YES alumni in Thailand organized an outreach event for forty deaf high school students from four schools in Bangkok. To help change the students' perception of what deaf people are capable of, three YES ’19 alumni who are deaf shared their experiences and described how they adjusted to life in America. The workshop, which was supported by the US Embassy, opened with a self-assessment exercise called ‘Who Are You?” which asked each student to draw pictures representing their likes, passions and career interests.

The alumni conducted a skit called “If you are an Exchange Student…” which outlined experiences students might encounter during an exchange year, such as saying goodbye at the airport, the arrival orientation, meeting their host family and attending an American school. The alumni also created a special intensive lesson, “English at the Airport,” which provided students with an overview of common terms and phrases they might encounter at the airport. The alumni hoped to inspire the participants to apply for the YES program and realize that they could take part in the same opportunities as hearing students.