Opportunities

American Sign Language Club

The American Sign Language Club is a registered student organization that provides students with a fun environment to learn about sign language and deaf culture, and offers study help and a place to practice for those taking the language course. 

Community-Based Learning 

Victoria Mousley '17 has a conversation in American Sign Language as part of Community-Based Learning coursework.
Victoria Mousley '17 has a conversation in American Sign Language as part of Community-Based Learning coursework.  

Many courses offered through the Deaf Studies and Sign Languages program include a Community-Based Learning component, fusing students’ learning experience together with community engagement. 

The program collaborates with about a dozen partners in the Deaf community on a range of community-based learning projects, such as performing research for nonprofit organizations, organizing community events with Deaf leaders, and offering educational activities to Deaf high school students. 

Students improve their ASL skills, while also networking and building working relationships with deaf professionals across a wide range of professions in the community. 

Partnerships

  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Massachusetts 
  • Center for Living and Working, Worcester, Massachusetts
  • D.E.A.F., Inc., Allston, Massachusetts 
  • Deaf Blind Community Access Network (DBCAN), multiple locations 
  • Deaf Senior Center, Worcester, MA (photos) 
  • DEAF YES, Worcester, Massachusetts 
  • The Learning Center for the Deaf, Worcester, Massachusetts 
  • Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH), Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts 
  • Worcester Public Schools, Worcester, Massachusetts 
  • Working with Late Deafened Individual, Worcester, Massachusetts 
  • Worcester Women's History Project, Worcester, Massachusetts\

Events

Rev. Joseph “Joe” Bruce, S.J., ’73 hosts virtual Mass in American Sign Language for Holy Cross.
Rev. Joseph “Joe” Bruce, S.J., ’73 hosts virtual Mass in American Sign Language for Holy Cross. 

Because we embrace the concept of full immersion, we regularly host events to provide students with an opportunity to interact with members of the deaf community for the purpose of improving their ASL skills, mastering their cultural competency and developing a special relationship with the community. 

Semester Away Program

Gallaudet University

Students who are interested in gaining a more complete immersion experience in the “Deaf World” can link their learning and living by attending Gallaudet University, the world’s only deaf university, located in Washington, D.C. Students attend one semester at Gallaudet as a visiting student through the Semester Away Program at Holy Cross.