevere in life while facing one's challenges, and that a setback in life does not necessarily have to set one back forever. Having experienced psychosis and wanting to find support and help other people experiencing psychosis, I joined the nonprofit Students with Psychosis, where I can attend peer support groups and advocate for people experiencing psychosis. Since mental health challenges are common and mental health is important, I also completed a Mental Health First Aid Standard Course to equip myself to address mental health emergencies. In the future, I plan to assist children and youth, including those with disabilities, physical or mental illnesses or other barriers to learning, with learning the English subject.