National Technical Institute for the Deaf

Susana Flores is planning to be the curator of an art gallery one day. Flores, 24, a museum studies major from Antioch, California, is the only deaf person in her family and the first to go to college. Flores became deaf after an illness at 18 months old, and her educational experience was in mainstream schools with hearing friends and interpreting support services.

“Still, I always felt I was searching for something,” says Flores. “I soon realized I needed to explore my Deaf identity, something I found here at RIT/NTID.”

Upon her arrival, she found her “home away from home” in RIT’s Latin American Deaf Club, where she developed leadership skills. Flores appreciates the diversity and accessibility at RIT. She sought out ways to continue her interest in leadership and put her skills to good use by working for the Student Life Team. She continues being active with LADC, is an RIT/NTID cross-registered student representative and volunteers with organizations both on and off campus.

“After my co-op working with historical artifacts and papers with a team at the American School for the Deaf, not only could I see the importance of having good leadership skills, but I also realized that I had found my niche in the museum studies program,” says Flores. “Now, I couldn’t be happier.”

This story appeared in the Fall/Winter 2015 issue of FOCUS Magazine.