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A young man with Down syndrome has graduated from university, what he once called his greatest dream. Olcayto Tunçel (pictured) made his dreams come true when he graduated last August from the department of bureau management and executive assistantship at Anadolu University in Eskişehir province.
He said his new objective is to attend another university and study history. "I studied hard every day with my friends and passed all my exams successfully. I was extremely excited when I received my diploma," Tunçel said. "My parents were proud of me. All my friends called to congratulate me. My aim, for now, is to attend another university and study history."
He advised all people with disabilities to pursue their dreams. "As a young person with Down syndrome, my diploma is of great importance," he said. "I hope my ambition to continue my education will set an example for all other disabled people. I am sure all those who study and work hard will be successful."
Tunçel also said he received job offers from various companies as soon as he received his diploma. "I am considering one of these offers," he said. Tunçel's mother, Hülya Tunçel, expressed happiness over her son's success. "My son's graduation from university was a source of indescribable pride and happiness for us. We have received many calls from parents with children who have Down syndrome," she said. "They congratulated us, and I shared my experience with Olcayto."
Beth Haller, Ph.D., is Co-Director of the Global Alliance for Disability in Media and Entertainment (www.gadim.org). A former print journalist, she is a member of the Advisory Board for the National Center on Disability and Journalism (https://ncdj.org/). Haller is Professor Emerita in the Department of Mass Communication at Towson University in Maryland, USA. Haller is co-editor of the 2020 "Routledge Companion to Disability and Media" (with Gerard Goggin of University of Sydney & Katie Ellis of Curtin University, Australia). She is author of "Representing Disability in an Ableist World: Essays on Mass Media" (Advocado Press, 2010) and the author/editor of Byline of Hope: Collected Newspaper and Magazine Writing of Helen Keller (Advocado Press, 2015). She has been researching disability representation in mass media for 30+ years. She is adjunct faculty in the Disability Studies programs at the City University of New York (CUNY) and the University of Texas-Arlington.
From Today's Zaman in Turkey:
