I think it was the light in the woman’s eyes as she discussed the opportunities that her improved hearing had provided. She was eager to be interviewed and share her story, despite the cold weather and occasional gusts of wind requiring a pause in conversation. She sat with us for a total of forty-five minutes, never once pausing with concern for the time. She smiled, subtly, and told us that the improvement in her hearing had changed her life forever. Through the power of technology she was able to hear again and from there go back to school and get a high paying job. She discussed the idea, held by certain people in the hearing impaired community, that people who are born deaf should embrace it rather than fix it. She respected this mentality, but believed that when an opportunity arose to hear again, it wasn’t something she or her family should resist.
She and her husband were both deaf and together conceived a deaf child. She began to cry as she spoke about the opportunities that technology has provided her daughter and other deaf children. Our eyes welled with tears of both joy and sadness as we thought of what their life could have been like. Her improved hearing allowed her to communicate with other parents that her daughter goes to school with. It allowed her to hear her daughter cry at night and hear her daughter’s first words. Like other hearing impaired mothers, she did not have to depend on someone else to help raise her child or for a household income. She could hold a stable job and was fully capable of raising her daughter.
We interviewed dozens of people during our time in Brazil, but this woman stood out to me. I felt a deeper connection with her than any other interviewee. I have reflected on this interview several times and it was her spirit and her story that has helped me persevere in the hardest of times. Perhaps it was because she had been so open about her goals and aspirations, it was a true example of how the improvement of hearing can lead to a lifelong benefit. This woman is one that stands out to me most because it was through her interview that I reflect and realize that our efforts were well worth it in more ways than we could imagine. I find that sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the numbers; the number of people who are hearing impaired, the number of people who don’t have access to treatment, the number of people who can’t afford a hearing aid. It is simple to get caught counting the numbers that aren’t being helped rather than reflecting on how many people’s lives are improving. It was this woman who helps remind me that even if just one person can benefit from this technology then it is something worth celebrating, especially if the effects on that one person are so profound.
Our team’s trip to Candido had not been as planned; the translator had not spoken as much English as we had anticipated, and fieldwork required us to work through many obstacles, and it forced each of us to use our individual backgrounds to solve these problems. We learned that fieldwork doesn’t always go the way it should and people aren’t always what you expect. It is filled with frustration, but I choose to remain optimistic and pursue further fieldwork. I choose to keep that one woman in my heart and mind, to remember that helping one person is better than helping none. I have chosen not to look at the number of people who are yet to be helped, but remain hopeful in the people whose lives have changed due to innovation and the generosity of others.
As graduation approaches I continue to reflect on my experience and I want to help change people’s lives because despite the hardships that is what fulfills me. I want to learn about people that I haven’t had the opportunity to learn about and satisfy my curiosity for cultures different than my own. After attending the Tech Awards, I was in awe and completely inspired. I had a shift in belief and realized that after graduation I am meant to do more than go into a cubicle or fall into a typical job. With my experience I want to continue to work with communities one-on-one. This fellowship has ignited something within me and I have learned so much about myself. I have learned that I am most passionate when I am working with people and working with people to create a greater good.
It took me going down and seeing what fieldwork truly was and overcoming the barriers to realize that I want to continue doing it. Even if I am not able to do fieldwork directly following my time at Santa Clara I think that what our team overcame taught us that with passion, confidence, and understanding for one another you can accomplish anything. Sometimes it just involves more frustration than you expected, but with more frustration comes more drive to push forward. Frustration is not always bad, what’s important is that you persevere and keep your goals in front of you and find ways to still reach those goals and this lesson alone will help me in whatever I choose to pursue after graduation.
