Kirsten Simmons ASL Club 11/28/12 Professor David Kelsey, a part time instructor of American Sign Language at Nevada

State College looked around at his students and saw that they werent practicing the skills they were learning. They would come to class, learn and then leave, he said, using sign language through an interpreter. He, along with his ASL students petitioned NSC for a club. They said they wanted to create a place for the students to practice. Kelsey noticed after the club started the ASL students skill level went up significantly. He saw through their improvement that the club was effective and valuable. There are 20 students on the roster as club members. They usually get 16 to 18 in attendance each week. Out of the 20 members 17 are new to the club and in their first semester of learning sign language. Three are in their 3rd semester of ASL, including Marlene Medina, NSCs ASL tutor. Member Chris Camcho said, I felt silly using sign language at first. He said this was because of his limited knowledge and experience. Now he said he feels more comfortable signing in the community from the practice he gets at the club. Spencer Dickensheets, another member, agrees with Camcho and said he feels, less intimidated knowing they are also learning, referring to his fellow club members.

Out of the 20 club members half of them are in the speech program at NSC and the other half are going into a myriad of degrees, including, pharmacy, nursing, and teaching. Member Moriah Mutchler is going into pharmaceuticals, she currently works as a pharmacy tech and has been able to use ASL with deaf customers. She said it is rewarding to use her skills in her real life. She said it also made the customer feel grateful to not have to write the conversation out on a pad of paper to be understood. ASL is not just for the hearing impaired. Member Teresa Riggs has a daughter with cerebral palsy. Many people with the disability use ASL because they cant communicate in any other way. Riggs also said other reasons people use ASL, is because of severe speech issues, not being able to speak or if they cannot be understood by others through speech for whatever reason. The ASL club also offers deaf social nights where the students go to activities provided by the deaf community and interact. The students said this has helped their skills tremendously. Kris Davis is a member and also in the speech program. She said that one of the benefits of having deaf social nights is creating, awareness in the community. Before attending she didnt realize there was such a large deaf community in Las Vegas. She also believes it gives those with hearing impairments a feeling of being a part of the community. The ASL club offers a casual environment for students to practice their skills while also making it engaging and fun. They often open their weekly meetings with a YouTube clip of sign language issues or entertainment. Then they play games with the language that keep the students engaged and actively participating. It

also fills contact language hours the speech program requires. But for those not in the speech program it provides a friendly place to practice, laugh, and learn. # # #