NTID Hosts Rochester School For The Deaf Interns

Rochester Institute of Technology and its National Technical Institute for the Deaf this summer is hosting four high school students from Rochester School for the Deaf (RSD) who are looking to gain practical, real-life work experience.

Daniel Baker and Justin DiBiase, both 15, are working with Stephen Campbell, manager of NTID Technical Support Services, to develop their skills by assisting with computer set-ups and fixing lab machines throughout the college.

Fellow RSD students George LaVare and Faiz Aliuddin, both 17, are interning with Frank Bruno, foreman of RIT Maintenance Services.

“We have their help on whatever repairs need to happen on a given day,” said Bruno, who added that staff members use pen and paper with the students in addition to sign language.

NTID and RSD have collaborated on many projects in the past, but this is the first student internship program. Thirty-six RSD high school students are participating in the program this year, which was created in 1986. RSD pays the students, transports them to and from their jobs, and has a staff member who serves as a liaison.

“Our program has grown so much,” said Laurie Way, RSD Summer Work Program coordinator, “that we wanted to give some of the students who have been with us for a few years a chance to work off campus.” Students working on campus at RSD will be grounds crew members, clerical assistants, photographers and classroom aides at the kindergarten and elementary school level.

NTID is the first and largest technological college in the world for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. One of eight colleges of RIT, NTID offers educational programs and access and support services to its 1,100 students from around the world who study, live and socialize with 14,400 hearing students on RIT's Rochester, N.Y., campus.

Web address: www.rit.edu/NTID.

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