September 28, 2022 - Katie Jo Anderson hails from the small town of Dalbo, Minnesota. She is currently an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota, and she’s studying special education. This year is her last as an undergrad. She will graduate this spring, “and I hope to start the Deaf education master’s program next fall.”
Katie Jo was born to Hard of Hearing parents; her mother was born hard of hearing and has progressive hearing loss, and her father is late Hard of Hearing. She grew up using spoken English as her first language because no one in her family uses American Sign Language (ASL). Katie Jo is Hard of Hearing. Specifically, she has a progressive bilateral hearing loss like her mother. At 18 years old, Katie Jo started using hearing aids because she began noticing more significant hearing loss, but she also had some hearing difficulties when she was a child. Katie Jo began learning ASL after her hearing started declining rapidly; “I was becoming more and more frustrated with trying to communicate with others. During this time, I felt embarrassed that I had to use hearing aids, and I kept my aids a secret for quite some time; and even the people I grew up with didn’t know I was hard of hearing because I wasn’t comfortable telling them.”
“However, I now tell most people I meet that I am hard of hearing and am proud of it, and I also use ASL on a daily basis. I can attribute this feeling of pride to the Deaf friends I have made and those in the community who have been really supportive and loving to me. My friends have also taught me how to advocate for myself, which I find to be especially helpful in my college classes and work environment.”
Katie Jo is currently working at the University of Minnesota in the Disability Resource Center. She is an Access Assistant, and her responsibilities include proctoring tests, some reception work, and working on inaccessible materials with students out of class. She occasionally attends classes with students and provides in-person support. “I most enjoy working with students in and out of class as I love working with others, and I feel like it helps prepare me for my future career as an educator.”
Some challenges or barriers she has faced at work have been trying to communicate with people wearing masks and having conversations in loud environments. Katie Jo's hearing aids have died a few times in the middle of her shift. If these barriers arise, Katie Jo asks those around her to speak louder and more clearly, or she asks them to write or type what they want to say. “I feel blessed because I am able to feel comfortable enough to ask people to do this because of my friends in the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing community helping me find my voice and supporting me in learning how to self-advocate. I’m also extremely thankful because all of my coworkers are very willing to do this for me, and two of my coworkers actually know a little ASL, so I really enjoy communicating with them because I never have to worry about missing what they are saying.”
The biggest piece of advice Katie Jo would like to share about working “is to understand the importance of self-advocacy. It’s so important to be able to share what others can do to help support you and not feel ashamed to ask for these things.”
Outside of work, Katie Jo’s hobbies include cooking, gardening, bouldering, and hiking. “I love to be active!”
She also shares some parting words: “One thing I think is important to share is how vital it is for Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing people to find their community. I am so thankful for the friends and loved ones I have made inside the community and how welcoming they have been. They have helped me navigate some very big changes in my life, and I am forever thankful for that.”
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!
