RIT/NTID Diversity Spotlight
[ID: The background image is black, green, yellow, and red. A smiling black man has short, black hair and black and white beard. He is wearing a black lightweight coat. The Diversity & Inclusion logo is in the top left corner. Text in white reads: Black Heritage Month Spotlight. Tim Albert.]
Tim Albert
Director, Student Life Team
NTID
Tim Albert is the Director of the Student Life Team at NTID.
What is your nationality/how do you identify?
Black or African American.
What or who has been your biggest cultural influence?
My mother is the only one who has been my biggest cultural influence. I depended on her when I was a little child because I was able to communicate with her. She taught me many things to learn and changed my life.
What is your favorite cultural dish?
I love New Orleans (Creole/Cajun) food, including Gumbo, Jambalaya, Po-Boys, Beignets, Crawfish, Pralines, Crab and King Cakes. But, no oysters….no way!
What would you like people to know about your culture?
I love my family so, of course, we have different cultures. I’m different from my family because I’m the only deaf member. I did not know more about American Sign Language and Deaf Culture until deaf residential school in Louisiana. My family and I do still use “Home Sign” to communicate with each other. Nothing changes, but I cherish my culture and my family’s culture. Well, you see…my culture, my family’s culture, your culture, and different people’s cultures….our cultures are BEAUTIFUL…period!
From your lens, how can the larger community better support POC, like yourself?
It’s great that you need to start understanding cultural differences than your own. Start working on cultural competence so that you will be able to get connected with those around you.
Do you have any resources to share for someone who would like to learn more about your culture?
Oh, sure! Here’s a link below if you would like to know what’s happening in New Orleans – smile! http://www.neworleans.com
A fun fact about yourself.
I will never forget the day I just got my first job at the Georgia School for the Deaf. When I was officially introduced to middle and high school students as their new first Black Deaf school social worker, I was told by a black deaf male student that he did not believe that I was the school social worker. It was just because they (middle and high school students) were used to seeing Black Deaf housekeepers, janitors, paraprofessionals, and resident advisors. I was stunned, but I started teaching all students about famous Black Deaf and Hard of Hearing people.