WEBVTT

00:00:27.411 --> 00:00:29.392
I'd like to tell you a story.

00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:35.100
When I was 24, I found myself living
in a small beach town

00:00:35.100 --> 00:00:37.448
by the name of Naples, Florida.

00:00:38.108 --> 00:00:40.189
I was looking for something new.

00:00:40.189 --> 00:00:41.967
I was 24.

00:00:41.967 --> 00:00:43.537
I'm 29 now.

00:00:44.407 --> 00:00:49.830
And in that small coastal town,
I was the only Deaf resident.

00:00:50.456 --> 00:00:55.578
In fact, the closest deaf person
was a few hours away by car.

00:00:56.558 --> 00:01:01.389
And all of the friends and acquaintances
that I had made could hear.

00:01:01.389 --> 00:01:05.331
I didn't mind though;
I wanted something new.

00:01:06.238 --> 00:01:08.089
Lucky for me, Naples, Florida

00:01:08.089 --> 00:01:10.740
is home to some of
the U.S. Olympics volleyball team,

00:01:10.740 --> 00:01:12.983
where they reside
and train through the year.

00:01:13.390 --> 00:01:17.009
So I had a fantastic opportunity
to play with them every day I could.

00:01:17.230 --> 00:01:22.029
And we'd hit the court all the time,
either indoors or out at the beach;

00:01:22.029 --> 00:01:23.509
it was great.

00:01:23.509 --> 00:01:26.657
Lucky for them, I happen
to be very good at volleyball.

00:01:30.838 --> 00:01:33.989
So one night after a great game,

00:01:33.989 --> 00:01:36.889
a friend and I pull up
some chairs by the water

00:01:36.889 --> 00:01:39.844
to watch the sun go down and chat.

00:01:42.739 --> 00:01:45.927
And he looks over at me
and he asks me a question

00:01:45.927 --> 00:01:48.939
that completely blew me away.

00:01:49.420 --> 00:01:53.428
To be honest, in 24 years of my life,
nobody had ever asked me.

00:01:53.999 --> 00:01:56.009
And his question was simple:

00:01:56.590 --> 00:01:59.469
"Have you ever wished you could hear?"

00:01:59.928 --> 00:02:02.109
I looked at him for a second and thought,

00:02:02.109 --> 00:02:03.947
Where did that come from?

00:02:04.247 --> 00:02:07.389
Then I took a moment and I realized

00:02:07.389 --> 00:02:09.070
while we had been sitting there,

00:02:09.070 --> 00:02:12.270
I could see waves coming in
and crashing on the beach.

00:02:12.270 --> 00:02:13.749
He could hear that.

00:02:14.069 --> 00:02:15.739
Obviously, I couldn't.

00:02:15.739 --> 00:02:18.449
My entire world is completely silent.

00:02:18.729 --> 00:02:21.088
To our left, people
had taken over the court

00:02:21.088 --> 00:02:23.937
and were playing volleyball,
cheering each other on.

00:02:24.499 --> 00:02:27.669
To our right, a mother
was playing and laughing with her baby.

00:02:27.669 --> 00:02:28.700
And behind us,

00:02:28.700 --> 00:02:33.528
cars and ATVs had passed by all day
without me even noticing.

00:02:35.747 --> 00:02:37.819
So, I was quick to answer:

00:02:38.118 --> 00:02:41.160
"No, of course not.

00:02:41.540 --> 00:02:43.667
I've never wished I could hear.

00:02:44.101 --> 00:02:47.329
I've never wished
that because I love who I am."

00:02:48.339 --> 00:02:52.708
And you may be wondering,
How do I love myself as a Deaf man?

00:02:53.148 --> 00:02:56.661
Well, first, I was born deaf.

00:02:57.220 --> 00:02:59.738
My deafness shaped my childhood,

00:02:59.738 --> 00:03:02.289
and it's all I've ever known.

00:03:03.231 --> 00:03:06.249
So my perspective on life
and my experience of the world

00:03:06.249 --> 00:03:07.848
is very different.

00:03:08.031 --> 00:03:10.658
My outlook and my life
has involved experiences

00:03:10.658 --> 00:03:14.280
that many of you have never
had to encounter as hearing people.

00:03:15.089 --> 00:03:17.899
My culture, something
I embody and cherish,

00:03:17.899 --> 00:03:19.910
has always been Deaf.

