Deaf College Experiences

On February 28th my dreams came true.  I got accepted into Brigham Young University!  I worked incredibly hard in high school to make it into the college of my dreams.  I still remember staring at the email saying BYU admission notices were sent out.  I was terrified to open that letter because I knew my future was all decided in that letter.  I finally opened it up and was filled with relief as it said, "Congratulations! You have been admitted into Brigham Young University!"  Little did I know that I had a long road ahead of me.

It was a lot of work getting scholarship applications in, finding housing, picking my classes, paying for tuition, etc.  But as the day that I moved in got closer and closer, I couldn't help but feel really excited.  Family and friends were telling me that college is the best and that I would have a wonderful time.  

I was a little worried about going from high school to college and being able to hear the professors.  But my good friend reached out and told me about the universities accessibility center and all the services they offered.  So I made an appointment with them a few weeks before classes started.  

At the appointment I learned about the services that were offered.  They provide transcribers and interpreters to deaf people.  I didn't want interpreters because I thought it would be too distracting to watch the interpreter and listen to the professor.  The transcription services seemed like a better option for me because I can usually understand everything, but occasionally I will miss something.  

The transcription services is live-captioning.  I have 2 transcribers for each class, and they type everything the professor/students say.  They send me a link that I pull up on my laptop and I am able to follow along.  For the most part I don't rely too much on the captioning, but it can be very useful at times.  If I ever can't understand the professor either because they turned around, went to another side of the room, or were talking super fast I am able to look down at my computer and read what I missed.  It is also helpful when the students ask a question or make a comment and I can't hear them.  This was something I struggled with in high school, so it is nice in college that I am now able to understand what students say! 

My transcribers send me the transcript at the end of class, so I basically get awesome notes! It is very nice because sometimes the professor will talk really fast and I will be struggling to hear and follow along.  So at the end of class I will go back and read the transcript to make sure I fully understand the topic.  

It's hilarious because every class the people sitting next to me will usually lean over half way through class and whisper, "Woah! That is so cool! What is this? Can I get this program?"  I tell them that I am deaf and I have transcribers who type everything for me.  Their eyes go wide and they say, "How are they typing that fast?!" Haha! It is seriously the greatest.  I love having the transcription services because I am able to understand the full lecture and I get awesome notes!

My family and friends kept warning me that college is hard.   But they had no idea that it would be 10x harder for a deaf person.  I have the academic part all figured out and I am able to understand everything.  However college isn't just about school, social things are a big part.  There is always something happening on campus, and most likely all of the social activities are LOUD! 

I had my first realization that the social part of college was going to be super hard for me on the day I moved in.  There was a dorm party that evening and I was excited to go because it would be my first college party.  I showed up and knew immediately that it was going to be hard to hear.  There was music blaring, hundreds of people talking, and it was dark.  I put on my brave face and started meeting people.  I probably said "what" a hundred times.  I went back to my dorm and I was exhausted.  Trying to hear in a loud environment is so exhausting! 

I can't emphasize enough that college is SO loud!  You are constantly meeting new people in loud places. Before class starts you are talking to your neighbor and 100-700 people are also getting to know their neighbor, so as you can guess it gets pretty loud.  Volleyball games, football games, parties, etc. are so loud.  In every one of these loud settings I am always struggling to hear as I am trying to meet new people.  

Don't get me wrong, I have had a ton of fun so far!  I have great friends and an awesome roommate! I still go to all of these social things because they are fun!  I have come to accept that it will always be hard for me to hear.  I will always have to say "what" a thousand times a day.  Some days are just plain hard and exhausting and there have definitely been tears shed.

A lot of people think that only the academic part of school is hard, but for me it is also the social part.   But I'm not going to let my deafness get in the way of having fun at college.  I am still going to go to football games and parties even though they are extremely hard to hear at.  I am also still going to meet new people even if I have to ask them to repeat their name two times because I couldn't hear it.

Here is proof that I do go to social things! ;)

First Day of School

Interpreting

Hello!  I took a break for a little bit, but I am now back!  These past few months have been really busy!! In May I graduated from high school.  I had a 4.0 GPA, which I am super proud of.  I had an incredible senior year and it is crazy to think that I have moved onto another stage of life. 

During the summer I worked as a market research intern.  I would research the company's competitors, create a profile, and present it to the CEO.   I also had the opportunity to interpret for a deaf boy named Ben.  I knew him from my neighborhood and the company asked if I would interpret for him during the summer.  It didn't make sense to hire a full time interpreter because for the most part we were researching on computers by ourselves.  But they needed a way to communicate with him during the occasional meeting, when he presented, and to give him directions.  Ben suggested that I interpret for him because I would be working there also and I knew ASL.  

I accepted this challenge and I am so glad I did! I knew it would be difficult because well... I am deaf also!  I sometimes don't hear things and I need to read lips.  Interpreters face the deaf person the whole time and sign, but I couldn't do that.  So during the meetings I would turn around and listen/read lips and then turn around and sign for him.  It wasn't easy but we made it work.  I'm thankful that Ben was very patient with me.

I took 4 levels of ASL in high school, so I knew ASL but I was nowhere near perfect.  I learned so many new business vocabulary words during that first week.  This opportunity definitely improved my signing and I learned a lot more!  

It's funny to think that I was a deaf person interpreting for another deaf person.  In my level 4 ASL class in high school my teacher encouraged all of us to think about becoming an interpreter.  I always brushed this off and never really listened to the details of becoming an interpreter because I knew I would never be an interpreter.  I'm deaf!  But funny enough I was actually an interpreter during the summer! 

I'm glad I had the opportunity to interpret for Ben.  My signing greatly improved and I learned a lot.  I'm very grateful for my cochlear implant that allows me to hear and talk with people. 

I started college 2 weeks ago and it has been great!  Come back next week because I have some cool stuff to share!  Oh by the way you can get email updates when I post if you enter your email on the right side of the blog under "Follow by email".