Kristiana "Tia" Khan

This upcoming internship and volunteer experience is for a capstone in my major at UIC, Disability and Human Development. During this class, we will gain work experience in disability advocacy, research, and/or policy organizations.

During this internship, I shadowed two educational interpreters of American Sign Language at this high school 2-3 times a week. I gained immensely valuable experience working with, interpreting for, and conversing with d/Deaf children, d/Deaf and autistic children, DeafBlind children, and d/Deaf children with rare illnesses like CHARGE syndrome. I was able to interpret a variety of high school classes in ASL and English including algebra, physics, woodshop, physical therapy, occupational therapy, gym, and more. This allowed me to practice both my receptive and expressive interpreting skills in ASL and English.

During this independent study, I have reviewed relevant literature about childhood and adolescents with chronic pain. This literature includes children in medical settings like children's pain programs as well as the everyday lived experiences of children's chronic pain. These lived experiences offer insight into the mental, physical, and social impact chronic pain (and treatments for chronic pain) have on children.

During my volunteer work with ANAD (also known as the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders), I have gained valuable experience by volunteering to run booths and participate in events such as eating disorder recovery candlelight vigils. I have also had the opportunity to create educational witten content for flyers to promote body positivity, healthy eating patterns, and eating disorder recovery.

I was a mentor in the after-school club " Peace Jam " at Brady Elementary. Peace Jam promoted reading to children (particularly to children with reading disabilities) by having rewarding children for their reading. Children would have engaging discussions about reading and create fun drawings or projects about their books. The end goal of Peace Jam was for the children to raise money through their reading and donate to a charity of their choosing.

I was a Leader and a Reader in the group Young Philosophers . This group promoted critical thinking skills and close reading to preschool and elementary-aged homeschooled children in an engaging way. It also offered a social setting for these homeschooled children to connect with other children.

As part of my Honors College Capstone, I presented a Poster Presentation April 15, 2024 at the 2024 UIC Undergraduate Research Forum. My Poster was about a subsection of my capstone, which was Language Deprivation. Language Deprivation is preventable and occurs when children do not have access to an accessible language. These findings were presented to guests, judges, and alumni. I presented my poster in both English and American Sign Language.