{"id":6436,"date":"2009-05-11T15:18:49","date_gmt":"2009-05-11T10:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=6436"},"modified":"2009-05-11T05:29:34","modified_gmt":"2009-05-11T10:29:34","slug":"asl-student-to-speak-at-commencement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/05\/11\/asl-student-to-speak-at-commencement\/","title":{"rendered":"ASL Student to Speak at Commencement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note: You might find it interesting that this article in the San
\nAntonio College student newspaper “The Ranger” which features CODA
\nLorna Francis whose native language is ASL and who will be the
\ncommencement speaker on May 9. According to the article, the
\ncommencement will also be televised.<\/em><\/p>\n

ASL student to speak at commencement May 9, 2009<\/p>\n

By: Michelle Franco<\/p>\n

Posted: 4\/17\/09<\/p>\n

Lorna Francis is the first American Sign Language student to be
\nchosen as a speaker for this college’s commencement.<\/p>\n

She will be speaking on behalf of the graduating class at this year’s
\ncommencement ceremony at 10 a.m. May 9 in Municipal Auditorium, One
\nAuditorium Circle.<\/p>\n

A total of 642 students are expected to walk the stage at the
\nceremony, Gail Jonas, associate director of admissions, said
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n

The auditorium seats 4,200, and graduates have been issued five
\ntickets for family and friends.<\/p>\n

“It makes me feel honored and excited to do it,” Francis said in an
\ninterview April 6. “I am always the quiet person. This is out of the
\nordinary for me.”<\/p>\n

“I could have transferred a long time ago,” Francis said, “but I
\nwanted to complete the (ASL) program here.<\/p>\n

“My mom is deaf and my dad is hard of hearing. I have to be a role
\nmodel to show that any student can do it.”<\/p>\n

She explains how it was easier to use sign language as a child
\nbecause that’s what was used at home.<\/p>\n

“It was hard for me to mainstream into the hearing world,” she said.<\/p>\n

Francis will transfer to Texas A&M University-Kingsville System
\nCenter-San Antonio in the fall of 2010 and hopes to find a career in
\ninterpreting for courts.<\/p>\n

Jeff Hunt, theater and speech communication chair and in charge of
\nchoosing the graduation speaker, was introduced to Francis during the
\nASL talent show Feb. 21, where she signed “Just Fine” by Mary J. Blige
\nin ASL.<\/p>\n

“She had a great performance,” Hunt said. “I thought she might be a
\ngreat speaker.”<\/p>\n

Hunt usually chooses the speaker in December and January, then
\ncoaches the speaker until the day of graduation.<\/p>\n

“It’s not really about finding a good speaker,” the expert said. “I
\nlook for diversity.”<\/p>\n

“It’s a real honor,” Hunt said. “They have a message they want to
\nshare and they speak before thousands of audience members. It looks
\ngood on your r\u00e9sum\u00e9.”<\/p>\n

Hunt said he tries to meet with the speaker seven to 10 times and
\nwill work on writing the speech, figuring out a theme and, once it is
\nwritten, work on delivering the speech.<\/p>\n

The graduation speaker is an important part of graduation, Hunt said.<\/p>\n

“You have one student speak on behalf of the graduating class,” he
\nsaid. “They are only a small representation of the obstacles and
\nsuccess stories that all the graduates share at SAC.”<\/p>\n

“The graduation speaker’s duty is to charge their peers with don’t
\nrest, don’t stop. Continue on with education or with the dream job in
\nthe work force and continue to make new goals,'” Hunt said.<\/p>\n

The importance of the graduation speaker from the faculty and
\nadministration’s point of view, Hunt said, is “to hear from the
\ngraduation speaker that we are doing our job.”<\/p>\n

Officials also will be announcing this years’ Outstanding Former
\nStudent award to Martha Salas, a graduate from the first nursing class
\nfrom the college in 1969.<\/p>\n

