Mei-Lian Vader

CWIT Scholar, C17
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Minor: American Sign Language and Deaf Studies

Expected Graduation: 2023

Hello, my name is Mei Vader and I am a passionate, eager student who enjoys hands-on activities. I am conversationally fluent in American Sign Language and am working towards my Associates of Science in ASL Interpreting. With my degree in ASL and Mechanical Engineering I hope to design and develop assistive technology with a focus on the Deaf and hard of hearing communities. Other than using my hands to communicate using ASL, I love to knit, crochet, and fold origami. I am also an animal lover and foster rabbits in my free time for a nonprofit organization that rescues rabbits. I am thrilled to be joining a diverse and exciting community as a CWIT Scholar.

I am about to finish my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering this May and I am thrilled to be continuing my education here at UMBC as a PhD student in the Human Centered Computing program. I am also working on my A.A. in American Sign Language at Deaf Studies at CCBC which I will be finishing in the next year. I am looking forward to combining my interests and experiences in Mechanical Engineering and American Sign Language to work on researching assistive technology for the deaf and hard of hearing in my PhD studies.

Other Facts

Future Plans

I will be staying at UMBC and working on my PhD in Human Centered Computing.