By Lindsay Robinson | Echo
In a classroom on Tuesdays at 7 p.m., a group of students gather to learn a new type of communication called American Sign Language (ASL). This is the sign language club, and they meet every week to expand their knowledge of ASL, thanks to freshman Jonathan Welde.
Welde, a Taylor freshman, was born legally deaf. Although he wears a hearing aid and speaks well, he communicates mostly by reading lips or signing.
Like many people at Taylor, he has a story of how he ended up surrounded by cornfields in a town called Upland.
Welde worked on his family's agricultural farm for most of his life. "I live in a very big farming (and) agricultural area," Welde explained. "Farmer's market time taught me a lot about business. Being profoundly deaf, I had to learn to deal with different people."
Although he enjoyed farming and working with his family, he wanted to try something different. He began working at Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area as an archaeologist.
"We did archaeological field surveys, specifically working with the Crow and the northern Cheyenne," Welde explained. "It was like having a fantastic internship."
Communication was crucial in a work environment where your life often depended on your fellow coworkers. "Often you are quite a ways from a hospital. You have to figure out how to deal with something when someone is hurt. There's always the idea in the back of your mind that if something happens you have to care for that person," Welde explained.
While at Taylor, Welde has been able to move from his job at Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area into a new job. "This past year I retired out of that to work in IT systems," Welde said. "It is a lot closer to what I want to do."
Although his home is in Wyoming, he found his way to Taylor after visiting. He stayed in Wengatz during his visit and was impressed by what he saw. "It was one of the first times I knew the concept of a close-knit Christian community. I was very impressed at how much the guys were very welcoming," Welde said.
Deciding not to take a scholarship at a state college in his home state, he entered Taylor as a business/systems major.
"The professors, they care a lot about what they are teaching. A lot of them apply it in a biblical way," Welde said.
He continues to be impressed by the maturity of the students and kindness of the professors. However, it wasn't too long until he realized something else about the Taylor community. "I got to campus and I quickly learned I was the only deaf person on campus," Welde said.
He saw an opportunity to teach Taylor a new type of culture through sign language. After talking to professor of communications Jessica Rousselow-Winquist, he and sophomore Vanessa Tabor started the sign language club. The first meeting was held Oct. 22 and boasted a total of 30 participants.
"We kind of started it at an awkward time in the middle of the semester. I wasn't expecting the turnout we got with 30 the first time and 15 regular people," Tabor said.
The club has been going through the first 100 signs on Lifeprint, an online teaching tool.
"It's a whole new experience," Tabor said. "This is just like a test to see how we would do it and what to do, what people would want."
Anyone who is interested in learning sign language or improving on what they already know is welcome to attend. There are no requirements for the class and a wide variety of ASL skill sets are present. "I don't know that much so I will be trying to keep up with the class myself," Welde said.
Both leaders would like to see the sign language club grow and have been incredibly impressed by the return they have seen so far.
"Deaf culture is like a different type of culture," Tabor said. "There is not much of a deaf culture (at Taylor), but there are people who know sign language."
Welde would love to see his club reach out into the Taylor and Upland community, but he continues to be amazed by the feedback he receives from his work with the club and attributes all the glory to God.
Correction Notice: This article has been corrected from the form in which it was printed in the Dec. 6, 2013 edition of The Echo. Vanessa Tabor is the co-founder of the Taylor sign language club with Welde, rather than Veronica Toth. Welde worked in the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, rather than Yellowstone National Park. The Echo regrets these mistakes.
