Emily Wright: Life as a Deaf degree apprentice (BSL)

Stepping into the world of work and study simultaneously can be hard for anyone. You’re forced to grow from a school student to a working adult overnight….but still have to go back to the classroom once a week! But when you’re d/Deaf like me, there are additional challenges that come with this transition.

Firstly, the application stage came with its challenges but also highlighted to me how far we still have to come as a society in ensuring equitable access. At one interview, I turned up and was brought into a very loud room with hundreds of people. I didn’t hear a single question I was asked. Did I get the job? Of course not. But I didn’t want it either because they had done nothing to accommodate my deafness and that told me what I needed to know about the company. I did, however, receive an offer from a different company that were incredibly accommodating to my needs and checked up on me (and still do!) on a very regular basis.

When I received my conditional offer, I immediately disclosed my deafness to the university, who set me up with meetings with a disability advisor. I cannot complain about this initial period before I started, they were very eager to get the help that I needed to thrive. I was told initially that I wasn’t able to get funding through DSA, which usually funds support such as Notetakers and interpreters for d/Deaf students. My program leads weren’t too worried though, as they said they’d be happy to pay for anything needed. It turns out I was able to get funding in the end, and can now use it to get all the support and technology I need.

I was, however, left without communication support for 4 whole months at the start of my program. This made it incredibly challenging, as I was trying my best to lip read and get by. I even asked to sit outside of the lecture so I could learn independently with the slides and YouTube. Although I averaged a strong 1st in my first year, most people do not see the extra time and effort I had to put in to obtain that grade.

The lack of awareness of some lecturers at university really knocked my confidence. I had sessions where I turned up to university only to realise the session was completely inaccessible. Some assessments were inaccessible too. At work, I spent large amounts of time explaining what i need. If a meeting took place, a meeting was set up before that to ask what I need. Captions were not turned on from the host’s end on zoom. I didn’t know of any other d/Deaf people at university or at work. All of these challenges, I was left to face totally alone.

I do not, for one second, regret my decision though. The lack of representation in degree apprenticeships is shocking. Why should I be the first Deaf person that degree apprenticeship staff are encountering? I remember I got called “inspirational” for turning up at a conference and being the first Deaf person to do so. I’m not inspirational for turning up in the room the same as everyone else and we certainly shouldn’t be celebrating me being the first Deaf person at a technology conference. If other d/Deaf people were to follow in my footsteps, I can only imagine the positive effect on not just the Deaf community, but also in teaching the hearing community the importance that we can and should have in vital job roles.