00:03:20.250 --> 00:03:22.990
My perspective on life
is completely different.

00:03:23.549 --> 00:03:26.550
The experiences I've had,
something I hold most dear,

00:03:26.550 --> 00:03:29.608
have taught me
to love myself as a Deaf man.

00:03:30.619 --> 00:03:32.510
To illustrate that point,

00:03:33.090 --> 00:03:37.750
if I were to walk into a job interview
with a panel of hearing peers,

00:03:38.118 --> 00:03:42.910
and if I were to approach that meeting
wishing that I could hear,

00:03:43.399 --> 00:03:45.836
wishing that I could speak like them,

00:03:45.836 --> 00:03:48.410
and focusing on that imbalance,

00:03:49.028 --> 00:03:51.298
do you think that I would do very well?

00:03:51.979 --> 00:03:54.120
Obviously not, right?

00:03:54.965 --> 00:03:57.908
Because in the back of my mind
I'm focusing on the negative,

00:03:57.908 --> 00:04:00.518
therefore creating a negative outcome,

00:04:00.519 --> 00:04:02.769
and I'm certain I wouldn't get that job.

00:04:03.578 --> 00:04:09.407
But, if instead, I use my difference
as an advantage and an asset,

00:04:09.407 --> 00:04:13.410
I know that as a Deaf man
I have so much to offer their company.

00:04:13.669 --> 00:04:16.800
My experiences growing up
are much different from theirs.

00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:20.838
And knowing that allows me
to approach the interview positive.

00:04:20.838 --> 00:04:23.268
I can go into that meeting
and confidently tell them

00:04:23.268 --> 00:04:25.429
how they will benefit
from hiring a Deaf man

00:04:25.429 --> 00:04:27.489
for a multitude of reasons.

00:04:27.489 --> 00:04:32.369
And I can walk out with that job
because it's all about mindset.

00:04:33.421 --> 00:04:36.978
So I say first and foremost
to love yourself.

00:04:37.653 --> 00:04:42.369
So as I mentioned, the first reason
I love myself is my upbringing.

00:04:42.850 --> 00:04:47.129
But many of you may not know
that I come from a rather large family.

00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:50.560
I have two brothers who are also Deaf

00:04:51.100 --> 00:04:53.028
along with my parents,

00:04:53.509 --> 00:04:55.218
my grandparents,

00:04:55.218 --> 00:04:59.431
and yes, even my
great-grandparents as well.

00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:03.589
I'm the fourth generation
in a beautiful family

00:05:03.589 --> 00:05:06.551
with over 25 Deaf members.

00:05:07.978 --> 00:05:11.489
Born to Deaf parents
who understood the Deaf experience,

00:05:11.489 --> 00:05:13.917
they knew exactly how to raise me.

00:05:14.339 --> 00:05:16.919
They knew how to provide me
with the best opportunities

00:05:16.919 --> 00:05:18.550
and to support me.

00:05:19.719 --> 00:05:23.350
From day one of my existence,
my parents gave me language,

00:05:23.350 --> 00:05:25.170
access to education,

00:05:25.170 --> 00:05:26.690
and love.

00:05:27.849 --> 00:05:30.488
Growing up, my life was perfect.

00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:34.538
Imagine, like many of you
born to hearing parents,

00:05:34.538 --> 00:05:37.797
I never noticed barriers
that simply weren't there.

00:05:38.239 --> 00:05:40.471
I'm sure many of you
felt your life was normal,

00:05:40.471 --> 00:05:42.317
the same way that I did.

00:05:42.751 --> 00:05:47.478
Coming from a Deaf family, my world,
in every way, was a utopia.

00:05:53.765 --> 00:05:56.568
When it came time for my parents
to enroll me in school,

00:05:56.568 --> 00:05:59.720
they already knew
that I would go to the Deaf school.

00:06:00.070 --> 00:06:03.348
I would learn in an environment
that was designed for me.

00:06:03.769 --> 00:06:05.938
At that time, all of my peers,

00:06:05.938 --> 00:06:07.658
and teachers,

00:06:07.658 --> 00:06:10.450
and even the superintendent was Deaf.

00:06:11.888 --> 00:06:15.290
So, I was still in my perfect world.

00:06:15.290 --> 00:06:19.020
I was in an environment where I could grow
and where I could thrive.

00:06:19.020 --> 00:06:22.219
And I had no problems;
it was perfect for me.

