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Amy
After I graduated from high school, I went to Gallaudet as a freshman. My five years of being a Gallaudet student were some of my best times, and I am grateful that NSD teachers and staff told me to go there. Later in life I met deaf people who attended public school. They had never heard of Gallaudet, and thus missed their opportunity to attend a Deaf college.
When I enrolled at Gallaudet, I didn’t know what major I wanted, as I was not sure what I want to do in the future. I decided that I should major in studio arts as I love to do house decorations and painting. Then I realized there might not be any jobs for me in that field, so I added elementary education to my major.
During my freshman year at Gallaudet, 1987 to 1988, there were big changes on the campus. First, Gallaudet changed from a college to a university at that time, so those of us who were freshman became the first university students. I was so proud to be a Gallaudet University student.
The biggest change that happened in my freshman year was the Deaf President Now movement in March of 1988. What caused this? A new president, Dr. Elisabeth Zinser, a hearing person who knew little about Deaf culture and was not familiar with American Sign Language, was selected to be the new president of Gallaudet. The Gallaudet students protested, because we wanted a Deaf president to run the university, someone who understood our needs and culture. Even though the Board of Trustees had selected the hearing person, we students protested and were on the national news.
When Mother saw the news, she was worried I might be arrested, because she remembered what happened to the Vietnam War protesters years ago, but that did not happen to us. The newsmen were on our side. It was a quite an experience for me when I marched to the U.S. Capitol. I was thrilled it happened during my first year. What a good start for my years at Gallaudet.
I strongly agreed with the protest and supporting it was worthwhile. Since Gallaudet University is the only Deaf university, I believe it needs to have a Deaf president that understands Deafness and our needs and culture. Gallaudet was established in 1864, and in 1988 Dr. I. King Jordan became our first Deaf president. He did an excellent job improving and serving Gallaudet during his years as president. He retired in 2006 and then Gallaudet had their second Deaf president, Dr. Robert Davila for several years. Now, Gallaudet has their third Deaf president, Dr. Alan Hurwitz.
At the Nebraska School for the Deaf, I was involved in many activities. When I entered Gallaudet, I was so glad I had learned so many basic skills from NSD. Naturally, I learned more at Gallaudet because it has bigger organizations and more people to manage at the meetings. There I enjoyed being an officer or chairperson of a committee. Today, I still do this when the opportunities are just right for me. I grab at the chance to serve Deaf community organizations.
At Gallaudet, I became a member of Phi Kappa Zeta in the fall of 1989, a social sorority. It is the oldest sorority on Gallaudet campus, founded 1892. Phi Kappa Zeta is only a local Greek organization; no other universities or colleges have this sorority. It was a really awesome experience to have sorority sisters. I loved being involved in rush parties, pledge programs, community events, and other activities where my sisters and I worked together. Some of the volunteer work I did with my sisters was similar to what I did for other organizations on campus.
What did I do during my five years at Gallaudet? I was very busy all the time. In my freshman year, basically, I was just a freshman, but I was on the Rock Festival committee in spring time. I signed up for the party cleaning committee. So, my duty was to clean the dock when Rock Festival ends. Picking up plastic cups and other garbage was not fun as my hands were so DIRTY! At least I did something during my freshman year.
In my sophomore year, I decided I needed to be more involved in any kind of organization. So I became a Volunteer Student Residential Advisor, volunteered at the Tower Clock and the Rock Festival (this time, I had a better job on the admission committee. I collected tickets). I also volunteered for the class of 1991 committees. We raised money for our class so we could have a senior trip and plant a tree on campus with a memorial slab in honor of our class. On these committees I had various duties from selling tickets, food, and tee shirts to decorating and cleaning up afterwards. During spring breaks in my college years, I went to Puerto Rico and Venezuela with my college friends.
My junior and senior years were similar. I was the layout editor of the Tower Clock, for two years. The yearbook is called the Tower Clock, because at the front entrance of the campus there is a large tower clock attached to Chapel Hall. It is a landmark on the campus. That building and the clock tower were some of the first buildings constructed on the campus in 1864. My duty as layout editor was to design each page and to insert the pictures and text. During these years I was involved a lot with my sorority and class of 1991 events. I joined intramural sports to keep in shape and was on a team with my sorority sisters. We were the intramural champions in both volleyball and basketball. I worked as residential advisor at Benson Hall during my junior year. During my senior year, I was in the play, Circus in the Wind. I acted as a clown. It was a fun and reminded me of the pleasure I had performing in plays at NSD. I wish I could have acted in more plays during my years at Gallaudet, but at least I did it once, better than nothing.
In my second year as a senior, I was a student development advisor. I did this on the Northwest Campus (NWC). The NWC is the preparatory school affiliated with Gallaudet located in another part of Washington, D.C. Their purpose is to assess a student’s need and improve their knowledge in various subjects so they may be admitted to Gallaudet as a freshman. I was not a preparatory student at the NWC, so I wanted to work at the NWC to experience what life was like on the other campus. While working at the NWC, I was also a sponsor for their yearbook.
To be active in events on the Gallaudet campus was a great experience, as well as fun. I learned how to be a leader and how to work on a team with other chairpersons or committees. Some of these experiences I had learned at NSD, but I expanded on them while at Gallaudet.
While doing all of these things, I found time to study and earned my bachelor’s degree in elementary education and studio arts.
Then, I decided to earn a master’s degree. Therefore, I went to Western Maryland College in Westminster, Maryland, now known as McDaniel College, to pursue a master’s degree in Deaf Education. While doing this, I was as a teacher at Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (KDES), which is on the Gallaudet campus. It is an elementary school for Deaf children who live in the area surrounding Washington, D.C.
For two-and-a-half years, I taught at KDES during the daytime and at night attended graduate classes. One year during my postgraduate courses, I worked as a development educational specialist and conducted educational workshops for the preparatory students at the NWC. I developed workshops on how to study better in college, how to adapt to college life, and where to go if you have problems at your job or on campus. I did all of this to gain experience in different types of jobs and to work with the students and additional people in administration.
These years were some of the craziest moments in my life; being a teacher, working on the NWC, and attending graduate classes in the evening as a full-time student. It was a great experience to do so many tasks all at the same time. My life was really hectic during graduate school, but I accomplished it all, earned my master’s degree, and added many new experiences to my life. I was now ready to step into a real world job because I had outstanding experiences during my Gallaudet years. I searched for an elementary teaching position.