“There is a lot of symbolism that she was one of the first graduates
\nand this year they are opening the new nursing facility,” said
\ndistance education Director Helen Torres, who nominated Salas for the
\naward.<\/p>\n

Salas is currently a civilian employee as the director for the Air
\nForce Worldwide Family Advocacy Program.<\/p>\n

Salas oversees 77 Air Force installations that develop, implement,
\nintervene and treat family violence with a spending budget of $33
\nmillion per year, Julie Cooper, public information officer for the
\ncollege, said Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Salas graduated with an associate degree in nursing from the college
\nand later received a Bachelor of Science in nursing from the
\nUniversity of the Incarnate Word and a Master’s of Business
\nAdministration and health care management from Our Lady of the Lake
\nUniversity.<\/p>\n

“That to me was so striking,” Torres said. “She is really a leader.”<\/p>\n

To be nominated for the award, individuals must have attended the
\ncollege and have been nominated by a faculty or staff member from the
\ncollege.<\/p>\n

Graduation is not required.<\/p>\n

The commencement ceremony will be televised from 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
\nthrough Time Warner Cable on Channel 98. <\/p>\n

Source:
\nhttp:\/\/www.theranger.org\/home\/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&uStory_id=4fe3bebc-6b5f-4358-ad93-ac4e20a65f19<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Note: You might find it interesting that this article in the San Antonio College student newspaper “The Ranger” which features CODA Lorna Francis whose native language is ASL and who will be the commencement speaker on May 9. According to…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-1FO","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44126,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2023\/05\/29\/tsd-pr-texas-school-for-the-deaf-graduation-ceremony-class-of-2023-commencement-6-1-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":6436,"position":0},"title":"TSD PR: Texas School for the Deaf Graduation Ceremony Class of 2023 Commencement 6\/1\/2023","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Note: This is the correct version provided by TSD PR. --gwlj 5\/31\/2023 TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF PRESS RELEASE Contact: Gabriel Cardenas 512-462-5372 Gabriel.Cardenas@tsd.state.tx.us FOR RELEASE JUNE 1, 2023 Texas School for the Deaf Graduation Ceremony Class of 2023 Commencement Thursday, June 1, 2023 Austin, Texas \u2013 June 1, 2023\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/tsd-logo-180x180.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":33651,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2016\/06\/02\/senator-kirk-watson-tsd-commencement-speaker\/","url_meta":{"origin":6436,"position":1},"title":"Senator Kirk Watson TSD Commencement Speaker","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"June 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF PRESS RELEASE Contact: Keena Miller Phone: 512-462-5328, cell: 512-658-4444 Email: Keena.miller@tsd.state.tx.us FOR RELEASE JUNE 2, 2016 SENATOR KIRK WATSON TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER Austin, Texas \u2013 Texas Senator Kirk Watson will serve as the keynote speaker for Texas School for the Deaf\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27649,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/06\/04\/tsd-release-2014-graduation-commencement-ceremonies\/","url_meta":{"origin":6436,"position":2},"title":"TSD Release: 2014 Graduation Commencement Ceremonies","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"June 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF PRESS RELEASE Contact: Keena Miller Phone: 512-462-5328, cell: 512-658-4444 Email: Keena.miller@tsd.state.tx.us FOR RELEASE JUNE 5, 2014 TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF\u2019S CLASS OF 2014 COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES TODAY Austin, Texas \u2013 June 5, 2014 Today at 2:00 p.m., Lindsay Darnall \u2013 national leader among the nation\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45126,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2024\/05\/30\/tsd-release-class-of-2024-commencement-thursday-may-30-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":6436,"position":3},"title":"TSD Release: Class of 2024 Commencement – Thursday, May 30, 2024","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF PRESS RELEASE Contact: Gabriel Cardenas 512-462-5372 Gabriel.Cardenas@tsd.state.tx.us FOR RELEASE MAY 30, 2023 Texas School for the Deaf Graduation Ceremony Class of 2024 Commencement Thursday, May 30, 2024 Austin, Texas \u2013 May 30, 2024 - 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