Ntxhee Sua Vang, whose name means ‘water wave’, is a St. Paul native of Hmong descent. She comes from a hearing family, and she has six siblings. One of them is also deaf and wears a cochlear implant. Ntxhee Sua wore hearing aids when she was young. “We use sign language to communicate with each other. Both of us had hearing loss that we gradually lost over the years before becoming deaf.” Her family is not fluent in sign language but still tries to communicate using a mixture of signs, basic ASL, ASL fingerspelling, home signs, and gestures. Ntxhee Sua attended the Deaf and Hard of Hearing program at Como Elementary, Four Seasons A+ Elementary, and Humboldt High School, in St. Paul. Before transferring to Four Seasons A+ Elementary, she attended Como Elementary, she had two teachers, one hearing and one deaf, who both signed—then attended Four Seasons A+ with the same teachers. Once she entered high school at Humboldt, she was mainstreamed with an interpreter, which was a new experience for her. Upon graduation, she attended the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. She credits her success in college to having a team of staff interpreters that made learning accessible to her. Ntxhee stresses the importance of advocating for one’s access needs to get the resources needed to succeed.
Originally planning to become an artist or illustrator artist, Ntxhee Sua switched over to working as an educational assistant. She currently works with a deaf and hard of hearing program in a school, working with deaf children in Early Childhood through Kindergarten. During the school day, Ntxhee Sua shadows the children, working with their language acquisition through ASL, often working with students with diverse needs including those on the autism spectrum. “I’ve worked with many students - deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, those with Down Syndrome, those on the Autism spectrum, hearing children of Deaf adults, they all have taught me patience, and I love working with them all.”
“When working with the student, I assess their likes and dislikes, and try to incorporate their favorite things and passions in their learning activities, and we work on their communication access and levels.” She tries to connect with the students on their communication levels through their interests and uses that to help them grow and succeed.
Before working as an educational assistant, Ntxhee Sua started her employment journey working at the local Wal-Mart, which she does not have fond memories of, citing communication access issues for the deaf and hard of hearing employees who worked there. After Wal-Mart, she also worked at a TJ Maxx before a stint with Wilderness Inquiry. Now she is happily employed at Four Seasons A+ Elementary, working with deaf and hard of hearing students. “I’m working in a place where I have full language access every day - everyone there signs. Being in a comfortable zone where everyone signs has motivated my passion to work and learn from those who I work with.” The warm and accepting environment at work makes it so that Ntxhee Sua looks forward to going to work every day.
Nevertheless working with young students presents a unique set of challenges that Ntxhee Sua faces on a daily basis. “The students - they continue to amaze me with their intelligence and their stubbornness - they continue to find creative ways to communicate their needs and wants.” If the student struggles to understand signs, Ntxhee uses a variety of tools and resources to show the concept, such as using pictures, the actual items, iPads, and so on. “It’s been a challenge - but I try to use a sandwich method by signing, showing the item, and signing again to reinforce the sign or concept.”
Ntxhee Sua is inspired by the fact that people approach her for help and input on complex situations to resolve. She mentions her artistic talents, which come into play when staff members ask her to help create art materials and decorations for holidays such as Black History Month. Other artistic activities include creating 3-D flower displays, pictures and activities for the students to work with. “I love being able to use my artistic talents and passion for art in the workplace.”
Ntxhee Sua shares the following: “Every individual with deafness experiences the world in their own way. Like art, blossoms in their own processes and in their individual ways. Art is not what you see. Otherwise, what you make others see. You can’t tell someone what you feel. You have to show it. You are benefiting from new perspectives and creatives, which help your soul, intelligent energy, and abilities grow. Everyone benefits. Everyone is welcome. Seriously.”
Outside of work, Ntxhee Sua hopes to set up a business someday, selling stickers. She also wants to publish books for children, especially those portraying deaf individuals. ’’There are so few books out there that have deaf characters that deaf children can identify with. I want to see more books out there that teach them sign, and what it is like to be deaf, so I hope to see that happen soon!” She also enjoys watching anime and playing games too.
Here is her business link, NSuaCreations.
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!
