shayh@usdb.org 

Shay was born and raised here in Utah, specifically in Highland, Utah. She grew up mainstreamed and took about 10 years of speech therapy until she learned ASL in middle school. Growing up, she did occasionally attend summer camp for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. She was raised to act  "hearing" and to hide her hearing aids when possible and to work diligently on her speech therapy, however now she's proud to be Deaf. When she has an opportunity to wear my hearing aids, she would decorate them in charms and show them off.

After HS graduation she attended Gallaudet briefly before transferring to SLCC where she would have interpreters there for her. 

When she was born, she passed the hearing screening test at the hospital, however she had lost her hearing when she was a baby through Jaundice. Her parents found out she couldn't hear when she entered elementary school and didn't pass the hearing test.

Because finding out she was Deaf later on, she didn't have the same opportunities to learn ASL from an early age. She didn't have PIP or Deaf Mentors, so she decided to choose this job to help others have the same opportunity that she couldn't attain. She is the only Deaf individual in her family, however her dad is hard-of-hearing.

She was in a coca-cola commercial that represented the Deaf community, she is so proud to bring exposure to the community and show how rich the culture is. It was a great project to be in and get interviewed for. She loved being a part of greater representation!

She loves everything outdoors related! Before she took on this job, she was on track to becoming a Park Ranger. However, she got this job and fell in love. She still loves being in the mountains and she misses living in them too; she lived in East Canyon State Park in Morgan, UT working as a Park Ranger Aid for almost two years.