Brandi Sandberg was born in Fridley, Minnesota, grew up in Minneapolis, and now calls Bloomington home. She was born hearing and gradually lost her hearing between nine months old and one year old due to an illness. As the only Deaf person in her family, Brandi grew up speaking with them and learned sign language later on. Now she has a husband who is also Deaf, and both of their children are hearing. “We sign and speak, using both here in the home.” Growing up, Brandi mainstreamed throughout her K-12 education and graduated from Southwest High School in Minneapolis. Upon graduation, she attended North Hennepin Community College and obtained a two-year degree in accounting. She then went on to Metro State University for a four-year degree, also in accounting.
Brandi works for the state of Minnesota. She works in a veterans home in Minneapolis, near the airport, where she works in accounting and payroll. “It’s my job to make sure the employees are all paid - and on time too!” She also balances the expenses for the veterans home and makes sure all bills are paid up. “Basically whenever I get a bill, I process it and set up the payment to make sure it all goes out on time to the right folks.”
When asked about challenges she faces at work, Brandi shares that she is the first Deaf staff person to work at that location, so it’s been a learning curve for everyone involved. “There are many Deaf who work for the state, but not all workplaces are equal in terms of accessibility. It’s on me to educate my coworkers about how to communicate and work with me - and any other Deaf person they may encounter at work.” Working for the state does have its benefits for Brandi, and her workplace is legally required to provide interpreters for her for meetings. “It’s important to have empathy and understand that it’s all new to them too, and that they are learning right on the job on what access entails and how to provide it.” It goes both ways - patience in communicating with each other, and patience in understanding each other. So it has been a learning journey for everyone - figuring ways of communication from texting to writing back and forth, getting interpreters set up - all that took time to figure out. Now, several months in, there are less frustrations though there is one disadvantage, “On Microsoft Teams, the platform the state uses for communications, it can be challenging to follow a group meetings. But I utilize the AI captions on it which is beneficial.” Despite the multiple channels of communication - from virtual to face to face, sometimes simple is best. “Email is the easiest and the most effective communication for me at work.”
“Everyday at work is a new day - always something different happening, never the same day each day.” Even with her work being routine without much change on a day to day basis, Brandi loves it when unexpected issues or situations pop up that distract her from the mundane everyday tasks - “It keeps me alert and on my toes to resolve those in between the routine work that I do.” She also enjoys seeing herself grow in the work, and as a person. “I enjoy challenging myself, challenging our approaches, and challenging our perspectives of each other.” She also enjoys working with the veterans that they serve who live on the property. “It’s amazing to see and hear their stories about their experiences in life.” Some of the veterans also have hearing loss, so that is a common ground that Brandi can relate to. “It gives me a purpose to work towards, here at work, to see the impact that I leave on those folks that we serve. They served us, and now it's our turn to serve them. It’s nice to be able to give back.”
Brandi shares the following advice: “Do not be afraid to challenge yourself. You will not be successful in life if you do not challenge yourself. Push yourself to go above the limits out there. You never know what you’re capable of until you try it.”
Outside of work, Brandi enjoys being with her children and seeing them grow. She also finds joy in being outdoors, especially going for walks. “After being stuck indoors all day at work, it’s nice to get outside and breathe in the fresh air and the sun.” She also finds time to socialize with friends as well, and figuring out what she also enjoys doing in life as well.
The #CanDoAnything campaign showcases people who are deaf, deafblind, or hard of hearing at work, giving them an opportunity to share what they do at their jobs and explain how communication access works for them. This campaign shows what our community can do, which is anything!
