Seeing the signs

North Idaho College American Sign Language (ASL) Instructor Jacalyn Marosi is not deaf, but people have mistakenly thought that she was. And that makes her proud. "If a hearing person is mistaken for being deaf before they have spoken that is a huge compliment," Marosi said.

North Idaho College American Sign Language (ASL) Instructor Jacalyn Marosi is not deaf, but people have mistakenly thought that she was.

And that makes her proud.

"If a hearing person is mistaken for being deaf before they have spoken that is a huge compliment," Marosi said.

Her passion for ASL started while she was attending the College of Southern Idaho pursuing a business degree. Marosi said that she had a deaf friend who taught her basic signs. She was

interested enough to join a class and soon she was completely immersed.

"I remember the day that it happened," Marosi said. "I called my mom up from the place I was doing my work study, and said, 'Mom, guess what? I've figured out what I have to do for the rest of my life.' I mean, it just hit me like a ton of bricks, which was what I was waiting for."

She switched her focus from business to ASL, and after graduating from CSI, transferred to Western Oregon University where she earned a bachelor's degree in ASL English Interpretation.

After graduating, she came to NIC as an interpreter for the deaf and hard of hearing, but was soon offered a position as an ASL instructor.

"There is a little bit of resistance automatically when a young hearing person is teaching an old deaf language," said the 31-year-old Marosi. "And I think that is really healthy, that skepticism."

Although she said she loves the ASL language, her real focus is the deaf culture as a whole. She said that many people don't realize how different the deaf culture really is.

"Because they share a language, they have their own set of social rules," Marosi said. "As different as if I were to go to China."

The biggest cultural differences involve personal space and directness, she said. Deaf people are known to be blunt and to the point. For a hearing person, this might seem rude, however, Marosi said that in the deaf culture it is considered perfectly normal.

She also said that the sense of community is much greater among deaf people. Their culture is not nearly as individually focused, she said.

"It (deaf culture) fits my lifestyle and my personally better than the hearing world in many ways," Marosi said.

She has been told that she is too direct and too "touchy-feely," both attributes that are accepted in the deaf community, she said.

Her ability to integrate herself in the culture has been key to her success as an ASL signer and instructor, she said. Her natural affinity to the language had more to do with her passion for the whole culture and less to do with a natural skill with foreign languages.

Because of her ability to immerse herself in the deaf community she said that she is often an unofficial liaison between the deaf community and the hearing community. And, completing the circle, when one of her own students was mistaken as a deaf person, she nearly cried.

Marosi will offer an American Sign Language class this fall. Fall semester begins Aug. 23. To sign up, contact the NIC Registrar's Office at (208) 769-3320 or registration@nic.edu.