Zehra Mavis: a life of an undergraduate university student who is visually impaired
Outside of Zehra’s academic life, she would love for the acting industry to contact her for a role despite her disability since her dream is to be an actress as a career and love to voice herself in a public setting. The interview will promote the importance of access to public places, such as grocery stores for people who are visually impaired.
1. Tell me about yourself?
I am Zehra and I am studying at the University of Toronto Scarborough doing a major in English, and a minor in public law, and a minor in history.
2. What are your hobbie(s)?
My hobbies are reading books, theatre, also I love talking in public places like doing presentations.
3. What are you thankful for?
I’m thankful for being independent, I can walk in the streets by myself and text friends, and use social media.
4. What are some things that you wished people knew about you and people with disabilities?
I am an individual and a happy person and proud to be independent. They should spend a day before judging someone by their cover to understand our lives from our perspectives.
5. In what ways has Canada changed your life after moving here?
It changed my life drastically. In Turkey, no one told me how to be independent and the education system was based on memorization and no social activities, and a lot of discrimination towards people with disabilities. In Canada, people are respectful about my disability and I can seek support through others and that makes Canada a place where I can be happy.
6. How did the pandemic affect you and have the things that affected you currently affected you in the past?
During the pandemic, online learning is difficult and lots of screentime (around 3 hours classes). Other than that, the positive outcome(s) is that I made new friends and participated in social activities.
7. Challenges?
The online exams outline is not organized well, in terms of time, and in my experience, I needed to take an exam at 9am or 10pm and the time limit is stressful. Sometimes it is hard to connect with the professors where my mic is not working and engaging in participation for me is difficult.
8. I know you won many awards and been invited to public events to speak on various topics, do you mind sharing your experience?
Grade 7 there was a big scientific project that everyone was joining and I was the one who won the contest and I invented a new gadget (reduce electricity) if you forgot to turn out the light after one past there will be a censor beep that closes the lights and returning to the kitchen u need to open the light. I had a lot of public events I attended, I was invited to talk about how Canada manage pandemic during this time and how disabilities are affected and how Canada approach the issue.
9. What did you want people to take away from this interview?
I would suggest they learn and be open to talking with me or people you may know that have a disability to learn their story as well.
10. What would define originality?
Originality is the act of being who you are as a human with confidence, in being independent, and be the greatest version of yourself. As a woman who is visually impaired, I am not afraid.
