This week, our Employment Programme Lead, Andrea Quinn, visited the world’s only Liberal Arts University for deaf students and students with hearing loss – Gallaudet University.
It’s in the heart of Washington D.C. and is well known for its pioneering approach to bilingual education through both English and American Sign Language (ASL).
Andrea got the opportunity to meet with the team at Gallaudet’s Office for Career Success. Director Julie Tibbitt and her colleagues took time to share some insights from their work at the university, including their innovative online system Bison CareerLink, a tailored portal which connects recruiting employers with deaf students and alumni.
At RNID, Employment is one of our key strategic programmes which focuses on addressing the barriers that deaf people face in entering and staying in employment. As we develop digital resources and new approaches to breaking down these barriers, it’s invaluable to have the opportunity to meet and learn from organisations such as Gallaudet, who embrace innovative approaches to deaf employment.
Andrea said:
Gallaudet’s centring of the deaf experience and embracing of diverse cultures, identities and linguistic backgrounds was evident in their ways of working. A big thank you to everyone at Gallaudet who welcomed me (despite my limited ASL skills!) – there really is no place like Gallaudet!