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Palatka Daily News
On Christmas day, local residents tuning into the Walt Disney World Christmas Parade will see a Hastings girl standing center-stage behind Michael Bolton as he performs “Joy to the World.”
While it is remarkable enough that a local girl will be part of nationally televised concert with a Grammy winner, there is also one other unusual detail to note: Jennifer Anderson is deaf.
A senior at Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, Anderson was one of a 30-member contingent that “signed” the song as Bolton sang it, part of the pre-recorded show’s finale.
“The song inspired me, because of the strength of the words,” Jennifer said recently, combining American Sign Language with a limited ability to enunciate. “The world is going to watch me.”
She should be getting used to the limelight.
At the 2005 Super Bowl in Jacksonville, she got the opportunity to perform with Alicia Keys, who sang “America the Beautiful” during the pregame ceremony. It was a rendition that paid tribute to Ray Charles, who also attended the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. It included 150 deaf and blind students who sang and signed with Keys.
“That’s what everybody teases her about, she’s now the movie star of the family,” said Barbara Anderson, Jennifer’s mother.
The event in Orlando was a little different. The “dance troupe” Anderson performed with had no blind students, but was made up exclusively of the hearing impaired. They stood directly behind Bolton, signing the words, and were flanked on either side by a 100-voice gospel choir and 330-member dance group.
“They put us in the middle because we were special,” Jennifer said.
The two-hour event will air on ABC from 10-noon Christmas morning and is co-hosted by Regis Philbin, Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. It will include performances by Beyonce, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and others.
Jennifer, along with an older sister, has been clinically deaf her entire life.
“At 15 months she wasn’t making any sounds or words,” Barbara said. “We took her to a doctor and (he told us).”
While not 100 percent impaired, Jennifer’s ability to hear is limited. She said that, despite that, she still loves music. The rap artist Little Bow Wow is among her favorites.
“It has to be loud,” Barbara said. “She might hear it sometimes, not distinguishing the words, but (can hear) the rhythm and beat of the music.”
In addition to being on the honor roll at Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, Jennifer excels at basketball and volleyball. She was on the “All-Tournament” team at the Mason-Dixon competition in Virginia and her squad won the championship.
After graduation she said she hopes to get into massage therapy school at Florida Community College in Jacksonville. Her mother, though, said Jennifer will always have obstacles to overcome in establishing a career.
“Sometimes it’s really difficult with hearing loss,” Barbara said. “They get a lot of people discriminating against them when it comes to jobs, because they don’t want to deal with it. People don’t really have the patience for it.”
Jennifer is also well aware of the prejudice that exists.
“It’s frustrating sometimes,” she said.
Since the Disney program was prerecorded, Jennifer will be home for Christmas while she watches herself on television. She said she knows what she hopes to find under the tree.
“I want an iPod,” she said. “So I can listen to music all night long.”
The Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine was founded in 1885 and serves over 850 deaf and hard-of-hearing and visually impaired students from around Florida.
On Christmas day, local residents tuning into the Walt Disney World Christmas Parade will see a Hastings girl standing center-stage behind Michael Bolton as he performs “Joy to the World.”
While it is remarkable enough that a local girl will be part of nationally televised concert with a Grammy winner, there is also one other unusual detail to note: Jennifer Anderson is deaf.
A senior at Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, Anderson was one of a 30-member contingent that “signed” the song as Bolton sang it, part of the pre-recorded show’s finale.
“The song inspired me, because of the strength of the words,” Jennifer said recently, combining American Sign Language with a limited ability to enunciate. “The world is going to watch me.”
She should be getting used to the limelight.
At the 2005 Super Bowl in Jacksonville, she got the opportunity to perform with Alicia Keys, who sang “America the Beautiful” during the pregame ceremony. It was a rendition that paid tribute to Ray Charles, who also attended the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. It included 150 deaf and blind students who sang and signed with Keys.
“That’s what everybody teases her about, she’s now the movie star of the family,” said Barbara Anderson, Jennifer’s mother.
The event in Orlando was a little different. The “dance troupe” Anderson performed with had no blind students, but was made up exclusively of the hearing impaired. They stood directly behind Bolton, signing the words, and were flanked on either side by a 100-voice gospel choir and 330-member dance group.
“They put us in the middle because we were special,” Jennifer said.
The two-hour event will air on ABC from 10-noon Christmas morning and is co-hosted by Regis Philbin, Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. It will include performances by Beyonce, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and others.
Jennifer, along with an older sister, has been clinically deaf her entire life.
“At 15 months she wasn’t making any sounds or words,” Barbara said. “We took her to a doctor and (he told us).”
While not 100 percent impaired, Jennifer’s ability to hear is limited. She said that, despite that, she still loves music. The rap artist Little Bow Wow is among her favorites.
“It has to be loud,” Barbara said. “She might hear it sometimes, not distinguishing the words, but (can hear) the rhythm and beat of the music.”
In addition to being on the honor roll at Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, Jennifer excels at basketball and volleyball. She was on the “All-Tournament” team at the Mason-Dixon competition in Virginia and her squad won the championship.
After graduation she said she hopes to get into massage therapy school at Florida Community College in Jacksonville. Her mother, though, said Jennifer will always have obstacles to overcome in establishing a career.
“Sometimes it’s really difficult with hearing loss,” Barbara said. “They get a lot of people discriminating against them when it comes to jobs, because they don’t want to deal with it. People don’t really have the patience for it.”
Jennifer is also well aware of the prejudice that exists.
“It’s frustrating sometimes,” she said.
Since the Disney program was prerecorded, Jennifer will be home for Christmas while she watches herself on television. She said she knows what she hopes to find under the tree.
“I want an iPod,” she said. “So I can listen to music all night long.”
The Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine was founded in 1885 and serves over 850 deaf and hard-of-hearing and visually impaired students from around Florida.