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Hi. My name is Samuel Sandoval.
I'm from Fairfax, Virginia.
I identify myself as deaf because growing up as a kid,
people would notice that I could hear,
so they called me hard of hearing.
I would say, "No, I'm deaf,"
because my parents are both deaf.
They are strongly culturally deaf.
They said, "You are deaf."
Well, OK, I can hear a little bit.
That's all right.
But I don't talk well.
I can hear well, but I still identify myself as deaf.
Looking back on my high-school experience,
I was part of a mainstream school
with a group of half deaf
and half hard-of-hearing students.
There were about fifty of us, total.
It was a big school.
There were a number of groups that socialized OK,
but we really didn't share the same interests.
I loved technology.
When I got into RIT, I was surprised that there were
a lot of students who had the same interests as me.
We talked about technologies every day,
and that helped me grow by improving my knowledge.
When searching for a college, I had a few requirements.
First, there had to be good interpreters
and access services.
There had to be good note-takers and C-Print captionists.
When I arrived on the first day for open house,
I looked around and immediately knew that I fit in, right away.
Other students who were also visiting
were in my major, and I knew that we would all be together
for the next five years.
We still are, to this day.
I met a teacher who was hearing but could sign,
and I was impressed by them.
They taught in IT, and they were someone I could talk to
about different topics.
I have two favorite hobbies:
photography-- I love taking pictures.
Then I got into playing paintball with friends.
My friends, who are deaf, would get together
every two weeks.
There were about 15 to 20 deaf people who would play
and have fun, and I really enjoyed that.
The reason I got involved with the Asian Deaf Club
was because we shared the same interests.
I've been involved for two years with the Executive Board,
the first year as the webmaster
and the second year as a photographer.
RIT is a better fit because it has great support services,
great tutors who can sign.
You can go right in and talk with them
and not have to request an interpreter,
so that helped a lot with my success.
The teachers themselves understand deaf culture
and what our communication needs are.
There are great clubs you can get involved in
with lots of deaf and hard-of-hearing friends.
RIT is the perfect fit for me.