Minneapolis, MN — Language is the key to Alex Zeibot’s universe. Born Deaf in Riga, Latvia, and initially only exposed to language through text, he attended a Deaf school in St. Petersburg, Russia, where his life changed when he was introduced to a “manual” language. His journey brought him to the U.S. where he earned a bachelor’s degree from Gallaudet and a master’s in Deaf education from the University of Minnesota. Recognizing that Deaf students who graduate from high school have a median reading level a few grades behind their hearing peers—and that Deaf and hearing students learn literacy skills through entirely different brain processes—Alex seeks to develop an effective curriculum that helps Deaf children overcome the literacy gap. He will use his Bush Fellowship to earn his PhD.
