Helen Keller said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”
In eighth grade, I met someone who is Deaf. Interacting with her made me realize that people with disabilities were like everyone else. Unfortunately, members of the deaf community are overlooked by the hearing society because hearing people will not listen to their concerns. By learning sign language, I can learn about their concerns, and with the voice I have, speak to hearing people and change perspectives.
As a pharmacy student at St. Louis College of Pharmacy, I am learning sign language to communicate with the Deaf. I have collaborated with the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) to hold health fairs in the community. SNPhA's mission of "Serving the Underserved" connects well with mine, "Educating Providers on Accessibility for Patients with Disabilities and Empowering Patients with Disabilities to be Advocates for their Health."
One of my favorite parts about my Health Fairs is that pharmacy students interact with sign language students to educate the community with the support of professional pharmacists and interpreters. This allows both groups of students to prepare themselves to serve the community more effectively in their future careers.
My goal is that SNPhA organizations across the country will collaborate with their local Center for Independent Living to hold Health Fairs in the community and educational events on campus for pharmacy students to learn and work with people with disabilities, so they can provide better access to health information.
People who are blind or deaf can have successful lives. A lack of vision is the real disability, as we must see how we can improve the lives in our community. The vision for my life is to use the voice I have to uplift the signing voices of the Deaf community. #scholarship http://www.marveloptics.com/