Students from the Alaska School for the Deaf ask President Melissa some questions:
Spring 2017 | Volume 17, Issue 1
1) What is your dream and vision for the NAD, as well as the Jr. NAD (Jordyn Cleveland, Junior President)? My campaign emphasized three Es: Engage, Energize, and Elevate! I aim to get myriad components of the deaf community involved with NAD. This “bloom” of diverse communities, including Jr. NAD, would ignite group conversations identifying issues of importance to each, and hopefully, develop a broader perspective for, and create excitement in, working together to attain shared visions.
2) Were you a member of Jr. NAD, (Miguel Frias-Gomez, Senior member)? I was an enthusiastic member of Jr. NAD and attended two conferences: Fremont, CA (1988) and Baton Rouge, LA (1992). I also participated in the 1992 NAD Conference in Denver as a Jr. NAD representative.
3) Why did you decide to run for office, (Tony Thao, Senior Vice President)? After serving on the NAD board for eight years, four as an appointed board member and four as vice-president, I felt I had accumulated enough experience to propel NAD into the next stage. I felt the timing was right and the progression reasonable for me to utilize the skills I had learned over the years through volunteerism.
4) Do you feel challenged, honored, and humbled as a deaf female president of the NAD, (Emmanuel, Sophomore Member)? I certainly feel all three! The challenge comes from working with people with diversified opinions, interests and needs along with many personality types. The honor and humility stem from awareness that State Associations and Organizational Affiliates chose to entrust to me their priorities and leadership of the NAD over the next two years.
5) What is your proudest moment as a deaf person, (Jamie Ann Sotelo, Freshman Secretary)?
With Deaf Women United (DWU), I helped establish the Deaf Women’s Leadership Seminar at Gallaudet. I still work with incredible individuals involved with the program. I always feel so inspired after interacting with deaf women participants eager to develop their skill sets for their communities.
6) When did you decide to run for president and why did you go for it, (Lief Bosdell, Senior Member)? When I was a junior in high school, a classmate asked what our impossible dreams were. My response was, “to be NAD president.” This was an impulsive answer that I gave without thinking first. But from that time on, it became a concrete, if silent, goal for many years.
7) What is your plan for each state if the decision is made that every deaf student should be mainstreamed without accommodations, (Zachary Fitterer, Junior Treasurer)? Schools, as public entities, must provide the needed accommodations to access all programs, activities, and events. For deaf individuals, this means sign language interpreting, Captioning Access Real-Time (CART), and note-taking among other things. The NAD CEO, Howard Rosenblum, is a seasoned attorney with background in accessibility; he and the NAD Law Center take on cases that either establish precedents for or further define “reasonable accommodations” for deaf.