Miss-Delectable
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Athletic ambassador | IndyStar.com
It would have been easy to pick Dave Calvert as the leader of the American Sign Language club at Southport High School. He was the only adult in the room with about a dozen teens -- and the one giving verbal directions to a pair of hearing students during sign language role-play.
Standing near the two students, however, was senior Sawyer Willis, a deaf student and president of the after-school club.
Willis was the real teacher of the group -- using the school-provided interpreter, Calvert, as his voice -- and his discourse captivated both the hearing and the deaf.
He educated the group about deaf culture, informed members about proper social practices and cracked them up by showing them the sign for "getting the runs."
Willis also shares his message of advocacy for deaf culture and awareness with his cross country teammates. Many have learned some sign language through the years, including senior Patrick Miller, a co-captain and vice president of the ASL club.
Willis is an inspiration to his teammates, Miller said.
"We know some of the obstacles he has to go through, and he certainly does it," Miller said.
Willis willingly shares his story with others.
"I was actually born able to hear but when I was 1, I became severely ill and lost my hearing, and I've been profoundly deaf ever since," Willis said, via Calvert. "No one else in my family is deaf."
Willis, who lives in Perry Township with his father, Scott, began running in seventh grade. He admits it was a struggle his first year, but by his second season, he was winning races.
"The first year I was pretty lousy -- totally out of shape and didn't know the techniques of running," he said. "Then I started beating people, and I just found that I was constantly improving on my running. It just became more and more fun for me."
Willis chose to attend Southport over a deaf school.
"I know most of the people here," he said. "I've grown up in the community. I've been involved with the teams here."
Southport veteran coach Dennis Bruce wasn't sure exactly how to coach Willis when he joined the high school team as a freshman. Bruce shouted words of encouragement during races but quickly realized that wasn't going to work.
The coach got creative and made up different signs to hold up, depending on the stage of the race. Bruce is thankful now that so many runners have made it a point to learn Willis' language.
"I think it's made the bond with Sawyer and the rest of the team that much closer," Bruce said. "His freshman year, I know there were times where he felt like he was lost during the race, because things that maybe we would signal or verbalize during the meetings, team huddles, he was missing out on."
Willis missed last season with multiple leg injuries including a torn anterior cruciate ligament. He's continuing to work back into form and is in the team's top-12 group of runners.
Willis, who was the class president his junior year, wants to attend college and study psychology. His favorite class is English. He enjoys writing and reading, and of course, teaching others about his condition.
"I want people to know that deaf people are active; they have pride in their language and culture; they have interests and they're involved," he said.
"Some people look at us from a medical or pathological perspective, and then there's the cultural perspective. People who look at us the pathological way, look at us as someone who needs to be fixed. The cultural way is one in which we look at each other as not needing (to be) fixed. We have pride in our culture and our language.
"I consider myself a capital-D deaf."
Willis knows not everyone will understand what that means, but he is always happy to educate them.
"He's going into psychology, but I can't imagine him not being some kind of an educator because of his desire to lead and to teach others," Bruce said.
"He's certainly one that muffles any worries or complaints from the other runners because of what he has to undergo. He's a motivator and an inspiration to all of us. He's not just another student walking through the doors."
It would have been easy to pick Dave Calvert as the leader of the American Sign Language club at Southport High School. He was the only adult in the room with about a dozen teens -- and the one giving verbal directions to a pair of hearing students during sign language role-play.
Standing near the two students, however, was senior Sawyer Willis, a deaf student and president of the after-school club.
Willis was the real teacher of the group -- using the school-provided interpreter, Calvert, as his voice -- and his discourse captivated both the hearing and the deaf.
He educated the group about deaf culture, informed members about proper social practices and cracked them up by showing them the sign for "getting the runs."
Willis also shares his message of advocacy for deaf culture and awareness with his cross country teammates. Many have learned some sign language through the years, including senior Patrick Miller, a co-captain and vice president of the ASL club.
Willis is an inspiration to his teammates, Miller said.
"We know some of the obstacles he has to go through, and he certainly does it," Miller said.
Willis willingly shares his story with others.
"I was actually born able to hear but when I was 1, I became severely ill and lost my hearing, and I've been profoundly deaf ever since," Willis said, via Calvert. "No one else in my family is deaf."
Willis, who lives in Perry Township with his father, Scott, began running in seventh grade. He admits it was a struggle his first year, but by his second season, he was winning races.
"The first year I was pretty lousy -- totally out of shape and didn't know the techniques of running," he said. "Then I started beating people, and I just found that I was constantly improving on my running. It just became more and more fun for me."
Willis chose to attend Southport over a deaf school.
"I know most of the people here," he said. "I've grown up in the community. I've been involved with the teams here."
Southport veteran coach Dennis Bruce wasn't sure exactly how to coach Willis when he joined the high school team as a freshman. Bruce shouted words of encouragement during races but quickly realized that wasn't going to work.
The coach got creative and made up different signs to hold up, depending on the stage of the race. Bruce is thankful now that so many runners have made it a point to learn Willis' language.
"I think it's made the bond with Sawyer and the rest of the team that much closer," Bruce said. "His freshman year, I know there were times where he felt like he was lost during the race, because things that maybe we would signal or verbalize during the meetings, team huddles, he was missing out on."
Willis missed last season with multiple leg injuries including a torn anterior cruciate ligament. He's continuing to work back into form and is in the team's top-12 group of runners.
Willis, who was the class president his junior year, wants to attend college and study psychology. His favorite class is English. He enjoys writing and reading, and of course, teaching others about his condition.
"I want people to know that deaf people are active; they have pride in their language and culture; they have interests and they're involved," he said.
"Some people look at us from a medical or pathological perspective, and then there's the cultural perspective. People who look at us the pathological way, look at us as someone who needs to be fixed. The cultural way is one in which we look at each other as not needing (to be) fixed. We have pride in our culture and our language.
"I consider myself a capital-D deaf."
Willis knows not everyone will understand what that means, but he is always happy to educate them.
"He's going into psychology, but I can't imagine him not being some kind of an educator because of his desire to lead and to teach others," Bruce said.
"He's certainly one that muffles any worries or complaints from the other runners because of what he has to undergo. He's a motivator and an inspiration to all of us. He's not just another student walking through the doors."