NCCC Success Story

Hometown
Snohomish, Washington

Year of graduation
2012

Place of employment
Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services, Seattle, Washington

Job Title
Community Engagement Coordinator

Work Responsibilities
My job involves developing relationships with the community to provide education about violence within the Deaf community. In doing this, I coordinate events and workshops in different counties several times a year. I provide workshops for Deaf students in schools all over the state about personal safety, bullying, teen dating violence, and other issues. I also provide training to other agencies, health and medical organizations, law enforcement, and volunteers on how to work with Deaf survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. This requires a lot of traveling, but I love it!

How my career relates to my degree from RIT/NTID
My major gave me the skills I need to start a dialogue about important issues within our community and to promote and plan events. My minor in Women’s Studies and Criminal Justice was a perfect fit for the organization I work with and I feel like I was well-equipped with knowledge of the issues related to domestic violence and sexual assault.

Advice
Don’t be afraid to show others your talents. Volunteering is a wonderful way to gain experience, show what skills you have to offer and network with people within your field of interest who will recognize your abilities. I volunteered with the agency for about four months until the job position as community engagement coordinator opened up, and they asked me to apply.