Purpose of SERIVICE LEARNING:

to provide mutual gain to both me and the community partner. This will be done by me seeking to provide help with what my community partner needs done, and me gaining valuable experience taking what I’ve learned in the classroom out into the community to build upon that and gain a more diverse view of Deaf culture and ASL in general. 

Benefits for the Community Partner:

 Community partners receive valuable service they would not receive otherwise due to budget or lack of resources/staff. The community partner is being provided with students who sign up for the course eager and willing to learn more about what they do. This sense of interest and “wanting to be there” also signals to the community partner that they will receive students that are trying to provide service of higher quality and effort. 

My individual LEARNING goals for this collaboration:

By the end of this service learning collaboration I hope to have learned more about Deaf culture and the vast and varying experiences of those in the community. I would like to expand my ASL vocabulary and conversation skills while also breaking down the biases I may inherently hold about the members of  Deaf community and the language of ASL as a whole. In addition I would like to learn more communication and critical thinking skills, leadership abilities, and how to talk effectively with other professionals.

My individual SERVICE goals for this collaboration:

My service goals for this collaboration are to seek what my community partner wants my help in doing and doing it to my best ability. I want to be fully present and willing to provide service in whatever way I can. I would also like to find areas that I may personally enjoy or excel in and use that as a strategy of providing the best service I can for my community partner. 

My thoughts before starting service:

"I am nervous"

"I am afraid of messing up"

"I don't think I am good enough at signing"

"I have no idea what I am going to be doing"

"I hope I enjoy this"

"I will grow so much from this experience"

"I need to step out of my comfort zone in order to make progress in my ASL skills"

What makes me feel ALIVE?

Where/When/In what ways during this service-learning experience have I felt most alive?

During this service-learning experience, I have felt most alive when playing games at the day program. I say this because I have found myself having genuine fun and natural conversations in ASL without having to think about how to say something. The special thing about the UNO game is how the hearing consumers are learning signs specific to the game such as colors which they can practice and communicate directly with the deaf consumers. They are excited  when they can use signs they know and to learn more. I like seeing this growth in communication access.

What about this service experience resonates most deeply with me?

The part of this experience that resonates most deeply with me is being able to serve deaf plus. I am currently a job coach for people with developmental disabilities meaning I help them become independent at their jobs, facilitate communication with their managers, and build soft skills. I am passionate about the community I currently serve at my job, and am excited to extend that to the Deaf plus community as well. 

What connections do I see between the ways I feel most alive and the needs you see in the deaf community?  

What makes me feel so alive is seeing language flourish and encouraging people to find modes of communication that are most comfortable for them. I am on the track to becoming a Speech-Language Pathologist and would love to serve the DHH community. One thing that I have noticed is that this field gets caught up in facilitating speech and encouraging everyone to use spoken language or receive cochlear implants. I believe the field is rather all about giving everyone access to language and communication that is comfortable for them. Whether that be spoken, signed, or assisted with an AAC device, I believe everyone has a right to access communication and to be listened to. I think the stigma that speech is the best option for everyone needs to be broken and more culturally responsive approaches need to be developed to better serve the Deaf community.