After a lifetime spent fighting for her dreams, Nadia Zomorodian ’21 graduated with a B.S. in Photography from the UCF School of Visual Arts and Design. When Nadia was a child, “the doctors told [her] parents that [she] would never graduate high school” because she was born with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome, a genetic defect “caused by a small missing piece of the 22nd chromosome,” which can lead to varying effects on a child’s health and development.
Though her syndrome causes a learning disability that makes school challenging, she pressed on through the obstacles and worked hard for her high school diploma. Her tenacity led her to pursue the B.S. in Photography degree program at the University of Central Florida. At UCF, she was able to pursue her passion as a photojournalist.
Nadia has worked for both NASCAR and the Daytona Beach News-Journal, where she now works as a freelance photographer. To those who have been told they can’t do something, Nadia says, “you can do whatever you set your mind to.”
Read the full Daytona Beach News-Journal article where Nadia personally explains her journey here.
Photo courtesy of Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Bachelor of Science Photography program is part of the UCF School of Visual Arts and Design, located at Daytona State College. To learn more about the UCF School of Visual Arts and Design’s offerings, visit: svad.cah.ucf.edu