[VIDEO DESC & TRANSCRIPT: Darian is seated in her office.
DARIAN: It is surprising how it is 2019 and people still don’t know what American Sign Language (ASL) is. Like, people ask, “What is open captioning?” “What is closed captioning? Interpreters? Oh, it’s a law? I didn’t know!” I mean, some people still don’t understand what the ADA does.
Black and white clip of Darian smiling and nodding at someone off screen, next, Darian is walking down a hallway. In the center, a white border surrounds white text “DARIAN” underneath, appears in white text “REGIONAL MANAGER”.
DARIAN: My name is Darian Burwell. I am the manager here at the Raleigh regional center under the Division Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Black and white clips of Darian working on her computer.
DARIAN: Growing up, I was the only deaf student in my school. I lived in a small town in Clarksville, Virginia way out in the countryside by the lake. I knew no other deaf person and it wasn’t until I was 10 years old, my parents decided to move to D.C. so I could attend Kendall Demonstration Elementary School at Gallaudet University. I didn’t really think anything of it, “Sure, okay, why not” was my mindset. And once we moved, it was immediately one of the best decisions my parents ever made. My life was completely transformed for the better. I learned ASL and I made so many friends and met people who were like me which I am still friends with now even! I’m truly grateful for that. Once I got into High School, I went to a mainstreamed High School that wasn’t far from Kendall and the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD). Because of that, I was able to go back and forth between my school and my friends who went to MSSD. I graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School before going to Gallaudet University for my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.
Black and white clip of Darian working on her computer with a view of her office from the doorway.
DARIAN: It wasn’t until I started looking for a job in North Carolina that I didn’t realize what many deaf people experienced during their job search. It was incredibly tough. I applied to so many jobs. Finally, I was contacted for an interview. When I visited the office for the interview, I felt I did very good during my interview. I knew this was the right place for me because it was in an intimate environment and it was exactly what I was looking for. It had that small country town feel that I was aiming for.
Black and white clip of Darian walking into an office. Next clip, Darian asking someone off screen questions.
DARIAN: Currently, as the regional manager for the Raleigh center, I supervise seven employees who have different positions. I make sure they follow through with their tasks and I provide support. We provide educational training in the community about law enforcement and offer driver communication cards for the community. We educate the community on how to work with the police department. Basically, we address all kinds of various trends that are occurring out there that the Deaf community aren’t aware about. We also provide training to hospitals so they can provide better accommodations for deaf, hard of hearing, and DeafBlind patients.
Black and white clip of Darian laughing and signing to someone off screen. Next clip, Darian is in a conference room with other people.
Black and white clip of Darian typing away on the computer. White text appears in the center, “What I love about this job is knowing what kind of difference I’ll make in someone’s life.” – Darian” and a light blue line outlines the left side of the text.
DARIAN: It’s always different everyday really. We might get a call from parents who are asking for resources for their deaf children. Or it could be a call from someone who just got a new job and needs a communication device but they’re not sure what’s available to them. Once, we had an employer contact our office with a concern about their employee who needed advocacy help, so we sent a staff person with an interpreter over to meet with them. Once they met, the employer had a better idea of what to do moving forward. Those are the kinds of things that warms my heart. I’m glad we’re making changes to someone’s life; change their mind on how to work with us and our community.
Black and white clip of Darian asking someone off-screen a question.
DARIAN: This isn’t my dream job. Honestly, I dreamed of working in the hotel industry because I love hospitality and different scenery but I found different ways to fulfill that need like event planning and meet different people.
Black and white clip of Darian talking to people seated at the same table as her.
DARIAN: Don’t be afraid to move up at work. Sometimes you will have to start from the bottom, like at a grocery store working on simple tasks but you will move up in the ranks as time goes by. Because you learn what others go through, so as you move up — that will make you a better leader, a better person, and more knowledgeable about what people go through at work.
Black and white clip of Darian working on her computer. Next clip, Darian is walking down the hall and stops at a doorway — she starts to laugh.
Video cuts to grey background with the NAD logo quickly changing in different bright colors from teal to white to black to hot pink to green to orange to teal to yellow to purple to finally the official NAD logo with copyright text underneath “The National Association of the Deaf (c) 2019 All Rights Reserved”.]