- Current role/title: Graduate Student Researcher/Accessibility Tester(Analyst)
- Location: Toronto Metropolitan University; formerly Ryerson University, Mississauga (Toronto), Ontario, Canada
- Field of expertise: Business, Technology, Management, and Business Communications
- Instagram: @foodadventurer90
Tell us about your background.
I’m hard of hearing, but I consider myself culturally deaf with fluency in ASL) American Sign Language). I am currently a graduate student studying for a Master of Science in Management, and living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I’m Chinese-Canadian. My family and I are originally from Hong Kong, China.My family and I immigrated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada when I was 6. Identifying myself as hard of hearing, I grew up in integrated schools, that is, schools that had a mix of hearing and deaf students, in Calgary. My first spoken language was Cantonese, before I learned English as a second language. Now, I choose English as my first spoken language since I’ve immigrated to Canada.
Coming from a working class family contributed to who I am today, with a diverse educational background because we moved around a lot since my childhood. I grew up using two languages to communicate at school: SEE (Signed Exact English) and English. However, total communication using speech reading mixed with SEE and a lot of sign language interpreters in K-12 schools wasn’t enough. There were some limitations at these predominantly hearing schools which prevented me from getting the communication I needed. That’s when I decided to relocate and make a new chapter in my life by learning at a reputable school for the Deaf in Milton, Ontario. I wanted to expand my knowledge in the area of advanced technology, because I had been exposed to technology such as video gaming and programming, and had become very interested. I moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada from Calgary. I learned a new foundation of ASL at the age of 18, and began using this as my primary method of communication. Before moving to Toronto, when I was growing up, my family had decided to hire academic professors and teachers outside of the classroom to teach me subjects from A to Z, including music, science, and academics. Once I arrived, I was lost by the switch from SEE to the new foundation of ASL. I immersed myself in ASL, taking ASL classes in school by the school board committee’s request. My parents also wanted to make sure that I got involved in every activity outside of the school curriculum including sports, and music. After all this work, I became very comfortable using ASL as my primary communication mode.
One thing I learned from my parents was to appreciate technology, such as video games and programming. My parents were avid academics. They brought the first computer home for me and my brother. They convinced me to try to play a video game on the computer, and I fell in love with it. I had never thought about this as a career path, but I realized that I wanted to do research about technology, in particular, how technology impacts businesses profiting from it.
How did you get to where you are?
I graduated with an undergraduate degree and associate’s degree (equivalent to Advanced Diploma) in Business, Technology and Management, along with a minor in Psychology, from the Toronto Metropolitan University and George Brown College based in Toronto. I was inspired to pursue a master’s degree in Management, particularly because I wanted to continue research. I also wanted to make contributions to research on accessibility in business, technology, or management. My main research focus is to improve accessibility by reducing technology barriers. Some inspirations for my work were brought about by a respectable Deaf professor who did their PhD at the same time that I was an undergraduate student at Toronto Metropolitan university. I was considering doing a master’s degree, but not sure where I should start. I knew that I wanted to continue my research in technology and business dynamics. By the time I was close to finishing undergraduate school, this professor suggested doing the master’s degree in management with a few research ideas. I thought of this as a great opportunity and enrolled in the Masters program. There were a couple of concerns related to the lack of accommodations, such as ASL interpreters and notetaking, when I started my research. There were also very few, if any, Deaf individuals who studied in the program, which contributed to isolation and lack of accessibility. There are not many articles that are new and relevant to understand the type of research I am doing in my Master’s program. I am also currently the leader of the accessibility council on the campus. Applying to a PhD program is something I am considering.
What is a professional challenge you have faced related to your deafness? How have you mitigated this challenge?
The main professional challenge I have faced related to my deafness has been feeling isolated, and my limited access to communication. This has been primarily due to the lack of suitable technology and the difficulty in obtaining ASL interpreters provided digitally. It does not matter if interpreters function in real time or online, but their responsibility is to interpret on the job. I mitigate this everyday challenge by advocating for myself, and explaining that we can communicate with technology using a smartphone and digital text. I believe that at your workplace it shouldn’t be onerous to request accommodations, such as an ASL interpreter, when organizing a meeting or a conference.
What is an example of accommodation that you either use or would like to use in your current job
Accommodations are something I will always rely on for the rest of my life as a Deaf researcher. I always ask for an ASL interpreter if there are hearing peers involved who are not fluent in ASL. In general, I ask for one or two accommodations such as note taking, or ASL interpreters, which is easier to work with than the assistive technology provided in meeting/conference settings. For one-on-one meetings, I prefer to communicate through a special technology such as a chatline or a group chatline.
What advice would you give your former self?
The advice I give my former self is to interact with other Deaf researchers and learn more from them, seek advice about their research ideas, and how they reached their dream of succeeding and doing research. I would tell my younger self – don’t wait, grab every opportunity. Do not shy away from research and academics. Dare to ask for more.
Any funny stories you want to share?
Last year, two Christmases ago, there were a couple of times that a deaf professor on campus and I wore the same shirt. We were practically twins wearing our favorite characters from Star Trek Academy out of a TV fiction series. What are the odds that the two deaf individuals on campus end up being twins and eating the same lunch! I found it very funny and ironic, since we do work together as a team, but we don’t ever try to knowingly coordinate our outfits!
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I would like to share one fact– I love food. I absolutely love food adventures. Everytime I see a new food, or new dish, I pop into a restaurant or cafe and ask for the menu and the specials. One of my favorite food adventures is going to apple or strawberry farms, as they have beautiful scenery and organic food.
Leave a comment