STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Ms. Joan McCowin

My name is Joan McCowin and I am a Junior majoring in the Teacher Education program here at Huston-Tillotson University.  I was born in Omaha, Nebraska in1952. I become deaf at age of three due to a high fever. My education started off as I attended the Variety Children's Hearing School from fall of 1956 to June 1957 and continued at The Omaha Hearing School for Children.   This school had been started in a small apartment that was above a garage back in 1952.  Eight pioneer Educators for the Deaf were responsible for developing an alternative in education in an area that would drive deaf and hard of hearing children in learning through oral communication skills (reading lips vs signing).  In the fall of 1957, I enrolled in the Nebraska School for the Deaf (NSD) in Omaha, Nebraska. It was there that I learned sign language at the young age of five years old and I attended NSD until I graduated in 1972.

I have fond memories of the old NSD campus that had to be closed in 1998 due to low enrollment and rising utility costs. Following graduation, I attended Nettleton Business College and received an Office Specialist Certificate in 1974. At that time, Nettleton Business College did not have interpreter services and I had to work on my education with very limited communication access.   I moved to Denver, Colorado in 1976 and attended the Community College of Denver for one year. In 1992 I moved Austin, Texas and began my education at Austin Community College. In 2005, I received a Child Development Certificate. That year I had also received an acceptance letter from Huston-Tillotson University. I was excited to attend HTU and for the first time I felt a belonging which was something I had never felt at any other college. The Office of Disabilities Support provided me with an interpreter starting in 2005.  I was able to share experiences with both the students and staff here at Huston-Tillotson University. Some of the students even know some sign language that they had learned from high school. I love it that people are friendly to me and I feel a respect here. My goal is to challenge myself with education and continue to learn more subjects. I want to teach deaf children who may also have special needs. This past January, I started a new position working as a direct staff serving disabled deaf adults. I have learned how to socialize with people who are deaf and blind and have had training on being a SSP (support service provider) at the Texas School for the Visually Impaired for deaf students. I appreciate the Office for Students with Disabilities for all their assistance to deaf and hard of hearing students so that we are able to obtain full access to an education by providing sign language interpreters for classes, meetings, office visits, discussions, tests, and other activities.