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Two deaf interns at Dow offering new perspective - Philly.com
When Melody Frink was a child, she thought the whole world was deaf and everybody knew sign language. One of 11 children in an all-deaf family, she signed to people in stores, on the streets, everywhere, until she learned that she actually lived in a hearing world. Now a college student, she is interning at Dow Chemical Co., in Spring House, working alongside hearing people. Yet, bridging the hearing and deaf worlds has not been a problem this summer.
Frink wears large chemistry goggles that fail to hide how animated her face is when she signs. Every facial muscle moves as she mouths each word and she signs so quickly her hands are a pink blur. On this day, sign language interpreter Adam Buck translated for her.
"I was just shocked upon my arrival how people even knew some sign language before I even got here," Frink signed. "Normally, the tendency is after a deaf person arrives people will then try to communicate and learn sign language."
Her lab manager, Janine Marie Vanluvanee, has never worked with a deaf person, but said she found the transition "pretty seamless." When Frink first arrived, a sign-language interpreter translated the fundamental lab procedures for testing resin samples sent in by Dow customers.
"Once she understood the procedures and the testing, she was just able to run with it," Vanluvanee said.
The lab has been without an interpreter for weeks now, but communication is still going strong. Before each test, Frink and Vanluvanee exchange e-mail detailing the reason for the test, specific problems concerning the customer, and the test procedure. Then, they will discuss it to clarify any questions.
"Melody can speak in a way that I can understand, and then we can fill in the blanks with either finger spelling or some signs that I have come to learn," said Vanluvanee. If Frink still does not understand, they will try again, finger spell out words using sign language, or write.
In sign language, hand motions convey words, but there is also a signal for each letter of the alphabet, to allow for finger spelling.
Frink is one of two deaf interns at Dow this summer.
At a nearby lab, Mary Sporman and her coworkers communicate almost entirely by hands.
"I learned the [signs for] ABCs before Mary got here, so that I could be ready to learn from her," said Matt Crowe, a senior analytical chemist who works with Sporman. "She's very patient, and it's helped me to learn."
When Melody Frink was a child, she thought the whole world was deaf and everybody knew sign language. One of 11 children in an all-deaf family, she signed to people in stores, on the streets, everywhere, until she learned that she actually lived in a hearing world. Now a college student, she is interning at Dow Chemical Co., in Spring House, working alongside hearing people. Yet, bridging the hearing and deaf worlds has not been a problem this summer.
Frink wears large chemistry goggles that fail to hide how animated her face is when she signs. Every facial muscle moves as she mouths each word and she signs so quickly her hands are a pink blur. On this day, sign language interpreter Adam Buck translated for her.
"I was just shocked upon my arrival how people even knew some sign language before I even got here," Frink signed. "Normally, the tendency is after a deaf person arrives people will then try to communicate and learn sign language."
Her lab manager, Janine Marie Vanluvanee, has never worked with a deaf person, but said she found the transition "pretty seamless." When Frink first arrived, a sign-language interpreter translated the fundamental lab procedures for testing resin samples sent in by Dow customers.
"Once she understood the procedures and the testing, she was just able to run with it," Vanluvanee said.
The lab has been without an interpreter for weeks now, but communication is still going strong. Before each test, Frink and Vanluvanee exchange e-mail detailing the reason for the test, specific problems concerning the customer, and the test procedure. Then, they will discuss it to clarify any questions.
"Melody can speak in a way that I can understand, and then we can fill in the blanks with either finger spelling or some signs that I have come to learn," said Vanluvanee. If Frink still does not understand, they will try again, finger spell out words using sign language, or write.
In sign language, hand motions convey words, but there is also a signal for each letter of the alphabet, to allow for finger spelling.
Frink is one of two deaf interns at Dow this summer.
At a nearby lab, Mary Sporman and her coworkers communicate almost entirely by hands.
"I learned the [signs for] ABCs before Mary got here, so that I could be ready to learn from her," said Matt Crowe, a senior analytical chemist who works with Sporman. "She's very patient, and it's helped me to learn."