Makayla Natrop was adopted from China and grew up in St. Paul with her two sisters. Growing up, she attended a school that had a Deaf and Hard of Hearing program until the 4th grade where she mainstreamed full time with an interpreter and FM system. By the time she reached high school, she was just using her hearing aids without other communication access support. Then she attended Como Park Senior High School before pursuing a degree in architecture at Iowa State University where she graduated from in 2018.
Currently, Makayla is working at 4rmula, an architectural firm located in downtown St. Paul, where she serves as an architectural designer. At 4mula, her daily work includes designing and documentation as well as site evaluation for different projects such as Multifamily, Transit Station Renovations, and Commercial Offices.
At her job, Makayla finds great joy in designing for people and influencing the built environment through thoughtful design strategies that engage in deep learning, and thoughtful implementations to help a variety of life functions, needs, and people.
One challenge that Makayla faces at work is advocating for her communications needs “and not feeling I am burdensome while doing so. I’ve grown up with the mindset that I am the outlier that needs to be changed to fit the “normal”.”
A piece of advice that Makayla would like to share is to “Maintain a sense of curiosity for your own potential and find contentless in the things and people you have in your life. There’s always something to improve on, another thing to achieve or work towards. That humans can fall into two mindsets – 1. That what they have is never enough and “happiness/Joy etc.is always out there”. Forgetting what we are already gifted with. Or the other way being 2. I don’t want to fail so I don’t want to push myself into something that is uncomfortable. Both of these mindsets focus on inadequate chasing a picture or idea of one self and negates the power of living authentically as a whole person both with a lot to offer the world and someone very capable of making mistakes and hurting others. The latter requires vulnerability, and holding tension of both/and.”
In her free time, Makayla enjoys a variety of hobbies, including hiking, biking, open water swimming, painting, exploring fashion, traveling, and trying different foods.
In parting, Makayla shares some thoughts: “I used to believe that my circumstances were obstacles to overcome, but I have come to understand that they do not define my worth or accomplishments, even in a virtual context.”
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!
