I attended a public high school and was the only deaf person. I see myself as a normal functioning person, and I don’t let my deafness define me. That being said, being deaf did have some influence on my decision to choose RIT, but it wasn’t the sole reason. RIT provided a top-tier education in Industrial Design, had outstanding access services and seemed to be the best environment for me to work and learn in and be successful. Now that I’m here, I enjoy having the opportunity to learn and socialize with hearing and deaf people, and I have a good mix of hearing and deaf friends. Because some deaf students use sign language, many hearing students on campus learn sign language, so they can communicate with them. It’s a very deaf-friendly community. There is a great combination of both worlds here, and I can fit comfortably in both of them.