“[American Sign Language] has always interested me, so [starting the course] was one of my plans for freshman year. My mom [had] deaf friends in elementary school and learned how to sign just through watching them, and I thought that was just so cool [and] wanted to learn [ASL myself]. Over the course of [my first] semester, I improved a ton and was able to sign basic things. I fell in love with the language, so I decided to take it again sophomore year. Then, my teacher left, [but] I still wanted to continue [online]. [This year], I feel a little bit disconnected from deaf culture, because [being] in a classroom and [being] able to sign to other people who can sign is really how you can learn. My old teacher, Ms. Mencheck, would sign with [deaf or hard of hearing students] and encourage kids in her ASL class to be [involved in] the deaf community. I think those [interactions] are a very important part of West’s culture, and [a reason why] a lot of deaf or hard of hearing kids transfer here.”-Haley Puglisi, 11