September 3, 2020 - Jose Magallanes is known to his friends and family by his nickname Yankee J. He was born hearing. When he was 7 years old, he was in a motorcycle accident. He was walking across the street and the motorcycle hit him. He can’t remember what happened, but his family has told him what happened that day. This accident damaged his brain and the inside of his mouth and the doctors told his family that Jose was deaf. His family struggled to help him because he couldn’t remember words in English and could not speak anymore. His doctor did therapy to try and help him recover, but it didn’t help. Jose’s mom was upset and decided she would take him to a church where people would pray for him and one time the pastor put his hands on his ears to try to heal him. The doctor recommended that he get a cochlear implant but his dad said no because he didn’t believe that his son would ever be happy with a cochlear implant. Instead, he had old fashioned hearing aids and he learned to speak again and went to oral school. When he went to school he had a hard time understanding the teacher because they would have their head turned around while writing on the board.
Then he moved to Chicago. His teacher recommended he go to the Illinois School for the Deaf. However, his parents said no because they did not believe he was Deaf. Jose went to a mainstream high school where he had all hearing classes but his English class was with other Deaf students and the teacher was Deaf too. He also took ASL classes for 3 years in high school.
Jose wanted to join the military after high school. His counselor said he couldn’t because he was Deaf. He went and took the test for the army and was hoping to get in, but they told him he couldn’t get into the army because of his hearing loss. So then he and his counselor were trying to figure out what major he would be interested in. Then Jose became sick because his kidney was failing so he had surgery and was on dialysis two times a week for 4 hours for 10 years. His brother was willing to donate a kidney but he did not qualify because he did not have the same blood type as Jose. Later on, he found out that a kidney donor was available from a young boy who had a brain tumor and had passed away. Eventually, he was able to meet the donor’s family and they connected and became family. Jose withdrew from Rush University after 3 years to focus on his health and keep his new kidney healthy. After this experience, Jose decided he wanted to become a surgeon.
Now he works for Banana Republic as a General Assistant Manager.
Before he worked at Banana Republic, he worked at GAP, where his general manager recommended to the district manager that he become a Lead, but the district manager said no because he can’t hear the fire alarm or answer phone calls. The general manager put in a report to HR and the district manager was fired for discrimination against Jose.
In 2012, Jose moved to Minnesota where he applied to Banana Republic. Now he is a visual manager which is like an assistant general manager. However, during COVID-19, all the Banana Republic stores were closed. Then they decided to open again and Jose had to take on the responsibility of the general manager for a week because the general manager was on vacation.
Jose has had good experiences with GAP and Banana Republic. For meetings at work, they will provide ASL interpreters. For one-on-one conversations, he does not need an ASL interpreter. At work, Jose uses his voice to communicate with customers and colleagues. He is unable to use the phones at work because he does not have access to videophones or other accessible phone devices. So he just hands the phone to a coworker to answer and they work together for Jose to communicate over the phone, while his coworker is the one who talks into the phone.
Jose’s advice to other Deaf/HH/DeafBlind people who are seeking employment is:
"Deaf/HOH/DB can do anything but you have to take responsibility and find a job that fits your skills and abilities. It is important that you perform your job well because how you behave in a workplace says a lot about you as an employee. Deaf people can do anything and it doesn’t matter if you speak or use American Sign Language, they are still beneficial on the sales floor or in other jobs. But it is important to remember that it is up to you and your preferences, and you never have to do anything you don’t want to do in a job. Deaf people can do anything as long as you are happy and comfortable in your workplace."
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!
