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Hello and welcome to the second episode of Alumni Now.
I'm Sam Sonnenstrahl, class of '79,
and I'm also the Executive Director of Alumni Relations
and the Gallaudet University Alumni Association.
As you know, for each program we have several panelists,
and I'd like to introduce today's guests.
Mucho gusto.
I'm Michelle Morris, class of 2012!
I'm an International Relations Assistant
here at Gallaudet.
Hello, my name is Dwight Benedict, class of 1980.
I'm the Dean of Student Affairs and Academic Support.
Hello, my name is Sanremi "Sandi" Larue,
class of '75, and I'm an Instructional Supervisor
for the Tutorial Center.
After a hugely successful first program,
there is little doubt that Alumni Now is here to stay.
Our first program had almost 9,000 hits on You Tube.
That's incredible!
And, we were viewed in over 52 different countries!
Amazing!
You may notice things look
a little bit different this time.
We have made some adjustments based on your feedback.
This program isn't just for us, it's for you too,
so if you have ideas or recommendations,
feel free to email:
This program will have three segments.
The first will examine Gallaudet's global impact,
as well as how the world impacts Gallaudet.
Secondly, we'll look at our Alumni Profile,
featuring Dr. Glenn Anderson.
Third will be our "Then and Now" segment, about baseball.
We'll have a chat with our current coach and players.
Stay tuned!
For nearly 150 years, the Edward Miner Gallaudet residence
has been host to heads of state from near and far,
housed the first co-ed students admitted
to the Columbia Institution
and served as an apartment
for numerous university faculty and staff members.
But throughout the years, it has always been home
to the presidents of Gallaudet and their families.
For the first time, the Edward Miner Gallaudet residence
has been open to television cameras,
First Lady Vicki Hurwitz takes us on a tour
of this campus landmark.
You'll see many of the home's beautiful furnishings
and unique features.
Join us as we take a peek inside the residence
that on campus is simply known as House One.
Welcome.
As a student at Gallaudet I was fortunate
to have been involved in FYS, the First Year Experience tour.
We traveled to Costa Rica.
Also, I traveled with the study abroad program in India
on two different occasions.
Looking back on that experience,
I realize that those travels were among the best experiences
I had here at Gallaudet.
Going to different countries changed
the way I see other people and other cultures around the world.
Additionally, when I travel I see evidence of the impact
that Gallaudet has on other countries.
Sometimes I meet Gallaudet alumni who have returned home
ready to apply what they learned here
in their home countries.
Or, sometimes I meet a young person
who has a great desire and a dream to come to Gallaudet.
Today, Gallaudet International Programs
are continuing to improve our relationships
with other countries all over the world.
Would you like to see?
You know, one of the biggest reasons
I came to Gallaudet was because I heard
that there was a big international culture here.
There really is.
The minute I entered, in my freshman year,
I found out there was a free trip to Costa Rica
for all the freshmen.
I was astounded!
I never expected anything like that.
One thing I remember clearly -
and you were with me, weren't you?
I remember those three big buses,
with over 100 students.
They mobbed us!
Right, they all came rushing.
And the children in Costa Rica
were so in awe of the Gallaudet students.
That had a huge impact on our group,
and the Gallaudet students had a great impact on them.
I recall when I was a student, our German teacher,
Janice Mitchell, arranged a trip to Germany.
A group of us went, and afterwards
we were often asked by others how we were able
to travel abroad and what it was like.
Now, so many things have an international connection.
When we travel, no matter where we go,
we meet Gallaudet University alumni.
They are everywhere in the world.
When we send out the Gallaudet Today newsletter,
we always do a U.S. mailing
and an international mailing separately,
and the international numbers are on the rise.
They're really beginning to grow substantially.
And we're seeing more
international GUAA chapters forming
in places like Canada, Japan, and now even in Nigeria.
It's truly global.
Wow, Gallaudet has changed so much over the years!
Their international efforts have improved
and there's so much more diversity.
Back when I was a student
we didn't have these opportunities.
There were no programs for an international experience,
or travel abroad.
That's pretty impressive!
Next, we will be showing you a profile of one of our alum.
Don't go away!
Stay right here!
Hello, my name is Cheol.
Maria.
Danilo.
Peter.
Jiyai.
I'm from South Korea.
Bulgaria.
Colombia, South America.
Hong Kong.
China.
I graduated from Gallaudet in 1987.
'99.
2011.
1981.
BA in 2011, plus MA in 2012.
This is Alumni Now.
Alumni Now.
Alumni Now.
Alumni Now.
Alumni Now.
We are just thrilled to introduce the individual
selected for our next Alumni Profile, Dr. Glenn Anderson.