00:06:22.449 --> 00:06:25.148
And many people
don't believe that, but it's true.

00:06:25.148 --> 00:06:30.081
For me, the Deaf community, our world,
was the perfect world for me.

00:06:30.908 --> 00:06:33.260
And I remember in the summer
before fifth grade,

00:06:33.260 --> 00:06:34.879
I was ready to go back to school,

00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:37.538
and I asked my mom
to go to a public school.

00:06:37.761 --> 00:06:39.129
She thought I was crazy.

00:06:39.129 --> 00:06:40.919
She said, "What?! No!

00:06:40.919 --> 00:06:43.580
Public school, it's all hearing kids.

00:06:43.580 --> 00:06:46.359
The Deaf school is a perfect fit."

00:06:46.359 --> 00:06:49.479
And I said, "No, I want to learn
what those students are learning.

00:06:49.479 --> 00:06:51.579
I want to see what
their classrooms are like.

00:06:51.579 --> 00:06:53.759
What are public school teachers like?"

00:06:54.030 --> 00:06:56.308
So upon my insistence she enrolled me.

00:06:56.308 --> 00:06:58.548
And after two weeks of frustration,

00:06:58.548 --> 00:07:01.488
I came home pleading
to go back to the Deaf school.

00:07:01.781 --> 00:07:06.028
She listened very sympathetically
and told me, "Nope, too bad."

00:07:06.488 --> 00:07:08.188
I was floored.

00:07:08.488 --> 00:07:10.758
She told me I needed
to stick it out for a year

00:07:10.758 --> 00:07:14.038
because I needed to learn how
to interact with my hearing peers,

00:07:14.038 --> 00:07:16.007
and that if I gave it a little patience,

00:07:16.007 --> 00:07:18.597
I would learn so much
about the world around me.

00:07:18.597 --> 00:07:21.578
Because the reality is
the world is hearing.

00:07:21.950 --> 00:07:24.760
I was the only Deaf kid
in the entire school.

00:07:25.049 --> 00:07:28.698
Of course, I always had hearing friends,
but they could sign like me.

00:07:29.029 --> 00:07:31.088
So that year I gained a lot of insight.

00:07:31.088 --> 00:07:34.107
I couldn't be involved
in any of the school organizations.

00:07:34.107 --> 00:07:37.329
My friends never learned
enough sign to communicate.

00:07:37.599 --> 00:07:40.869
And every time I tried
to play a sport, I'd get benched.

00:07:40.869 --> 00:07:44.800
The basketball coach told me a Deaf kid
could never help the team win a game.

00:07:44.801 --> 00:07:46.640
And I was athletic.

00:07:47.831 --> 00:07:51.299
So after a year,
I went back to the Deaf school

00:07:51.299 --> 00:07:54.558
where I realized that's my home.

00:07:54.838 --> 00:07:56.489
That's my community.

00:07:56.489 --> 00:07:59.340
And my community is where I can thrive.

00:07:59.800 --> 00:08:01.842
I got involved in the classroom again,

00:08:01.842 --> 00:08:03.970
joined a bunch of school organizations,

00:08:03.970 --> 00:08:08.080
and got back on the basketball team,
where I helped win many games.

00:08:08.618 --> 00:08:13.530
So it's without hesitation that I can say
the Deaf community is in fact my home.

00:08:14.358 --> 00:08:15.750
After graduating high school,

00:08:15.750 --> 00:08:18.600
I was accepted into
the only Deaf university in the world:

00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:21.370
Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.

00:08:21.649 --> 00:08:24.139
It was there I gained
my degree in mathematics

00:08:24.139 --> 00:08:26.339
with the intention
of becoming a better teacher

00:08:26.339 --> 00:08:28.212
than the ones I had growing up.

00:08:28.559 --> 00:08:33.850
Like many of you, I sat through
some math teachers who seriously sucked.

00:08:34.111 --> 00:08:35.350
(Laughter)

00:08:35.350 --> 00:08:37.770
I wanted to be a good math teacher.

00:08:38.060 --> 00:08:42.218
But I also wanted to be
a good role model for those students.

00:08:44.778 --> 00:08:49.350
So as time got closer to graduation,
of course I was nervous.

00:08:49.599 --> 00:08:52.818
I started questioning
if I had made the right decision.

00:08:53.720 --> 00:08:56.198
And I decided to get out -

00:08:56.398 --> 00:08:59.328
to get out of my comfort zone
and to travel the world.

