For years, hard of hearing students have come to SHS. At SHS, they have the ability to join a program that gives them access to interpreters and the ability to learn sign language.

“Historically, it’s been like a magnet program, where deaf and hard-hearing kids from the surrounding townships have funneled into Perry Township, like from Decatur, Franklin and Beech Grove and Perry all have come to… three specific schools, Mary Bryan, SMS and SHS,” Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) Interpreter Zach Evans said.

Even though DHH students have many opportunities at SHS, it can be challenging for them to find opportunities for college. That is why at the end of the first semester, colleges with DHH services came to SHS to talk to students about collegiate options.

During their visit, the colleges talked about campus life and the programs they offer. 

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is one of the colleges that came out. They are a college in Rochester, N.Y. that specializes in DHH programs. 

Their representative talked about everything from classes to sports to the campus. A few students were surprised at how much the colleges offered, leaving some interested.

“I think it’s very resourceful, especially when you want to find the college that you feel like you’re gonna be comfortable in and you’ll fit around in,” junior Liliana Patton said. “So it’s very much fun to go to those types of things and figure out all those aspects.”

While there aren’t many colleges that have specialized programs for DHH students, generally, students can be accepted anywhere and overcome the barriers. 

Even if the colleges aren’t specialized DHH, they can have quite a few other programs catered to them. 

However, ASL teacher Natalie Hendrix-Evans believes that colleges with DHH specialization in the hard of hearing are better for the kids.

“(They are better) because (the students) have more support that’s available to them,” Hendrix-Evans signed, translated by Evans.