Wadha Alshammari, G-’26, stood on the Commencement stage and smiled at the crowd. As her eyes passed over her fellow graduates, she pointed at them.
“All of you have something special inside. When people try to deny your dreams, stay strong. Move forward with confidence and reach for the stars.”
Alshammari spoke from experience. She had arrived on the Gallaudet campus without knowing sufficient English or American Sign Language (ASL) to begin her graduate studies. Now, she was the Graduate Student Speaker at the Commencement 2026 ceremony. The room followed her every move as she used ASL to deliver a confident speech.
Forty minutes later, Alshammari walked across the stage again to receive her Master of Arts in Deaf Education Studies. It marked the culmination of a lifelong dream. And the beginning of something even greater.
Growing curiosity
Alshammari was born and raised in Hail, Saudi Arabia. She is the youngest of nine siblings. At one year of age, she became deaf after contracting spinal meningitis. Shortly after, her mother passed away from cancer. When Alshammari was 13 years old, her father passed away after a car accident.
Her siblings stepped up. The family used home signs to ensure that Alshammari had full access. Whenever access barriers outside of the home prevented Alshammari from getting the answers she wanted, she would bring questions back to her siblings. They would use the opportunity to foster her curiosity.
“I was always exploring, always curious, always exploring my hometown,” she says. “I liked playing with unusual objects and taking apart metal things. I asked so many questions.”
Alshammari attended a deaf school in Hail with nine students. She learned Saudi Sign Language (SSL) and found deaf peers, but something was missing.
“I enjoyed learning and playing at school,” Alshammari says, “but the teachers didn’t encourage us to be proud deaf people. I didn’t have full access to information. I still had to ask my family to fill in the blanks.”
Alshammari’s family sparked the beginning of her next journey. When she was 13 years old, her brother Muhannad visited home during a break from his college studies in New Zealand. He told her about a school for the deaf in the United States called Gallaudet University. She couldn’t believe that such a place existed.
Alshammari went to her sister Ahtra and declared that she wanted to attend Gallaudet one day. “Athra told me to follow my heart,” Alshammari remembers. “From that day forward, my dream was set.”
Alshammari studied the history of Gallaudet University and found herself confused by two words: “deaf identity”. She approached Ahtra again.
“My sister told me that deaf identity is something inside me. A self-belief beyond logic. I didn’t understand at the time. Years later, when I arrived at Gallaudet, I finally understood. My deaf identity awakened immediately.”
Finding purpose
When Alshammari graduated from high school, attending Gallaudet wasn’t an option. At the time in Saudi Arabia, women were not allowed to live outside of the country without being accompanied by a man. Instead, she attended the University of Hail in her hometown and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Special Education.
“The system fails deaf children,” Alshammari says. “I want to foster the same curiosity in them that my family gave me.”
By 2018, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman enacted a royal decree in Saudi Arabia which allowed women greater access to education and other opportunities. Alshammari immediately secured a passport that allowed her to travel alone. One year later, her Gallaudet application was approved.
Before Alshammari could make her way to Washington, D.C., the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The entire world entered a state of limbo, and Alshammari was forced to wait a little longer.
Access at last
In 2021, Alshammari finally arrived on the Gallaudet campus. She began in the English Language Institute (ELI), which teaches English and ASL to international students. Alshammari felt at home immediately in the deaf-centered environment of Gallaudet. For the first time in her life, she had full access to all the information and interaction she craved.
“It only took a few days for me to feel like I found my deaf identity,” Alshammari says. “Here at Gallaudet, there are so many deaf people who aren’t ashamed of their identity. I took full advantage of that by meeting as many people as I could, even when I was still learning ASL. I loved chatting with my classmates and learning their stories.”
Alshammari’s former roommate J.J. Furlano, ’96, saw the growth firsthand. “Wadha has won the hearts of many people. Her persistence, optimism, humor, and curiosity make her someone others naturally gravitate toward. She asks endless questions, not because she likes to talk, but because she genuinely wants to learn and understand people and the world around her.”
In ELI, Alshammari loved learning alongside deaf people from around the world, including other Saudis. Her language foundation in SSL and home sign allowed her to learn ASL quickly. She then used ASL to learn English. Former ELI instructor Abbas Behmanesh, ’02 & G-’13, has fond memories of Wadha.
“Her journey from the English Language Institute (ELI) to graduate studies in Deaf Education was remarkable,” Behmanesh says. “Without question, I believe Wadha will continue to make significant contributions to the Deaf community worldwide.”
Gallaudet’s International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) program also supported Alshammari during her time at the university. ISSS Team member Lawrence Musa, ’88 & ’93, remembers her as a determined student.
“The environment at Gallaudet opened and unlocked the dreams she had harbored,” Musa says. “She has navigated many obstacles to be here, overcoming challenges through perseverance and hard work.”
A natural educator
In 2024, Alshammari began studying for her master’s in Deaf Education Studies. She dedicated herself to her coursework, knowing the skills she learned would be uniquely useful in Saudi Arabia.
“In Saudi Arabia, deaf babies are often just labeled as ‘disabled’ and not given the communication support they need to thrive. My classes at Gallaudet taught me how to use assessments to develop age-appropriate education plans for deaf children.”
The fully accessible classroom environments at Gallaudet made learning easier than ever before. “There was always something missing for me inside hearing classrooms,” Alshammari says. “Gallaudet is all about access. I loved all my courses and teachers.”
In 2024, Alshammari participated in a groundbreaking project that promoted cognitive science education for deaf K-12 students.
Ashley Greene, a professor in the Deaf Education program, remembers Wadha as one of her hardest-working students. “She was incredibly curious and never satisfied with simply meeting the requirements of an assignment. We met outside of class time on an almost weekly basis for various classes to expand her knowledge of the material and subject.”
Deaf Education instructor Allison Gibbons, G-’07, sees big things in Alshammari’s future. “I have no doubt she will make a positive impact in Deaf Education. It may be a challenge, but Wadha’s personality can empower others to join her in her fight to improve Deaf Education anywhere she goes.”
Dreaming big
Alshammari’s speech at Commencement 2026 began by emphasizing the importance of access. Alshammari thanked her family for encouraging her curiosity. She also recognized the importance of the language foundation they gave her by using sign language in the family home.
“The earliest education happens at home,” she signed to the crowd. “As a child, I would use the things I learned at home to help my classmates. That’s where I first developed a love of teaching.”
Alshammari thanked the Gallaudet community for welcoming her. “When I first arrived at Gallaudet, I saw the Tower Clock with its flag waving in the wind. Everywhere I looked, there was signing and ProTactile. I knew I was home. I finally knew the meaning of belonging.”
Other lessons in Alshammari’s speech touched on resilience, chasing one’s dreams, and the importance of paying it forward.
“I will bring all the lessons I learned here at Gallaudet to Saudi Arabia and use them to educate the deaf community there,” Alshammari signed on the Commencement stage. She turned to her fellow graduates. “I hope you share your brilliance with the world, too.
“Growing up, I had to rely on my family to explain everything to me. I don’t want other deaf children to have that experience. I want all deaf children to have full access. I want to encourage them to follow their dreams.”
Now that she’s graduated, Alshammari has a new dream for herself. She wants to establish her own signing-only school for deaf children in Saudi Arabia. If her journey so far is any indication, it won’t be a dream for long.
Gallaudet is the world’s leading institution in Deaf Education. Visit the Education program page to learn more.
Visit the International Admissions page to see Gallaudet’s resources for international students.
