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Lebanon Daily News - Basketball changes teen’s life
Palmyra resident Josh Sechman loves basketball.
Three years ago, he had the opportunity to participate in a basketball camp at a university in Washington, D.C. And a chance meeting there changed his life.
Sechman, a son of Mary Sechman, 59 Pin Oak St., and Alan Sechman, also of Palmyra, was born deaf. Despite his disability, he was able to attend Palmyra elementary schools.
Mary Sechman said her son initially did well in school. However, by the time he reached junior high school, the district’s mainstream programs were not working for him, she said.
“It’s very hard to be the only deaf student in the school district. In regular educational settings, teachers aren’t always trained to deal with a deaf student, and administrators may not have the background, either,” she said.
Sechman said her son loved sports, particularly basketball, and always tried to participate in athletic programs at school.
Then in 2003, he had an opportunity to participate in a week-long basketball camp at Gallaudet
University in Washington, D.C. The college offers undergraduate and graduate programs for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
It was at the basketball camp that Sechman met Zane Nochese, a student at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf near Pittsburgh.
Nochese told Sechman about the athletic programs and other extracurricular activities at the school. Sechman asked his mother if they could visit the school. After that visit, Sechman decided he wanted to spend his high-school years there, his mother said.
On June 7, he will be among 27 students who will graduate from the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.
“Josh has really grown through attending this school. Sending him so far away was hard” but worth it, she said. “I am not sure he would have been as successful and independent if he wouldn’t have attended school there.”
Josh Sechman said he chose to attend the school because he wanted to learn about deaf culture and because he could communicate better with friends, staff and teachers.
“I feel more comfortable than being in a hearing school,” he said.
It wasn’t easy being away from home, he said. The Pittsburgh school is more than a three-hour drive from Palmyra.
“Sometimes at first, it was very hard being away from my family and home, but I learned to appreciate being able to spend more time with deaf friends,” Sechman said. “Overall, it has been a good experience for me.”
Founded in 1869, the nonprofit Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf is located on a 17-acre campus and provides facilities for more than 250 day-school students and 100 residential students. The current school enrollment is 207 and includes students from around the state. The school offers programs for students from preschool through 12th grade.
At the school, Sechman has participated in sports, scoring his 1,000th career point in basketball in his senior year. He was captain of the school’s basketball team. He was also selected to be on the Pan Am USA Deaf Basketball Team, which will play in Venezuela this summer, and last month he played in the USA Deaf Boys West-East All-Star game in Indianapolis.
His basketball coach Troy Verner, who also is a teacher at the school, said Sechman has grown as a student and an athlete.
“Joshua’s strong sense of who he is as a young man is evident in his academic studies and his performance on the court as an athlete. He is an outstanding example to his peers,” Verner said.
Sechman will continue his basketball career this fall at Gallaudet University, where he plans to study accounting.
In addition to basketball, Sechman plays soccer and was captain of the school’s team, and participated in track and was co-captain of the team. He also was voted Mr. WPSD in 2005 and participated in the 2006 Mr. and Miss Deaf America competition in South Carolina.
Sechman said he is glad he made the decision to attend the school.
“In some ways, it is good to be in the deaf world, an easier life for me. It has given me more opportunities than if I would have stayed at a hearing school,” he said.
Palmyra resident Josh Sechman loves basketball.
Three years ago, he had the opportunity to participate in a basketball camp at a university in Washington, D.C. And a chance meeting there changed his life.
Sechman, a son of Mary Sechman, 59 Pin Oak St., and Alan Sechman, also of Palmyra, was born deaf. Despite his disability, he was able to attend Palmyra elementary schools.
Mary Sechman said her son initially did well in school. However, by the time he reached junior high school, the district’s mainstream programs were not working for him, she said.
“It’s very hard to be the only deaf student in the school district. In regular educational settings, teachers aren’t always trained to deal with a deaf student, and administrators may not have the background, either,” she said.
Sechman said her son loved sports, particularly basketball, and always tried to participate in athletic programs at school.
Then in 2003, he had an opportunity to participate in a week-long basketball camp at Gallaudet
University in Washington, D.C. The college offers undergraduate and graduate programs for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
It was at the basketball camp that Sechman met Zane Nochese, a student at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf near Pittsburgh.
Nochese told Sechman about the athletic programs and other extracurricular activities at the school. Sechman asked his mother if they could visit the school. After that visit, Sechman decided he wanted to spend his high-school years there, his mother said.
On June 7, he will be among 27 students who will graduate from the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.
“Josh has really grown through attending this school. Sending him so far away was hard” but worth it, she said. “I am not sure he would have been as successful and independent if he wouldn’t have attended school there.”
Josh Sechman said he chose to attend the school because he wanted to learn about deaf culture and because he could communicate better with friends, staff and teachers.
“I feel more comfortable than being in a hearing school,” he said.
It wasn’t easy being away from home, he said. The Pittsburgh school is more than a three-hour drive from Palmyra.
“Sometimes at first, it was very hard being away from my family and home, but I learned to appreciate being able to spend more time with deaf friends,” Sechman said. “Overall, it has been a good experience for me.”
Founded in 1869, the nonprofit Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf is located on a 17-acre campus and provides facilities for more than 250 day-school students and 100 residential students. The current school enrollment is 207 and includes students from around the state. The school offers programs for students from preschool through 12th grade.
At the school, Sechman has participated in sports, scoring his 1,000th career point in basketball in his senior year. He was captain of the school’s basketball team. He was also selected to be on the Pan Am USA Deaf Basketball Team, which will play in Venezuela this summer, and last month he played in the USA Deaf Boys West-East All-Star game in Indianapolis.
His basketball coach Troy Verner, who also is a teacher at the school, said Sechman has grown as a student and an athlete.
“Joshua’s strong sense of who he is as a young man is evident in his academic studies and his performance on the court as an athlete. He is an outstanding example to his peers,” Verner said.
Sechman will continue his basketball career this fall at Gallaudet University, where he plans to study accounting.
In addition to basketball, Sechman plays soccer and was captain of the school’s team, and participated in track and was co-captain of the team. He also was voted Mr. WPSD in 2005 and participated in the 2006 Mr. and Miss Deaf America competition in South Carolina.
Sechman said he is glad he made the decision to attend the school.
“In some ways, it is good to be in the deaf world, an easier life for me. It has given me more opportunities than if I would have stayed at a hearing school,” he said.