Sabrina Durso

My name is Sabrina Durso, and I’m a first-generation PhD candidate from Metro-Detroit, Michigan—and it’s taken just about everything I’ve had to get here. Most of my childhood was spent in a trailer park, while my mom and stepdad worked tirelessly to ensure we had a memorable childhood. On top of her full-time job, my mom even obtained a Master’s Degree in Accounting. She refused to let either of her children believe we couldn’t obtain our goals—to this day, she reminds me that I can be anything I want to be, so long as I’m willing to put in the effort. So, it was no surprise to my parents when I applied to Oakland University to become an actuary—a profession for those who love Math and love to travel. However, I’d never become an actuary, because just after I received my college acceptance letter, I had eye surgery that would leave me with worsening vision for the rest of my life. I still went to Oakland, but I nearly failed my first math course because I couldn’t see well enough. So, I readjusted. I knew I wanted to obtain a college degree, no matter what, just to prove to myself that I could do it. I thought about the General Education courses I enjoyed taking and realized I had a deep love for American Literature. I still remember the enthusiasm radiating from Dr. Timothy Donahue as he taught the great works of Zitkála-Šá, Frederick Douglass, and Mark Twain. 

By the time I completed my Bachelor’s, I felt I still had more to learn, so I went for my Master’s Degree, where I learned about the wonderful world of Disability Studies. This field introduced me to interdisciplinary theories about how society is constructed to keep people marginalized. Growing up with a mother who taught me that anyone should be able to achieve their goals—these theories helped me realize just how unjust the world is. After obtaining my Master’s degree, I had many ideas on how I could contribute to these theories, so I applied for my PhD, despite all of the professors who warned me that it wouldn’t be easy to get into a program, much less get the degree with worsening vision. However, I got into OSU on my first try, and now I am a fourth-year PhD candidate studying all of the ways those with disabilities are marginalized through the narratives and metaphors we hear daily. I also ensure that students with disabilities and beyond are well-supported throughout their time at OSU as the President of the Graduate Student Body for the past two years. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found myself in a room with the Board of Trustees or the President and Provost, reminding them that accessibility goes beyond affordability. Working door-opening buttons and elevators, smooth sidewalks, and true academic accommodations should be just as important so students can physically make it through their degree. It’s been one of the biggest honors of my life to fight (and win) that fight and to help those students around me achieve their dreams in truly equitableways. 

My future remains a touch unclear in the most exciting of ways. In less than two years, I’ll be defending my PhD Dissertation to become Dr. Sabrina Durso—that much I know is true. However, I don’t know where my PhD will take me. Having an English degree opens as many doors as you’re willing to try. I could become a professor, teaching those stories of systemic issues affecting our world to the next generation of scholars. I could work for Sesame Street or Disney, ensuring their representations of those marginalized are accurate to ensure no unintentional harm comes to those they portray. I could go back to school to get my Master’s in Social Work and help those in real time achieve a better life. I honestly don’t know what I’ll end up doing, and that’s exciting because I know so long as I work hard, I’ll be able to make this world a better place than how I found it. And that’s all I could ever hope for.