He is one of the most recognized alumni
here at Gallaudet University.
Dr. Anderson has accomplished so many things,
including being the only African American,
and second deaf person to serve as the Chair
of the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees.
He did so for a total of 12 years!
He was the first deaf African American to earn his PhD
and was also a courageous member of the Board of Directors
of the National Black Deaf Advocates.
Dr. Anderson has received many awards for his leadership,
including the Gallaudet University
Alumni Association's Cogswell Award.
Dr. Anderson is not only a recognized leader,
but he is also a fantastic athlete.
His name appears in several athletic Halls of Fame.
We are truly honored to have Dr. Glenn Anderson
as our Alumni Profile.
I became chairperson in 1994.
There's no school you can go to in order to learn
how to be a chairperson.
So, how do you fulfill your role as a chairperson?
You have to learn on the job.
At the time, deaf people had no captioning.
I ended up going to Northern Illinois University,
60 miles west of Chicago.
I was the only deaf person
among several thousand hearing students.
They thought there was no way I would pass
a public speaking class, so they had already decided
that I needed to switch to a different major,
or perhaps another college.
My stubbornness led me to a special education teacher,
and he suggested Gallaudet.
At the time, I didn't know anything about Gallaudet,
but I was starved for the opportunity
to continue my education.
During my time at Gallaudet,
I was a member of several sports teams.
One of my crowning athletic achievements
was scoring more than 1,000 points
as a member of Gallaudet's basketball team.
I went to graduate school at the University of Arizona.
Then I got into the PhD program at NYU.
Was I aware that I could become
the first black deaf student with a PhD?
No!
Your time here is an investment Gallaudet has made in you.
What are you going to do with that investment?
Give back to the Deaf community.
Give back to Gallaudet, too!
My philosophy: we should build a "Deaf army."
Gallaudet graduates are our soldiers.
Send them to the far corners of the earth;
and build armies out there.
I just have to share with you the first time
that I met Glenn Anderson.
It was shortly after I graduated from Gallaudet University
and I was introduced to him by Linwood Smith.
During that first meeting,
I learned that Glenn was studying for his PhD,
and wow, I can't tell you the impact that made on me
and how inspired I was by him.
Come to think of it,
Glenn was a long-time friend of my father's.
We were living in Detroit, Michigan
back in the '70's.
I was about 11 or so, now you can figure out my age!
Anyway, it was some time during the 70's
and we were living just outside of Detroit, in Birmingham,
and there was a gas price war going on.
Stations were competing by lowering their prices
in order to attract more customers.
Prices got down to 19.9 cents a gallon.
I wish it was like that today!
But anyway, at that same time in the city,
gas prices were around 30 cents a gallon.
Glenn told my father that in the suburbs,
people have more money than they do in the city
but they were paying less for gas,
the businesses were selling it for less.
Something was wrong with that picture.
As a boy, it was my first real experience
with social injustice.
I learned that through Glenn.
Not only is he intelligent,
but he's a great leader, and a great person.
He's warm, and always makes people feel welcome.
He's so easy to talk to.
When I was a new student at NYU, I used to play basketball,
and Glenn agreed to meet me on the subway every week
and go with me, so I wasn't going
to an unfamiliar neighborhood in New York City all on my own.
He was always there for me.
And I have always found him to be very warm.
He's got a big heart.
And he's a great person - really a neat guy.
I'm so jealous!
You've all had the opportunity to meet him
and learn so many lessons from him.
I didn't know anything about Glenn Anderson
until I became vice president of the BDSU at Gallaudet.
That's the Black Deaf Student Union.
That was when I started hearing his name,
but I still didn't have any idea who he was -
I just knew he was the first African American deaf person
to graduate with a PhD, but I didn't know him -
until last November at the BDA,
the Black Deaf Advocates Conference.
They were celebrating 30 years
since they were first established,
and that was where I saw him present.
I had not met him yet, but I viewed him from a distance,
and as I was watching him it struck me
that my education had been easy to obtain.
I didn't have to fight for it.
My education went smoothly.
But, I learned that in the past people of color
had to struggle through many difficulties in order
to get a higher education.
When I learned that, I realized I owe
a lot of thanks to Glenn because he paved the path
for people like me so that I could move forward easily
with my education.
It was really something!
Now, we want you to stay.
Don't leave!
Keep watching.
I'm looking forward to becoming a Gallaudet alum!
I just feel so, wow, it's a different feeling.
I finally made it.
I graduate this May.
I'm excited to get my cap and gown, and then I'm out of here!
My goal is to recruit other hearing students
to be interpreting majors.
If they're interested, they can become alumni too.
I like to attend sporting events like football and basketball.
