Hello from GCU Sign Society

[GCU Sign]

Hello There! 

I have just recently signed up & thought I would say a wee Hello & introduce myself & my university society.

After many years of working in retail, I use to serve a lovely customer who was deaf and he use to lip read everything I said. This was what first inspired me to teach myself finger spelling and basic signs to try to break the barrier and communicate better with this one customer. I have always had an interest in learning Sign Language and it took me many years to find the right company and time to fit in to my busy schedule. I finally completed my BSL Level One a couple of years ago.

When I first started university in 2015 I enquired if there was a Sign Language society and was told that there wasn't one but there use to be couple of years ago. I was given the idea & option of starting a new society. However at the time, I was only a couple of weeks into my First Year and I was still trying to adjust to university life. I wasn’t that confident and I didn’t really know anyone. A year later in 2016, a week into my Second year at university I decided to take the leap and start a new student society, called GCU Sign. At the beginning it was just one person with an idea. So it was a bit scary... though exciting starting up a new society at university. 

Now it is an official society at university with 4 amazing committee members and over 40+ members.  

The aim is to learn Sign Language and raise deaf awareness. It is a social group where we can meet up, practise signing and learn from each other. 

The first trimester at university was about promoting the new society and having social meet & greet and come & try events which were great fun and successful. 

Currently planning trimester two (2017) activities and events where we hope to have a lot of the teaching and learning basic BSL, raising deaf awareness, lip reading taster sessions, social events, charity focus and lots more! 

As GCU Sign are a new university society we welcome any advice or support to allow our society to blossom & grow. 

Thank you for reading

 

Sarah