[VIDEO DESC & TRANSCRIPT: Carrie Lou is seated. The NAD logo appears on the bottom right corner as a watermark.
CARRIE LOU: When I had my two kids, I was a stay-at-home mom for almost five years. I remember being super nervous about going back to work. Someone suggested that I work part-time at the Front Desk at the Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Services (ADWAS). I mean, at the time — I didn’t know how to use Excel or manage email, so I really wrestled with the idea. They believed in me and told me I could do it. Eventually, I started working there and I’m really grateful for that experience and that opportunity. I learned that I could do things and that I could learn new things. That gave me a small boost to help me realize I could do more. After that, I decided to go back to graduate school. When I was younger, I didn’t see myself as an educational researcher and doing data analysis! But honestly though, looking back at my life experience up until now, my journey led me to where I am today.
Black and white clip of Carrie Lou’s Texas Longhorns coffee mug. Next clip, Carrie Lou is seated at the desk with the computer. In the center, a white border surrounds white text “CARRIE LOU” underneath, appears in white text “EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHER.”
CARRIE LOU: My name is Carrie Lou Garberoglio, I’m an educational researcher and am currently the Associate Director at the National Deaf Center (NDC).
Black and white clip of Carrie Lou and a co-worker chatting in a filming room.
CARRIE LOU: I went to Texas School for the Deaf (TSD). After high school, I went to a small private university in San Francisco, North California — New College of California where I got my Bachelor’s degree in Humanities. Later, I got a Master’s degree in Deaf Education and Deaf Studies from Lamar University and a second Master’s degree in Program Evaluation from the University of Texas at Austin (UT). I also got a PhD degree in Education Psychology from UT.
Black and white clip of Carrie Lou chatting with a co-worker.
CARRIE LOU: Growing up, I wanted to be an art teacher — obviously I’m not an art teacher now. I finished my Bachelor’s degree right after high school and then I took a break from school for a long time. I stayed at home to take care of my kids. I went back to work part-time and then I decided I wanted to do graduate school.
Black and white clip of Carrie Lou at their desk. White text appears at the bottom center, “I wanted to understand what research says about how deaf children learn… I was suprised to see there wasn’t enough research.” Light blue text “- Carrie Lou” and a light blue line outlines the left side of the text.
CARRIE LOU: There was research, but the quality was questionable, and I often disagreed with how research findings were interpreted. As a deaf person, I’d probably interpret research differently than how hearing researchers would. That didn’t sit too well with me which made me realize I wanted to do my own research. From there, I decided to apply for a PhD program at UT.
Black and white clip of Carrie Lou in a conversation with someone’s back to the camera.
CARRIE LOU: When I started the PhD program here at UT, I took an Intro to Statistics class which was an undergraduate class because I hadn’t taken any statistics classes and didn’t really have any background in it. I remember being nervous and unsure if I could even do statistics. As the semester carried on, I realized I really enjoyed statistics — I liked clear interpretations that were either right or wrong. But then of course, later on when I understood statistics more, there was never a clear right or wrong related to data.
Black and white close up clip of Carrie Lou signing to someone off screen.
CARRIE LOU: As the Associate Director at NDC, I do a lot of different things every day. My passion is really in research, so when I can and when I have time, I always do new research and data analysis. We believe it is critical for the field to understand what current data says about deaf people in the U.S., about their successes, their struggles and their barriers. We want to help people understand that data so they can make changes for the better. A lot of my job involves project management, human resources, supervising, coordinating projects, making sure things operate smoothly and timely — so that means I answer a lot of emails!
Black and white clip of Carrie Lou working at the computer from behind.
CARRIE LOU: Looking back at my life, I’ve had different life experiences, different jobs — I taught pre-school, was a stay-at-home mom, worked on a farm, was an assistant painter and more. All of these job experiences have benefited me, I learned a lot from each job experience, from each person I’ve met. Each opportunity helped me stretch myself and they benefit me now — I’m grateful for those experiences. I encourage people to be open and try a different job, it might not be what you’re aiming for but it will lead you to something else later. You will still benefit from it and learn something from that job opportunity. Keep trying new things. Keep challenging yourself. Keep being curious!
Black and white clip of Carrie Lou chatting with a co-worker. Next clip, close up of Carrie Lou’s face as she watches someone off-screen. Video cuts to a dark blue background. Red alphabet letters of “N-A-D” in American Sign Language appear one by one in the center of the video. The copyright text appears in white underneath, “National Association of the Deaf, Copyright 2020, All Rights Reserved”.]