2024 MDisability Interns

Michael is an incoming physiology masters student at the University of Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 2024 with a BS in movement science. He is currently applying to medical school with plans to matriculate in the fall of 2025. His goal is to become a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation physician and to help rehabilitate and advocate for individuals with chronic disabilities and injuries. His interest in working with individuals with disabilities stems from his experience as the founder and head instructor of an adaptive tennis program, ‘Tennis for Fun Lehigh Valley’ in Easton, Pennsylvania. This program has provided free tennis clinics to adults and children with disabilities for the past seven years. As the program expanded, Michael was able to provide clinics to other organizations, including the Bethlehem Special Olympics, Camelot for Children, and the Saucon Valley Special Needs Sports Club. As an undergraduate student, he has continued working in adaptive sports as a counselor with University of Michigan’s Kidsport Summer Camps. He has started a kids adaptive tennis program this summer with the University of Michigan’s Kinesiology Community Programs. Through these experiences, he has witnessed the physical and social benefits of adaptive sports. Michael said he looks forward to collaborating with U-M disability health professionals to increase and enhance adaptive sports opportunities in the local Ann Arbor area and to learn how best to meet the varying needs of patients with disabilities.

Tess is a University of Michigan School of Nursing (UMSN) senior with a passion for disability justice and health equity. She is obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, with minors in Global Health, English, and Disability Studies. Tess’s lifelong passion for disability health and wellness was ignited by her inter-abled family and the greater Ann Arbor disability community through her involvement in adaptive sports, arts, and music.
MDisability was impactful in revealing Tess’ interest in the family practice model for supporting dignified care and access in the lives of disabled people, in a way that considers their social determinants of health and positionality. After graduating, Tess hopes to pursue a Doctorate in Nursing Practice, and become a Family Nurse Practitioner serving the disability community, researching disability health equity, and helping nursing schools to broaden disability curriculum.
Tess’s values of representation and community are manifested in UofM’s first disability culture anthology, Accessing Disability Culture, for which she is the lead editor and project director. In her advocacy, Tess lectures on Disability Justice; creates disability-focused curriculum at UMSN, as well as organizes various community education events through her club, Disability Justice @ Michigan. Her work in disability advocacy on campus has earned Tess a Central Campus MLK Spirit Award and a Central Student Government Disability Advocacy, Empowerment, and Service Award. 

Muhammad is a rising fourth-year student at Wayne State University, majoring in Biomedical Engineering, on the pre-medical track. Growing up with his younger sister, who was diagnosed with Rett syndrome at the age of two, fueled his passion and commitment to disability advocacy. He aims to make significant contributions to their inclusion and advancement in healthcare and research. Witnessing his sister’s daily struggles ignited Muhammad’s determination to pursue a career focused on making tangible improvements in the lives of individuals facing similar challenges. Opting for Biomedical Engineering was a deliberate choice, motivated by the field's potential to positively impact individuals with disabilities. In his high school senior project titled, "The Effects of Communication on Activity Participation and Engagement in a Girl with Rett Syndrome," he worked with an expert in Behavioral Therapy to conduct a study highlighting the crucial role communication plays in promoting engagement for individuals with disabilities. Additionally, Muhammad presented a webinar in collaboration with MDisability titled, “Navigating Health, Community, and School Barriers with a Cognitive Disability.” He is involved with the organization Muslims Understanding & Helping Special Education Needs (MUHSEN) in order to establish an inclusive and accessible environment for individuals with disabilities and their families.

Alexandra “Zandy” Wong recently graduated from Johns Hopkins University with an undergraduate degree in public health. This summer, her research focused on investigating the state of accessible health information for people with sensory disabilities. Previously, her research at Hopkins focused on improving the inequitable digital public health response to COVID-19 and evaluating the accessibility of U.S. hospital websites. She has also shared her story of growing up with hearing loss on the TEDx stage and industry panels to encourage acceptance of people with disabilities. In the community, she is the founder of the NextGen Accessibility Initiative where she partners with Gen Z organizations to make their digital content fully accessible for disabled youth. Her work to improve digital accessibility within the NextGen Accessibility Initiative has reached over 200,000 youth in 119 countries. She was recently named a 2024 U.S. Rhodes Scholar in recognition of her disability advocacy and research. After completing master’s degrees in digital health and public policy at the University of Oxford, she plans to matriculate into a U.S. medical school in Fall 2026.