Jennifer Harris may have a disability, but she's not letting it deter her from achieving success.
Harris, who is 20 and was born deaf, recently audited a weeklong Campbellsville University course as an American Red Cross instructor candidate and earned her national certification in basic water rescue and small craft safety.
CU is the only place in Kentucky to earn the certification, and Harris is the first deaf student to become a certified instructor in the course.
"It's just really nice that as a deaf person, I can teach the deaf," she says. "It will be nice to have a teacher for them."
Harris was raised in Danville, by deaf parents: Archie, a retired teacher from the Kentucky School for the Deaf who taught math and other subjects, and Barbie, an art teacher at KSD. She has two brothers, one of whom is deaf.
Harris, a 2006 KSD graduate, will start her junior year this fall at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., where she is pursuing an art history degree.
Gallaudet is the only university across the globe in which all of its academic programs are designed and intended to provide the needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Hearing students also are accepted.
Harris traveled to Sweden during her senior year of high school and stayed in the country for nine months, which she says she did out of her curiosity and for the challenge.
The opportunity of a lifetime
When Harris came to Campbellsville for the June summer session, she was accompanied by Brenda Prescott, a full-time teacher at KSD. Prescott volunteered in the course as an associate instructor/trainer, who taught alongside Dr. John Mark Carter in American Sign Language. Both are American Red Cross instructor trainers in basic water rescue and small craft safety.
"It's really unique to have Brenda signing as I teach," says Carter. "It's really cool how it all fits together."
Carter, professor of recreation and aquatics at CU, says that being able to teach Harris has been "the opportunity of lifetime", one that he will never get back again.
"Although I have taught American Red Cross instructor courses for 30 years, and have taught academic adapted physical education courses in Red Cross since 1980, and have worked with all different types of handicaps, I've never had the opportunity to teach a person with the qualities and combination of skills that Jennifer has," he says.
"She loves the water, [and] she loves paddling. She's very intelligent. She understands English and American Sign Language well. She has a wonderful enthusiasm for learning, and a positive attitude."
Carter says Harris' Red Cross nationally certified instructorship will be a great asset to the hearing-impaired community not only in Kentucky, but also nationally.
"She will be the first instructor to have the opportunity to teach other deaf students from elementary to the university level, in addition to members of the deaf community at large," says Carter.
Carrie Anderson, a student at CU and the mother of Josh Anderson, dean of student services, opened up her home for Harris and Prescott to stay for the week-long course.
Harris "is an amazing young woman," says Anderson. "She's very independent, (and) she's sure she can do anything she puts her mind to. It's been fun (getting) to know her."
Harris plans to graduate from Gallaudet University in 2010. With her art history degree, she wants to pursue architecture. "I might even teach at a school," she said.
