Career Advice

Summer internships and co-ops are important for any college student, but even more so for deaf and hard of hearing students, who must face communication challenges on the job.

For some deaf students, the summer internship is more than a time to exchange the tee shirts and jeans for a suit or a dress. It may be their first time actually working in a "hearing" environment. How do you communicate with your supervisor and co-workers? What do you do if your supervisor is not easy to lipread because he has a mustache?

I had two internships, and I am glad that I did. When I started the first one, I was nervous about going "out there," away from the deaf world of Gallaudet. By the time of the second one, I was more confident and comfortable with being a deaf adult in the hearing work world.

RIT/NTID, Gallaudet, and California State University, Northridge National Center on Deafness all have successful internship/co-op programs. Many deaf students have been hired permanently by their summer employers. Through the Gallaudet EPOC program (now an internship/co-op program) I obtained internships at Public Broadcasting Service and D.C. Government Department of Public Relations.

My internships were in the D.C. area, but deaf and hoh students can have internships anywhere. I never experienced an RIT/NTID co-op.

Although deaf/hoh students work closely with career advisors to find an internship, students are also encouraged to find and develop their own internship or co-op opportunities. For an employer not already in the college’s network of internship/co-op providers, the student internship/co-op may be the company’s first experience with having a deaf employee.