After I graduated from Hillsdale College in 1979 I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do. So I went to Gallaudet College in Washington DC for an intensive sign language course. Gallaudet is the nation institute for the deaf. It was fantastic and fun and cool. Living on campus we were 'on the spot' and had to start using sign language right away. It came rather easy to me. I attribute this to years of cheerleading. Why? Because I was learning words with motions. Just like sign language :o)
One Saturday I went with a group of deaf students to the beach. We drove in a big van and I will never forget how loud the music was playing; Saturday Night Fever.
So any way....Nyle DiMarco is profoundly deaf and he is a Gallaudet graduate. He represents the deaf community beautifully. (heh. no pun intended)
And he can dance! He is on Dancing with the Stars this season.
You may wonder what makes him a star?
He won America's Next Top Model a few years ago. So there you go.
I saw this cute video on Facebook today and thought I would share.
I happen to know the signs for Jimmy Carter and Nixon too.
Ask me some time. I'll show you.
Encourage one another,
Donna
How interesting ! Do you still use it? Did you teach the kids? What did you major in, in college? Have a blessed day.
ReplyDeleteI majored in communications. I have taught many sign language classes. I don't see deaf people very often so don't get a chance to sign one on one. A few years ago we sat at a table with a deaf couple and we had a nice visit.
ReplyDeleteThat's so interesting, Donna. Molly is studying speech pathology and took a sign language class last summer. She absolutely loved it and is sorry there is not much opportunity to use it in her daily life. You two will have to have a conversation some day!
ReplyDeletePerfect. I can see you doing that! I loved the silent part of Nyle's dance this week. So moving.
ReplyDeleteWow, Donna, that's something we didn't know about you! And really wonderful. You never know when you could to bridge communication.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter-in-law's best friend is an interpreter. I always loved quizzing her on her job. Amazing stories (but always discreet). She was asked to interpret for President Obama when he visited Seattle. She's told us about days where she never used her vocal cords.
I'm not familiar with DiMarco, but he seems like a lovely man.
That is fascinating, Donna! I'm curious about something. Why do some people (like Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, and Nyle himself) have a "sign" for their name, but others spell out all the letters? Does one just make up a sign for them self?
ReplyDeleteHi Donna,
ReplyDeleteMy oldest daughter Abby is graduating this year and going to attend St Cathetines University in St Paul. She is going to study sign language interpreting. We were lucky enough that our high school offered ASL as a foreign language. She fell in love with it and wants to pursue a career. Thank you for sharing the video, I have passed it along to Abby.