NCCC Success Story

Where is your hometown?
My hometown is St. Louis, Missouri.

What was your degree program and graduation date at RIT/NTID?
I earned my AAS in Visual Communication Studies (VCS) in Spring 2024. I'm currently pursuing my BFA in Graphic Design, though I'm not sure of my graduation date yet.

What is your preferred language of use: ASL, Spoken English, Both or another language?
I use both ASL and spoken English, depending on who I'm speaking with.

What was your high school experience like? Were you mainstreamed, the only deaf person in the class, or were you enrolled with deaf classmates?
I was mainstreamed in high school with very few deaf classmates. The deaf program at my school provided accessibility resources.

What was your college search process like, and what reasons made you choose RIT/NTID?
I didn't know about RIT until one of my teachers recommended it. I attended the Explore Your Future (EYF) program and flew here alone at age 19. I immediately fell in love with the campus when I saw so many signing deaf people. While I applied to state schools, I really wanted to come here.

Did your identity as a deaf/hard-of-hearing person have an impact on your college choice?
What makes RIT a good fit for me is the deaf community. I feel comfortable coming out of my comfort zone and my shell here. There's great diversity, it's an open-minded school, and it provides excellent resources, academics, and job preparation.

Are there any unique benefits gained at RIT/NTID that you could not find elsewhere?
NTID is a college specifically for the deaf, offering a wide range of topics and excellent accessibility resources.

What are your peers like at RIT/NTID? Do you have a mix of hearing/deaf friends?
I have friends from both communities. At first I mostly had deaf friends, but now I have both hearing and deaf friends.

Are you involved with any extracurricular activities on campus?
I was part of the archery club, but right now I'm more focused on my studies.

What is your career goal?
I want to work at Nintendo in a graphic design-related position.

How has your experience at RIT/NTID prepared you for your career?
If I had to describe RIT/NTID in one word, it would be "diverse."

If applicable, what was your co-op employer name and location?
I did my co-op at Interpretek in Rochester.

If applicable, what was your position at your co-op and what were the role's responsibilities?
I worked as a marketing team intern creating flyers, doing video editing (including captioning), making posters, updating websites, and managing social media.

If applicable, how did your co-op relate to your studies at RIT/NTID?
My VCS program at NTID taught me the basics I needed - graphic design, typography, Adobe software, page layouts, production work, raster and vector graphics, Illustrator, Photoshop, and how to prototype and visualize end goals.