FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 2003
CONTACT: John Hammond, San Antonio College Director of Public Relations
(210) 733-2147

Five SAC Deaf Students Will Transfer to Leading Institutions

Five deaf students who have completed their studies at San Antonio College will transfer for the Fall 2003 Semester to outstanding four-year institutions with predominantly deaf student enrollments, according to Jo Hilton, Interpreting Services Manager.

Danielle Cotugno, Darlene Rodriguez, Jessica Tristan, and Jeshal Patel are transferring to Gallaudet University, and Virginia "Vicky" Gonzalez will transfer to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a sister college of Rochester Institute of Technology.

"We gave them a great starting place, and I'm very, very proud of all of them, " said Hilton.

Hilton said Jessica Tristan first entered the program in the summer of 2002, when she took the American Sign Language I class and learned sign language for the first time. She said most of the communication at Gallaudet, where Tristan will be going, is done in sign language.

"The ASL-Interpreter Program at SAC is a good program. There are staff members who know sign language, and some of the teachers are deaf, " said Tristan.

She added, "You can socialize with other deaf people, which helps students who are learning sign language to do better at it, " noting that students also get to learn about the deaf culture.

Tristan was the only deaf student in elementary, middle and high school, graduating from the International School of the Americas magnet at Robert E. Lee High School. She relied on note-takers and a power pack to hear the teachers, whom she warmly recalls as being very interested in how she was doing in her classes and concerned that she understood everything.

She regrets she didn't learn sign language sooner, noting, "Sign language is so visual and so clear, I understand better and don't miss out on anything. "

The 20-year-old plans to earn her degree in Deaf Education and to work at a school for the deaf. She said, "I want to be able to help deaf students have self-esteem, show them that they can be successful in life, and be a role-model " - goals she may already be achieving.

For information about the San Antonio College American Sign Language/Interpreter Training Program, call Chairperson Lauri Metcalf at 733-2071 or Jo Hilton, LMSW, at 733-2073.