When did you start your schooling at WPSD?
I started in their playgroup program at 18 months old and then I started pre-school at the age of three.
What are your fondest memories of WPSD?
The class trips were always wonderful. I always has a great time with my teammates at our away games or competitions, and enjoyed the educational trips with my classmates. I also really enjoyed being a part of the many clubs that WPSD offered. Not only did they keep me very busy, but they helped me grow as a person and gave me essential skills that I still use in college today.
What have you been up to since graduating from WPSD?
After I graduated in 2013, I went to the Rochester Institute of Technology / National Technical Institute for the Deaf where I was part of the RIT Cheerleading team for two years. We cheered for the RIT Men’s basketball games and completed in collegiate cheerleading competitions. I joined the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority where I was privileged to attend the national convention in Virginia. I also played on the Deaf Basketball and Volleyball teams where I got to know a lot of my fellow students. I helped teach students ASL through a weekly event called No Voice Zone. I graduated last December with a degree in Laboratory Science Technology and I am now in my first semester as a third year student at Gallaudet University as a Chemistry major with a minor in Physics.
What struggles have you encountered, post-WPSD?
I have not really had any struggles since I graduated, because WPSD provided me with all of the essential tools and information I needed to be successful after graduation. I never lived in the dorm at WPSD, but I had spent some time there with my friends and I had an idea of what life would be like when I lived in a dorm at college. I was lucky to attend an university that had both hearing and deaf students, so communication was not a problem. All of my classes have been taught by either deaf professors or have been accessible through interpreters of C-Print.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
My proudest accomplishment is having been chosen to intern at the Dow Chemical Company in Collegeville, PA as a Research and Development intern specializing in Plastics and Polymers. The people I worked with were wonderful and I had no problem communicating with and learning from them. We set up a weekly program where I taught my colleagues ASL and they enjoyed learning a new language. I learned a lot from that experience and enjoyed working in the laboratory.
What advice would you give to current and future WPSD students?
Take advantage of all of the opportunities available to you from WPSD. Make the most of all learning experiences including classrooms, field trips, sports competitions, and lectures. WPSD was my second family. I grew up there. They taught me my first language, ASL, taught me about deaf culture through classes and deaf role models. Time in school can sometimes seem long and pointless, but believe me, the time will fly! So make the most of your school years by developing friendships and memories that will last a lifetime. I believe WPSD helped shape me into the person I am today and I believe they can do the same for you! I am WPSD proud!
I have not really had any struggles since I graduated, because WPSD provided me with all of the essential tools and information I needed to be successful after graduation.