Yael, from the northern Chicago suburbs, will be attending college at the University of Illinois Chicago Circle, where she plans to major in neuroscience on a pre-medical track. She recently created her own blog about her experiences as a deaf teenager and to promote tolerance, and already has well over 1000 followers. She’s very active in her synagogue, and in high school was captain of her local Deaf Academic Bowl team which she led to the national championships in 2019 (they came in second place), and involved in the Model United Nations among other activities. She also writes articles for Redefy.org which empowers teenagers to be more inclusive, and is active in her local ASL club.

Prior to starting college this fall, Yael is researching accessibility in healthcare through her internship at 2axend, a strategic consulting and training firm that works to improve accessibility for Deaf and hard of hearing individuals.