Abi Dumm, health sciences major, selected for Fulbright’s UK Summer Institutes
Abi Dumm’s passion for broadening the accessibility of assistive technology has earned her a competitive spot in Fulbright’s UK Summer Institutes program.
Dumm, a health sciences major with a minor in disability studies, was selected for her academic achievements and dedication to serving her community. The rising junior co-founded The Main Menu Project, an organization at Ohio State that partners with local Columbus restaurants to create accessible menus for the visually impaired community. Dumm also works with GoBabyGo, a program that adapts mobility vehicles for young kids with disabilities, offsetting the price of costly adolescent wheelchairs.
In pursuit of her commitment to foster a more inclusive and accessible society, Dumm learned American Sign Language and earned her Diversity, Intercultural, and Community Engagement (DICE) certificate.
“My passion for working with the disabled community began when my younger brother Josef was diagnosed with a disability. He passed away when I was young, but my experiences growing up with him pushed me to volunteer at an adaptive sports facility in high school called Youth Challenge Sports,” Dumm says. “Youth Challenge provides adaptive sports opportunities for children across the Cleveland area. While there, I noticed how kids from different income levels had different access to technologies and products that increased their opportunities for access. That stemmed into my interest of increasing assistive technology access through low-cost initiatives.”
Alongside leading industry scholars and professionals, Dumm will spend her summer at the Glasgow School of Art and the University of Strathclyde. She was chosen to participate in the UK Summer Institute on Technology, Innovation, and Creativity, a program that highlights the technological development of Scotland.
“Participating in the Fulbright’s UK summer institute will allow me to meet others from around the world who have similar educational and research interests to my own,” Dumm says. “The courses that I take part in there will allow me to explore topics that I have not yet had the chance to delve into, which will enhance my studies when I come home. It will also provide a global perspective on these topics for me, which will change how I approach problems in the real world.”
Fulbright’s UK Summer Institutes is a three- to four-week program designed to allow exceptional students to explore the culture of the UK while participating in a higher education UK university.
“I’m really looking forward to meeting all of my fellow cohort members as well as being given the chance to study abroad,” Dumm says. “I also am excited to participate in all of the different classes, and learn about technology and creativity from multiple different avenues.”
