Damian Karl

I spent my childhood on a farm in the middle of nowhere in Northern Alberta. After becoming deaf at age 1, I learned sign language and entered a regular classroom in our tiny local rural school. Eventually I started attending the Alberta School for the Deaf in Edmonton before moving to Jasper Place School and the University of Alberta where I got my double degrees in psychology and secondary education. I have been teaching American Sign Language at the high school level for almost five years now.

During college breaks, I often struggled to find summer work. Many employers would not hire me because I was deaf. I got many more interview callbacks when I removed the Alberta School for the Deaf from my resume, but still very few companies were willing to hire me. I learned that it’s important to be confident and advocate for your skills and experience, whether you have a disability or not. I also learned that in the end, if you get rejected by 99 out of 100 people then those 99 people don’t matter. It only takes one success.

Many times, you will have to make a choice between playing it safe and taking a risk. This could be related to big things like education and career choices, relationships, family, and so on to smaller things like what to eat at the restaurant. The right choice is always somewhere in the middle - 100% safe and 100% risk taking are both very dangerous for different reasons. There is no ‘right’ answer to where the proper balance is - every person must go through some introspection to decide their comfort level with taking risks - and then go a little bit OVER it. Make yourself a little bit uncomfortable, and you will grow from it learning something new about yourself.

I often hear students underestimate their own ability whether academic, language, social or anything else. If you are good at something, be proud of it, without being arrogant. Your self-confidence will open doors and opportunities that you would miss out on otherwise.