Using her dedication, Alexandria is a Pitt senior with ambition and passion. When she’s not busy with R.A. duties, she’s advocating for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community in the Pittsburgh area. Her extraordinary efforts to bring awareness to educational disadvantages the Deaf community face and her leadership in Pitt’s American Sign Language Club make her a perfect candidate for Her Campus Celebrity!
Year: Senior
Major: Applied Developmental Psychology in the School of Education
Certificate: American Sign Language
Hometown: Marlton, New Jersey
HC: What activities are you involved in around Pitt’s campus?
AG: This is my third year as a Resident Assistant; I have been an RA in Tower A, Holland, and am currently in Tower C. I am also the president of the American Sign Language Club we have here on campus.
HC: That’s awesome! What does the ALS Club at Pitt do?
AG: We try to reach out to the community of Deaf and Hard of Hearing here at Pitt and in the Pittsburgh area. A lot of people don’t know this, but Pitt has a large community of Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and the Western Pennsylvania School of Deaf is not that far away. I intern there!
HC: So, you’re interning? How’s that experience?
AG: So far it’s been great! I have taken what I have learned from class and being president, and I have applied it to my job. I get to hold counseling and skill management groups, and I work with children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
HC: How did you become so interested in the Deaf community?
AG: I came in as a freshman, and although I didn’t need to, I wanted to take a language. I didn’t want to take Spanish, so my advisor told me about ASL, and I took a class my freshmen year and loved it.
HC: Do you remember what it was like to start class in ASL?
AG: Almost every ASL professor at Pitt is deaf, so it was scary at first. The first day the powerpoint wasn’t working, so our professor was signing and then writing on the board. I was just like, “Oh my goodness, how can I do this?”
HC: What else is difficult about signing and ASL?
AG: The Deaf put a lot of emphasis on the visual. Because I’m hearing, I don’t realize the emphasis on visual input. When I started interning and working with kids, I would come home so tired because of the visual work I would have to put into it.
HC: What have you learned about the Deaf community and their culture?
AG: The Deaf are storytellers, and it’s unique because they are so visual—using their hands and bodies and emotions. There are SLAM poetry nights downtown for the Deaf and they sign the whole time. You just have to see it; they become the characters they want to portray. They are also pretty inclusive because they have gone through so much, and they expect respect. They aren’t afraid to tell you if you’re signing wrong either!
HC: Who influenced you? Who gave you the courage and confidence to become president of Pitt’s ASL club?
AG: I would have to say my mom. When I first came to college, I was introverted, and she really told me that if I was passionate about something, to just go for it, and I’m so happy I did. I would have never imagined the progress Pitt’s ASL club has made over the years I have been here. Before, no one knew who we were, but last year we ended up winning the Most Outstanding Program of the year!
HC: What do you plan on doing after you graduate?
AG: I’m hoping to go to graduate school! I would like to do behavior intervention and behavioral therapy. I want to work with kids with emotional and behavioral disorders, but I want to specialize in Deaf and Hard of Hearing children with play therapy.
Photos courtesy of Alexandria Grant.