I'm always here to support Gallaudet students.
I'm here to share my experiences, to offer support,
to encourage freshman, that's the goal.
I remember when I was a freshman.
I'm excited I'm becoming an alum now
so I can show my gratitude to Gallaudet.
Spring is here, and everyone is excited
because that means baseball season is here.
And for Gallaudet, it's no different.
Bison baseball has been a tradition here for many years.
From 1890, it has seen its ups and downs,
but now it's here to stay.
Bison baseball has a strong program now.
We are members of NCAA division III.
I used to play baseball back in the 1980's,
and in this edition of Then and Now,
we'll look back at Bison baseball
through the years, and have a talk
with Coach Curtis Pride and his players
about today's team and their hopes for the season.
What I learned playing professional baseball,
they don't know, so I teach them,
and they've really improved.
Last year we finished second, and this year
we're serious about being first.
We're going all out.
We want to build up the program,
show that we have good athletes,
and recruit good players to come to Gallaudet.
The players, they have a lot of passion and hunger.
They want to learn.
It's all related.
It's the time you put in the weight room,
the time you put into practice.
It's doing it over and over again.
That'll pay off during the season.
I would say that the toughest day was day three,
the last day of training, we went to the Potomac River,
near the airport, with paddles and sandbags.
It was a very tough experience, pushing logs and all that,
all in 2 hours so we had to move quickly, without stopping.
We have Coach Pride,
who was a professional baseball player,
and has experience playing at a high level.
It's nice to have someone like that come to a Division III team
and give feedback and share his experience.
Given time and hard work, you see improvements every day.
It's great to have a former major league player as a coach.
He helps us train and develop our skills
using his first hand knowledge of the game.
There is a relationship.
I feel like they're all my brothers -
we have that kind of connection.
It's a strong bond.
They're getting better and better every year,
and they're starting to win more and more games.
I still feel connected to baseball.
Our baseball field is named after Dummy Hoy.
Hoy was originally from Cincinnati, Ohio,
and way back when, my parents
just happened to know him, personally.
So I have some ties to him.
Gallaudet really invested a lot
in the athletic facilities.
You should make sure that you see
our beautiful baseball field and our softball
and football fields, too.
I'm very proud of our progress here.
Last year, as a senior at Gallaudet,
I lived in Carlin Hall and the window of my room
directly overlooked the baseball field,
where there was a lot of renovation going on.
My friends and I didn't know what had happened
to our favorite picnic spot.
Hoy Field was perfect for that in the spring time.
It was all under construction.
But, after it was done, it turned out beautifully;
we were just drooling over it.
So many people came from off campus,
hearing baseball players practiced here and all of that.
It was a great way to spread the word about Gallaudet.
It was cool to see.
Dwight: This is really putting us on the map!
That's for sure.
Thanks to Coach Pride.
I have a story to share about him as well.
Periodically, Coach Pride will come to see me
in the Tutoring Center.
He wants to make sure that we're providing adequate services
to his baseball players,
and he also wants to make sure that they're taking advantage
of all the services that we offer
to help them keep up with their academics,
including maintaining a good GPA.
I'm so proud that we have such a good relationship
with Coach Pride.
Back in my day, the coaches weren't full time coaches.
Now, almost all of our coaches are full time,
You make a very good point.
Full time coaches really focus on their players year-round
to make sure they do well in school.
Without that, it could be difficult for them
to help the students year round.
Having coaches involved
is much better for the students, definitely.
Baseball does have a rich history at Gallaudet.
Just last night I was doing some research
and I discovered that the first issue of the Buff and Blue
came out in 1892.
From that time, through 1893,
the newspaper talked about baseball.
Even in the first issue,
they published the team roster and scores.
That means baseball was around before the Buff and Blue,
you said 1890, and you're probably right.
So, baseball has been around for a long time,
and they've had some good years
some not-so-good years.
Back in 1898, they had a record of 16,
no, 18 wins, 6 losses, and one tie.
That was pretty much their best year, until now.
Now we've got a really good team.
Another comment I wanted to make is
that once Gallaudet baseball players graduate,
do you know where they go?
They join deaf softball.
Always softball.
That's right - softball.
And actually, in the year 2000, Gallaudet hosted
the first and only international deaf baseball tournament.
Teams included Japan, Venezuela, Canada, Cuba, and the U.S.
Most of the U.S. team
had played baseball here at Gallaudet.
So, it's not just about Gallaudet baseball,
but after graduation,
players continue to have an impact.
So, with that, I would like to close.
Thank you for joining us.
I hope you enjoyed the show.
Again, this is still a new program.
If you have any feedback, feel free to send it our way.
Our address, again, is:
Please join us next time.
Thank you.