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Sign language opens new world for graduating UNCW student | StarNewsOnline.com | Star-News | Wilmington, NC
Leigh Stracke enrolled at the University of North Carolina Wilmington to pursue her passion, not realizing it was right at her fingertips.
A couple of classes in American Sign Language were all it took, and Stracke knew she had found her calling.
"I really like diversity in the world, understanding and appreciating different cultures," Stracke said. "It was that same sense of helping others understand another culture - a simple 'hello' or a simple 'how are you' to someone in their own language makes a huge difference."
Stracke, 22, is one of 1,814 UNCW students receiving their diplomas at Trask Coliseum today. She plans to become an interpreter for the deaf and hearing-impaired.
But that wasn't always her goal. She signed up as a communication studies major her first year at UNCW hoping to go into student affairs. Then she took a course in deaf culture and history.
"I was so focused on being a student leader, I never really thought of (sign language) as a possible career," Stracke said. "But the more classes I took, the more connected I felt with the deaf world."
One class lead to another. Stracke started connecting with the deaf and hearing-impaired community around Wilmington, attending monthly silent lunches and deaf coffee talks, slowly building her vocabulary.
"I started with basics, like a baby would learn English," Stracke said. "It is a foreign language in itself - it has its own syntax and grammar. It takes a lot of practice, like any other language."
Some signs look exactly like what they are, Stracke said - to sign the word "banana," you hold up one finger and pretend to peel it - while others are more abstract. Facial expressions and other body movements replace tone of voice for conveying your mood.
"The language is beautiful," Stracke said. "I'm very expressive with my body language and my facial expressions already, so it worked well for me."
Stracke's application is in for graduate school at Gallaudet University, a renowned Washington D.C.-based school that caters mostly to deaf and hearing-impaired students. Though Stracke is neither, she hopes they will accept her for training as an interpreter, a highly competitive program that accepts only 10 students a year.
"If I get in, I'm going to learn just as much outside of the classroom as inside, because I'll be surrounded by the deaf community," Stracke said. "An interpreter is a cultural mediator - you have to understand the culture a person's coming from to translate what they're saying properly. I'm making people more aware of each other, helping bridge the gap."
Leigh Stracke enrolled at the University of North Carolina Wilmington to pursue her passion, not realizing it was right at her fingertips.
A couple of classes in American Sign Language were all it took, and Stracke knew she had found her calling.
"I really like diversity in the world, understanding and appreciating different cultures," Stracke said. "It was that same sense of helping others understand another culture - a simple 'hello' or a simple 'how are you' to someone in their own language makes a huge difference."
Stracke, 22, is one of 1,814 UNCW students receiving their diplomas at Trask Coliseum today. She plans to become an interpreter for the deaf and hearing-impaired.
But that wasn't always her goal. She signed up as a communication studies major her first year at UNCW hoping to go into student affairs. Then she took a course in deaf culture and history.
"I was so focused on being a student leader, I never really thought of (sign language) as a possible career," Stracke said. "But the more classes I took, the more connected I felt with the deaf world."
One class lead to another. Stracke started connecting with the deaf and hearing-impaired community around Wilmington, attending monthly silent lunches and deaf coffee talks, slowly building her vocabulary.
"I started with basics, like a baby would learn English," Stracke said. "It is a foreign language in itself - it has its own syntax and grammar. It takes a lot of practice, like any other language."
Some signs look exactly like what they are, Stracke said - to sign the word "banana," you hold up one finger and pretend to peel it - while others are more abstract. Facial expressions and other body movements replace tone of voice for conveying your mood.
"The language is beautiful," Stracke said. "I'm very expressive with my body language and my facial expressions already, so it worked well for me."
Stracke's application is in for graduate school at Gallaudet University, a renowned Washington D.C.-based school that caters mostly to deaf and hearing-impaired students. Though Stracke is neither, she hopes they will accept her for training as an interpreter, a highly competitive program that accepts only 10 students a year.
"If I get in, I'm going to learn just as much outside of the classroom as inside, because I'll be surrounded by the deaf community," Stracke said. "An interpreter is a cultural mediator - you have to understand the culture a person's coming from to translate what they're saying properly. I'm making people more aware of each other, helping bridge the gap."
