My name is Chandni Patel. My major is Business Administration. I am currently working at LaGuardia’s Enrollment Services Center. I was assigned to work as one of its staff to help new students at the front desk at LaGuardia’s Orientation.

I was thrilled to also be invited to participate with the Program for Deaf Adults’ Orientation. It was a great experience to help new Deaf and Hard-of- hearing students. I gave instructions to the students on how to sign up on the CUNY portal, giving them online access to their courses and then printing them. I also guided them to several places such as the picture ID center, workshops and auditorium.

This experience continues to give me the opportunity of working with staff and students, regardless, that I identify as a Hard-of-hearing student. It feels good that I can help everyone. I thank LaGuardia’s Enrollment Services for hiring me.

Hello, I am Vanessa Estevez. I am a full time student at LaGuardia Community College; this is my second year.

I was happy to share my experiences at Program for Deaf Adults’ (PDA) Orientation for New Students. It was really an amazing experience because I was able to talk about the accommodation services that PDA provides.

I have had wonderful experiences with the PDA staff and I felt very comfortable using interpreting and note taking services for my classes. Not only that, it is important for the students to be friends with classmates and note takers. I am glad that I am part of the PDA team continuing to support the new students about college life.

I thank Kim Lucas for the experience this opportunity gave me.

My name is Crystal Martinez. I am a student majoring in Childhood Education at LaGuardia Community College. This year, I was asked to participate in PDA’s orientation for New Students. I had the opportunity to share my experience as a student with them. The importance being the understanding of the new student’s responsibility here and the benefits of using accommodation services provided. I was very happy to be part of PDA’s orientation as it gave me further experience towards becoming a leader. As their guide it was great to take them under my wings and show them around the school answering any questions they had.

Fortunately, I was selected as President for the American Sign Language Club. It has been such an honor to have this kind of experience. It gave me an opportunity to be a role model for other students. The organization is for Deaf, hard of hearing and hearing that are involved in Deaf culture and wanting to learn more about the culture and American Sign Language. It gave me the continued fun of meeting and talking with the new students and people allowing me to make sure everyone is welcomed at our school.