00:08:59.580 --> 00:09:02.459
Since then, I've been
to over 43 countries.

00:09:03.710 --> 00:09:05.908
And the funny thing about when I travel

00:09:05.908 --> 00:09:08.735
is that I'm constantly meeting
hearing people who say,

00:09:08.735 --> 00:09:12.949
"Nyle, you are so brave.
How do you travel like this?

00:09:12.949 --> 00:09:15.321
Isn't it hard to be Deaf and travel?

00:09:15.321 --> 00:09:17.390
It looks impossible."

00:09:18.468 --> 00:09:21.670
And let me tell you,
traveling as a Deaf person, I think,

00:09:21.670 --> 00:09:25.193
is actually much easier
than traveling for hearing people.

00:09:25.620 --> 00:09:28.640
Because sign language is something
that gives me access

00:09:28.640 --> 00:09:30.678
to a much larger world.

00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:35.398
I'll tell you one of my favorite stories.

00:09:35.398 --> 00:09:39.878
A few years ago, I was in south Sicily
perusing a flea market,

00:09:39.878 --> 00:09:41.969
when I walked into a butcher shop,

00:09:42.409 --> 00:09:46.099
and standing there is an American tourist
trying to ask the butcher

00:09:46.099 --> 00:09:48.841
where the meat he was slicing
is sourced from.

00:09:49.180 --> 00:09:54.610
So the Sicilian man, speaking
no English, is gesturing, right?

00:09:54.610 --> 00:09:56.619
And you know Italians gesture.

00:09:56.619 --> 00:09:58.928
He's trying to explain
where the meat comes from,

00:09:58.928 --> 00:10:01.289
and it's going right
over the head of the tourist.

00:10:01.490 --> 00:10:04.409
So watching this very comical
breakdown in conversation,

00:10:04.409 --> 00:10:06.919
I'm understanding everything perfectly,

00:10:07.189 --> 00:10:10.358
so I pull out a paper and a pen,

00:10:10.358 --> 00:10:12.378
and I translate
what the butcher is saying,

00:10:12.378 --> 00:10:14.578
and I hand it over
to the tourist and explain,

00:10:14.578 --> 00:10:16.438
"This is what he's trying to tell you."

00:10:16.438 --> 00:10:19.858
So there I am, the Deaf person
translating for two hearing people.

00:10:20.108 --> 00:10:24.228
And in that situation,
they're the ones disabled, not me.

00:10:24.229 --> 00:10:25.679
(Laughter)

00:10:28.529 --> 00:10:30.268
While that story is ironic,

00:10:30.268 --> 00:10:33.879
it happens so many times
when I meet people in other countries.

00:10:33.879 --> 00:10:36.620
I'm always amazed
to meet locals in other countries,

00:10:36.620 --> 00:10:39.649
and their ability to gesticulate
and communicate with me,

00:10:39.649 --> 00:10:41.650
often quite easily.

00:10:42.930 --> 00:10:46.900
And I would always tell myself
to visit the local Deaf schools

00:10:46.900 --> 00:10:49.227
and to make time to meet Deaf locals.

00:10:49.738 --> 00:10:52.174
But with every new Deaf school that I saw,

00:10:52.174 --> 00:10:55.971
I was sad to see that their schools
were in terrible condition,

00:10:55.971 --> 00:10:59.382
and their education was greatly lacking.

00:10:59.780 --> 00:11:02.768
Often, I just couldn't believe my eyes.

00:11:03.558 --> 00:11:08.128
When I would meet Deaf adults,
I realized a common thread very quickly.

00:11:08.128 --> 00:11:11.508
They either didn't have
the same level of education I did

00:11:11.508 --> 00:11:15.640
or their language was incomplete,
making it hard to communicate.

00:11:16.869 --> 00:11:19.689
They'd often complain to me
that the system had failed them,

00:11:19.689 --> 00:11:21.860
and now they struggled to find work.

00:11:22.100 --> 00:11:23.358
And I kept asking myself,

00:11:23.358 --> 00:11:27.549
why is this happening,
and why is this happening so often?

00:11:27.549 --> 00:11:30.270
Why am I somehow more fortunate?

00:11:30.459 --> 00:11:33.470
Growing up, I thought every deaf person
in the world was like me

00:11:33.470 --> 00:11:36.098
and had the same opportunities that I did.

