Gabriel, who graduated this week with a Bachelor of Arts, chose to study at Victoria so he could better learn New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL). Gabriel has a cochlear implant which allows him to hear, and growing up in Nelson he learnt to communicate without NZSL.
“There wasn’t anyone at my school who could interpret, or teach me how to use, NZSL. I learnt to be oral instead, because if I hadn’t I would’ve been left behind. However, this made me feel more isolated as I had to work harder than others to listen and process what was being said—something that still affects me today. I also felt like part of myself was missing culture-wise because I never had any Deaf friends or involvement in the Deaf community growing up,” says Gabriel.
“Before starting at Victoria I would probably use NZSL once a year for very basic conversation. Now, I use it on a weekly basis at least.”
Gabriel says the support he received from Associate Professor Rachel McKee and Dr David McKee, both from the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, developed his confidence and understanding of NZSL, opening him up to the culture and community that surrounds the language.
“They gave me the chance to access the Deaf community and guided me through the mistakes I made when using NZSL and in Deaf culture. By attending classes and events I grew a sense of identity, based on meeting new people and learning how to talk to them in a way where I wasn’t at a disadvantage—I was finally on an even playing field.”
These events included the weekly Deaf Coffee at Victoria group, where students studying NZSL meet at the student café, the Hunter Lounge, to chat in NZSL, and Deaf Club, a weekly Friday night event where Deaf people and people who communicate in NZSL come together to socialise.
Gabriel was also appointed to the New Zealand Deaf Youth Board and launched a Deaf Youth Group in Wellington. As a member of the New Zealand Deaf Youth Board, Gabriel identifies issues facing Deaf youth in New Zealand.
“We fight for Deaf youth rights, to give them access to things everyone else has. For example, not many people in New Zealand are trained in Deaf culture, so many Deaf and deaf youth struggle to access mental health services as there aren’t many therapists who understand their perspective. We also want to set up hui (gatherings), workshops and leadership camps for Deaf youth to help them create change.”
Although he is still learning NZSL, Gabriel took the opportunity in 2013 to give a taster class to Victoria students who were interested in the language and in 2015 he taught a group of staff from the University some basic NZSL.
“I saw it as my chance to give back to Victoria. I learnt a lot about myself at Victoria and it felt great to share that new identity with other people.
“Being at University gave me the chance to be independent. Now that I have NZSL, and I know how to respond, my access to communication is at the same level as a hearing person. I no longer have to follow, I can lead and do things my way. As I like to tell people, as a Deaf person with a cochlear implant, I have the best of both worlds.
“I definitely think choosing to study at Victoria was worth it—I’m even coming back for round two to do a Master of Software Development.”
Gabriel says his biggest surprise at University was being presented with the opportunity to give the Graduate Address at his graduation ceremony.
Definition of Deaf and deaf
The term Deaf refers to a person that considers themselves part of the Deaf community and that culture.
The term deaf refers to a person’s audiological ability to hear, and is unrelated to culture or community.