Learning to listen through ASL
Profile Writing Sample
“I didn’t know I was a hearing person until I took classes in deaf studies,” said Julia Clarke frankly. “That’s the thing about privilege - it’s hard to see it when you have it. ”
It’s a common trope that students become more liberal in college, especially in blue bastions like Boston. And while Julia, an advertising graduate student at Boston University, wouldn’t characterize herself as political, any good conversation with her reveals a subtle shift in her attitudes during her time at BU. But this transformation didn’t happen in a civics class or by participating in a protest - it happened because of a language requirement.
Boston University requires students to take at least four semesters of a foreign language, and Julia chose American Sign Language. “I remember walking into my first day of class and thinking, “Wait – my professor is deaf. How is this going to work?’ Learning about deaf culture and being able to sign with deaf friends blew my world wide open. I realized there were so many things I didn’t understand, which got me thinking: What else don’t I know?”
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Julia was born in North Carolina but grew up in Georgia. “It was a great place to be a kid,” said Julia with a wistful smile. “There is so much land and wild, open spaces. Nobody even locked their doors.”
When she was in middle school, Julia’s parents divorced and she was forced to learn to balance an increasingly asymmetrical home life. “My dad was an entrepreneur and struck it rich, but at the same time my mom was struggling with mental health issues,” said Julia. “By the time I was in high school, I was spending weekends at a mansion with my dad, but living off of food stamps during the week with my mom. I learned to appreciate what I had.”
Julia is a pragmatic dreamer. She started college as a neuroscience major but quickly realized that while she loved science, the career prospects didn’t align with how she envisioned her future. “When I pictured myself as an adult, I saw myself wearing heels and working with people, not wearing a white coat and isolated in a lab.” She switched majors after her first semester and graduated with a bachelor's in psychology.
Perhaps growing up in two different worlds primed Julia to be a more thoughtful, observant person. “Psychology is fascinating,” she said as her face lit up. “There are so many different paths to take in the field - like operational psychology deals that with real-world design. Things that can seem simple, like which direction a door opens into a gas station or where products are placed in a supermarket are all carefully crafted to influence behavior.”
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In today’s political climate, every stance or statement can feel polarized. Race, class, and gender dominate national headlines and twitter feeds, and yet many people lack the basic interpersonal skills to successfully navigate the potential minefield of a diverse dinner table. But Julia has been able to take what she has learned through ASL to not only understand her own privilege, but to also broach controversial topics with friends and family.
“I ask people, ‘Was the world built for deaf people or for hearing people?” she says, laying out a typical conversation. “Hearing people, obviously. So, it's more difficult for deaf people to get ahead, because they have to work harder. And if that is true, then maybe you can start thinking, ‘Who else was the world built for?’” It’s not a pushy political statement, it’s more of an honest question that she lets land gently rather bombarding a person with partisan talking points that so often fall on deaf ears.
“The deaf experience is an easier way to talk about privilege because it’s so obvious. Life is easier for me because I am a hearing person, and I didn’t know I was a hearing person until someone pointed it out. If I hadn’t had those first uncomfortable conversations, I wouldn’t have known.”
ASL was Julia’s introduction to advocacy, and it has even helped her to understand her own experiences. “It has made me a more empathetic person.” Whether it’s women in burkas, NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, or people with the Southern accent that her mother worked so hard to prevent her from picking up, Julia is determined to take the time to listen. “I don’t know what other people are thinking, but instead of assuming, why can’t I sit back and hear what they are trying to say? That's how you can tear those walls down - by listening.”
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Julia will begin a competitive internship with Hill Holliday in the spring and graduate in August, just as she planned. She’s already begun to shop for her new professional wardrobe: high heels included.
After graduating and getting a few years of experience at prestigious advertising firms in Boston, she and her boyfriend Matthew plan to move back to Georgia. “I’m nervous about going back,” she said candidly. “The South is a different place. But I’ve learned so much here, and when I might have stayed quiet before, now I feel more comfortable speaking up.” In the end, it was ASL that taught Julia to listen to people who were different than her- and gave her a voice to speak up for herself and others.
Pretty good for a language requirement.
