Miss-Delectable
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School for the Deaf Grads Told to Believe - Education - redOrbit
A crowd of 70 family members, friends, students and teachers gathered in a steamy gymnasium at the Rhode Island School for the Deaf last night to pay tribute to the nine graduates in the Class of 2008.
The small size of the class did not dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd, which paid close attention to the lineup of speakers that sent them off into the world. The speakers communicated in sign language while a voice translated what they had to say to those in attendance who could hear.
Kathy Vesey, director of Gallaudet University Regional Center in Haverhill, Mass., told the students to pursue their dreams. She said that she was once a student in a public school system with a dream of becoming a teacher, but an instructor told her that she was hard of hearing and could not reach her goal.
Vesey said she ignored the advice and became a teacher.
"Good thing I didn't listen to her," she said. "Never let anyone tell you that you can't do something because you are deaf or hard of hearing. Deaf people can do anything except hear."
Vesey said she ignored the advice and became a teacher.
"Good thing I didn't listen to her," she said. "Never let anyone tell you that you can't do something because you are deaf or hard of hearing. Deaf people can do anything except hear."
As the graduates sat in a row beside her, Vesey rattled off a list of recommendations for success in life. They included embracing change, believing in yourself, hard work and preserving the world's natural resources.
The small size of the class allowed Dana Janik, a teacher at the school, to deliver a poignant personal address to each of the graduates. She talked about their success in theater, sports and becoming mature young people.
She taught all of them in middle school and remembers them interviewing Ruth Simmons, the president of Brown University.
"Over the past three years, we have spent so much time together," she said.
The graduation, she said, also gave her reason to reflect on her own high school graduation 30 years ago. She said it was a difficult time as her mother died in April, two months before graduation. "Speaking tonight is bittersweet for me," she said.
Last night's class valedictorian was Jessika Lynn Wordell.
A crowd of 70 family members, friends, students and teachers gathered in a steamy gymnasium at the Rhode Island School for the Deaf last night to pay tribute to the nine graduates in the Class of 2008.
The small size of the class did not dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd, which paid close attention to the lineup of speakers that sent them off into the world. The speakers communicated in sign language while a voice translated what they had to say to those in attendance who could hear.
Kathy Vesey, director of Gallaudet University Regional Center in Haverhill, Mass., told the students to pursue their dreams. She said that she was once a student in a public school system with a dream of becoming a teacher, but an instructor told her that she was hard of hearing and could not reach her goal.
Vesey said she ignored the advice and became a teacher.
"Good thing I didn't listen to her," she said. "Never let anyone tell you that you can't do something because you are deaf or hard of hearing. Deaf people can do anything except hear."
Vesey said she ignored the advice and became a teacher.
"Good thing I didn't listen to her," she said. "Never let anyone tell you that you can't do something because you are deaf or hard of hearing. Deaf people can do anything except hear."
As the graduates sat in a row beside her, Vesey rattled off a list of recommendations for success in life. They included embracing change, believing in yourself, hard work and preserving the world's natural resources.
The small size of the class allowed Dana Janik, a teacher at the school, to deliver a poignant personal address to each of the graduates. She talked about their success in theater, sports and becoming mature young people.
She taught all of them in middle school and remembers them interviewing Ruth Simmons, the president of Brown University.
"Over the past three years, we have spent so much time together," she said.
The graduation, she said, also gave her reason to reflect on her own high school graduation 30 years ago. She said it was a difficult time as her mother died in April, two months before graduation. "Speaking tonight is bittersweet for me," she said.
Last night's class valedictorian was Jessika Lynn Wordell.