Julia Forti, born in Rochester, Minnesota, now calls Owatonna, Minnesota home. Julia’s deafness was discovered when she was 13 months old when her parents saw that their daughter wasn’t responding to her parents calling her name. Her family is hearing, and her husband is Deaf and their three children are CODAs. Julia attended the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf (MSAD) from age 5 all the way through high school and graduation. She comes full circle by now working at MSAD as a resident educator. “It’s my second home, so amazing to be back and be in old familiar surroundings! The dorms, it’s my home too!”
After graduating from high school, Julia attended college for ten months, studying cosmetology. “It was a challenge - after I graduated from the course, I went to take the tests but they wouldn’t provide interpreting access. After fighting them, I decided to take a rest and explore my options.” She then realized that her perfect fit was working with students and that cosmetology wasn’t the right fit for her anyways. That path of discovery led her back to MSAD where she is happily settled in, working with the students that she loves. “Looking back, I should have started working at MSAD right away! But it was worth going through those challenges to discover what my true passion really was.”
At MSAD as a Resident educator, Julia works as a member of the general staff. She works with students to teach them to learn and prepare to be independent when they transition to the world. She is also leading the drama program as the director. Last fall, she directed the elementary school production, and is looking forward to directing the middle and high schools production in the spring. She is also the prom sponsor this spring for the high school students in grades 9-12.
“The part I love the most about working with students is the hands-on part, interacting with them and seeing them thrive through fun activities.” Dorm activities include team building activities, partaking in craft projects, movie nights with popcorn and snacks. She also deals with the serious moments, such as providing communication access and acting as a sounding board for the students who might not have full communication access at home and come to school to fulfill that need. “It’s tough to see - the students wanting to stay at the dorms rather than go home because they’re comfortable with the staff, their fellow students - it’s home to them too.” She does feel guilty when she leaves school for the day - her mind is still back in the dorms, worrying and thinking about dorm life even when at home with her husband and children. “Always thinking how are the students doing? They OK? Need something? It never stops! They’re my kids too, really!”
Julia feels fortunate that she hardly faces challenges at work due to the fully accessible workspace she is in with access to direct communication in ASL and a Deaf-focused space. She does mention that having ADHD presents a set of personal challenges as she feels “the need to be active, always doing something” and finding it difficult to not have something to do. Prior to working at MSAD, Julia worked a variety of jobs, from group homes, to Perkins restaurant, and others and feeling unhappy about her experiences working amongst hearing peers and the communication access barriers these work environments presented.
“Once I joined the MSAD family and found myself back on familiar grounds, I was relieved and found joy in my work, making differences in the students’ lives.” No longer did she have to bear the burden of teaching hearing coworkers how to interact with a Deaf employee, and could focus on the work itself at MSAD without having to shoulder that burden.
Julia shares the following advice: “After you all graduate from high school or college and venture into the world, be sure to find something that fits your passion. Do not give up.” She recounts where she was set to attend Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), but ended up not going due to being sidelined by a difficult relationship at the time. Looking back, she shares that she should have stuck to her goals and went ahead with it despite the roadblocks that appeared in her journey. “Follow your heart and go for it.” She mentions that she was going in for teaching, but found herself not as a teacher, but teaching in a different way through being a dorm staff. “Either way, I found myself teaching in a way.”
When not at MSAD, Julia is also the director of the Faribault Deaf Club, a position she has been involved with for many years, creating activities and events for the Faribault Deaf community. “I’m a social butterfly - I love meeting new and old friends!” She recounts always being a leader in some form - from the Deaf club and way back in high school doing drama. A former teacher once told Julia that she was a natural-born leader, and now Julia is seeing the truth in that insight through work, hobbies, and activities. Prior to Faribault Deaf Club, Julia worked at the Charles Thompson Memorial Hall, the local Deaf Club in the Twin Cities for a few years before switching to Faribault where she has worked since 2008. She also sets up ASL events in Faribault for ASL learners to mingle with Deaf native ASL users. She also set up and runs several social media pages for the Deaf community, bringing the community together through events and activities to keep everyone connected, and does it voluntarily without pay as the community connection is important for her. “Sometimes those events are the only place a Deaf person can feel welcome and feel a sense of belonging - oftentimes they come from hearing environments with limited opportunity to converse and interact, so those events are important for them to escape from that and be free to be themselves.”
When not working or fluttering around Deaf events, Julia loves interacting on social media platforms; surfing the internet looking for events to join; playing on the Switch; as well as baking for enjoyment, “not for selling, just for myself and family and friends to enjoy”.
In parting, Julia encourages people to get off their computers and phones and get out into the community, physically and mentally socializing with the community. “Go to Deaf events. Go to ASL meet-ups. Meet folks for coffee or lunch. Go get out of the house and into the community - it’s healthy and fulfilling for everyone.”
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!
