Tiffany Hill felt isolated at University of Oregon, and it wasnāt because she wasnāt involved. Besides being a second-degree black belt at Tae Kwon Do and on the Deanās List, Hill is hearing impaired.
After transferring to Central Oregon Community College, Hill instantly felt more relaxed.
āPeople make me feel comfortable,ā Hill said through an interpreter. āI donāt feel isolated.ā
Hill is now president of the American Sign Language club at COCC, a resource not only for deaf and hearing impaired students, but for students who want to learn ASL themselves.
āThey tend to focus on issues that relate to the deaf community,ā Dave Hagenbach, club advisor and interpreter said, ābut the real strength of all the clubs is to promote social gathering and getting together–promoting friendships.ā
Hagenbach is one of the clubās advisors and an ASL interpreter. Hagenbach is one of five different on-campus interpreters who go to class with hearing impaired students and interpret for them.

Interpreting academics can at times get a little tricky, depending on the classes students choose to take, according to Hagenbach. Sometimes words might even come up that do not have a sign in American Sign Language. Besides finger spelling the letters, interpreters might have to do some research to find the meaning behind a word, or they might work with the student to come up with a sign of their own. Some more intense classes might even take two interpreters to keep things fresh and moving.
Each interpreter and student becomes accustomed with each otherās nuances and quirks. This is why Hagenbach often tries to keep the same interpreters with the student, depending on the class they are in.
āWe have some really great interpreters here,ā Hagenbach said. āWeāre really blessed with that.ā
Building a comfortable community for deaf and hearing impaired students starts with treating deaf students like normal people, according to Hagenbach.
āOf course a regular old smile or writing notes on a little note pad worksā¦just looking at the student as you would anyone else,ā Hagenbach said.
Caroline Nash
The Broadside
cnash@cocc.edu