00:11:37.059 --> 00:11:38.838
So in returning to the United States,

00:11:38.838 --> 00:11:41.240
I decided to do
some research on the topic.

00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:43.500
And what I found shocked me.

00:11:43.668 --> 00:11:46.719
There are currently more
than 70 million deaf people in the world

00:11:46.719 --> 00:11:51.120
with only two percent of them having
access to education in sign languages.

00:11:51.439 --> 00:11:54.538
Which means millions
upon millions of deaf children

00:11:54.538 --> 00:11:56.882
not receiving the education they need,

00:11:56.882 --> 00:11:59.390
also known as education deprivation.

00:12:00.520 --> 00:12:04.309
I also learned that over
75 percent of hearing parents

00:12:04.309 --> 00:12:07.090
don't sign to communicate
with their deaf children.

00:12:07.289 --> 00:12:08.858
Which is astonishing.

00:12:08.858 --> 00:12:11.618
Again, imagine millions
and millions of deaf children

00:12:11.618 --> 00:12:14.798
without an education, without a language.

00:12:15.848 --> 00:12:18.799
Those children without language
and access to education

00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:20.919
exhibit signs of brain damage.

00:12:25.020 --> 00:12:26.738
In my research, I also found

00:12:26.738 --> 00:12:29.448
that I'm a part of an even smaller group.

00:12:29.828 --> 00:12:33.088
Ten percent of Deaf children
come from Deaf parents like mine.

00:12:33.088 --> 00:12:34.833
Only 10 percent.

00:12:34.833 --> 00:12:36.699
I'm incredibly lucky.

00:12:36.699 --> 00:12:39.640
I had access to language, an education,

00:12:39.640 --> 00:12:43.161
and I had parents who loved me
and put me on a path to success.

00:12:43.331 --> 00:12:46.310
I wouldn't be who I am today
without any of those things.

00:12:46.949 --> 00:12:49.739
So it was clear to me
that something needed to be done.

00:12:50.878 --> 00:12:53.409
I got to work in setting up
my own foundation -

00:12:53.409 --> 00:12:55.258
the Nyle DiMarco Foundation -

00:12:55.258 --> 00:12:56.999
with the goal of improving the lives

00:12:56.999 --> 00:12:59.362
of millions of deaf people
around the world.

00:12:59.362 --> 00:13:02.969
We've since partnered with another
Deaf organization in the United States

00:13:02.969 --> 00:13:04.838
to introduce legislation -

00:13:04.838 --> 00:13:08.369
a bill that requires all deaf children
have access to language

00:13:08.369 --> 00:13:10.670
between the ages of zero and five,

00:13:10.670 --> 00:13:13.118
setting up benchmarks for their success.

00:13:13.329 --> 00:13:14.850
Because before the age of five,

00:13:14.850 --> 00:13:18.040
children have the ability
to acquire a foundation in language,

00:13:18.040 --> 00:13:21.678
readying them for the classroom
and for a successful life.

00:13:21.830 --> 00:13:26.139
After the age of five, that critical
language acquisition window closes.

00:13:27.040 --> 00:13:30.869
I'm working to give every deaf child
in the world a future

00:13:30.869 --> 00:13:32.210
filled with a rich language

00:13:32.210 --> 00:13:35.259
and the opportunities
I was lucky enough to receive.

00:13:35.568 --> 00:13:37.910
But the Deaf community cannot do it alone;

00:13:37.910 --> 00:13:40.608
we need you to become our allies

00:13:40.608 --> 00:13:43.778
and join us in making
the world more knowledgeable.

00:13:44.159 --> 00:13:48.890
We need you to join us,
to fight with us and for us

00:13:48.890 --> 00:13:52.530
in the ongoing battle of affording
children what they need to thrive.

00:13:56.779 --> 00:14:00.821
So before I go, I want to teach you
two very simple but important signs.

00:14:01.259 --> 00:14:02.959
The first is "love."

00:14:02.959 --> 00:14:04.941
The second, "yourself."

00:14:05.154 --> 00:14:06.149
Follow me:

00:14:06.149 --> 00:14:07.639
Love

00:14:08.397 --> 00:14:09.899
yourself.

00:14:10.661 --> 00:14:11.958
Brilliant!

00:14:11.958 --> 00:14:14.619
A-plusses all around!

00:14:14.982 --> 00:14:16.540
Thank you.

00:14:16.540 --> 00:14:18.229
(Laughter)