Blind student discovers passion for human rights at SMU
DALLAS (SMU) – John Kalkanli has never seen the campus of SMU, but he says he loves it none-the-less.
 John Kalkanli |
Kalkanli is blind. Born in Turkey with a disorder that robbed him of his sight from day one, his family brought him to Dallas six times in his first five years of life to attempt surgeries they hoped would make him see. None of the surgeries worked, but eventually he found something else in Dallas – a future home at SMU.
After Kalkanli graduates in May with dual degrees in International Studies and Markets and Culture with a minor in human rights, he will enroll in SMU’s Masters of Liberal Studies program with a focus on human rights. After that, he hopes to work for an international human rights organization like Amnesty International or the International Rescue Committee.
“I came here with Camp Dream, a camp organized by the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services Division for Blind Services every summer,” says Kalkanli, whose family moved to Dallas when he was 9-years old. “We got to tour the campus and learn what it is like to be a college student with a visual impairment. As soon as I came here, I realized this is a place I wanted to be.”
It wasn’t long before Kalkanli discovered his passion for human rights and was accepted to enroll in SMU’s human rights program.
“I got to volunteer at the Dallas Holocaust museum as part of my human rights class with Prof. Rick Halperin, and then my other unforgettable experience was going to Poland,” Kalkanli said. “I went with the Embrey Human rights program this past December and visited multiple concentration camps and other Holocaust sites.
“Before going to Poland, everything I’d studied about the Holocaust hadn’t sunk in,” Kalkanli added. “I really couldn’t understand what had happened to all those people and the heinous crimes that were committed. But after going to these places, now I am able to sympathize with the victims and put myself in their shoes.”
“Even though I am visually impaired, I didn’t let that get in the way of my education,” Kalkanli says. “When I first came to SMU, the first thing I heard was, ‘World changers shaped here,’ and that is exactly true. I believe people who want to make a difference like myself should attend SMU.”
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SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls approximately 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools.
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