I was asked to perform my talent for the local deaf and hard of hearing community at Barnes and Nobles for the American Sign Language Teachers Association (ASLTA) monthly story hour. It is always entertaining to watch people (especially younger children) react to my costume for Dr. Seuss ASLized!

When I was entering Barnes and Nobles, a younger boy, around seven years old, gawked at me, and tried to figure what today is…because it was not Halloween!

I read Oh, The Places You’ll Go! and I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! then performed my talent, showing the audience how I created my talent from those two books with help from my committee. Ironically, there were more adults than kids for my storytelling hour.

Afterwards, one mom observed that one boy’s shirt matched my leggings…

It was a Kodak moment!

Here are some more photos from the storytelling event:

Chelsea telling a Dr. Seuss story.
(Photo courtesy of the American Sign Language Teachers Association of Sioux Falls)

The Barnes and Noble storytelling event kids with Chelsea Tobin
(Photo courtesy of the American Sign Language Teachers Association of Sioux Falls)

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On Saturday, July 15th, I went to Camp Lakodia because my friend, the camp director, invited me to come to give few words at the National Leadership and Literacy Camp (NLLC) in Madison, South Dakota, which is sponsored by the Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD). The visit brought back memories, because I was one of the first campers at the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf when I was thirteen years old in 2000. After that experience, I served as a junior counselor for four years and then worked as an office assistant at the deaf-friendly resort at Camp Lakodia.

On stage, talking about my NLLC experiences.
(Photo provided by CSD-TV)

It was my first public appearance as NAD Miss Deaf America. Five days before my appearance at NLLC, I gave the eulogy for my grandmother’s funeral, who passed away the morning after I was crowned NAD Miss Deaf America. Her last words to me were, “Do not go any place or gathering that you can’t take Jesus with you.” I will travel frequently as NAD Miss Deaf America so her words were fitting, it was almost like my grandma knew all along that it would happen to me.

I shared my grandma’s last words with the campers and mentioned that they will never know where they will be in six years. I told them that today is just the beginning of their future. I performed the talent from the pageant based on two books by Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! and Oh, the Places You’ll Go! I shared the beginning of my talent, as it seemed fitting with the last day banquet of the NLLC session:

NLLC campers watching my talent performance.
(Photo provided by CSD-TV)

After the banquet, I bumped into a hearing mother with a son who is camper at the NLLC. The mother asked if my parents were hearing. With a smile, I replied that my parents are hearing and use sign language to communicate with me. She was surprised because she thought that a deaf child with deaf parents was more likely to succeed, so she has been trying to ensure that her son is on the right path. I told her, “once you have a relationship with your son, he will become successful because he has a mother who cares about him and worked hard to establish a relationship with him.”

It reminded me of the time when I was growing up; my parents took sign classes and took me to deaf social events to increase our exposure to ASL and the deaf community. Dad decided to attend a workshop hosted by the South Dakota School for the Deaf in Sioux Falls (3 hours south from my home) for parents with deaf children while Mom stayed home with me. During the workshop, the coordinator asked a panel of deaf adults with hearing parents, “What is the key thing that every parent of a deaf child must know?” One deaf man answered without hesitation, “To learn sign language in order to establish a relationship with their child. I do not have a relationship with my father for that reason. For many years, we didn’t communicate at all.”

That really hit Dad. He realized that language is essential to our relationship, my development, and my success. It gave him more motivation to learn sign language. So, this hearing mother of a deaf son at NLLC reminded me of my own parents. Dad always made sure that I knew what was important in order to succeed in the “real world.” Thus began his endless sermons on how to manage money, check the oil in the car often, drive a pickup truck in reverse with a trailer! (To those who do not know, I grew up on a farm.)

To this day, Dad is working on his 5,467,854th sermon.

Signing autographs for NLLC campers.
(Photo provided by CSD-TV)

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Welcome to my Blog! I hope that you will enjoy two years of my thoughts, experiences, and reflections as well as aspirations for the future of deaf and hard of hearing Americans during my reign as NAD Miss Deaf America 2006-2008. Let’s get started!

First Impresssions

My first attempt to make a good impression during the NAD Miss Deaf America Pagant backfired on me! Imagine yourself trying to make a good first impression by arriving in advance of the assigned time that you are expected to show up. Yet, instead, you arrive the next day, almost a day and a half past the assigned time! Not only that, this experience includes enduring 16 hours in the airport and an overnight stay at an airport hotel! Imagine the impression you’ve established with the organization which you will work with for next two weeks!

This is precisely what happened to me and my chaperone, Janet. We were stuck at Omaha airport when our original flight was cancelled due to mechanical difficulties (thank goodness it wasn’t discovered while we were in air!) and two attempts to board new flights but both times, the plane was full. On our fourth try, we managed to get into in first class, but that plane also had a mechanical difficulties. We finally flew out the next morning. When we arrived, the other 26 Miss Deaf America contestants already knew who I was because I was the last one to arrive.

Nice first impression, eh?

MDAP Retreat

I really enjoyed the retreat, and the early morning exercises. I only went to one while my overzealous chaperone went more than one! During the day, it became unbelievably hot, temperatures ranged from 100 to 115 degrees! In South Dakota, the hottest we get is 102 degrees, but that’s only for a week- tops - not all summer long!

Our surprise trip was to Disneyland. It was amusing because we weree supposed to act like a pageant woman, wear our sashes, and represent our states in the public eye, and yet there are rides everywhere! That was the only time we could really “relax” before the pageant.

I like to compare the pageant to the finals week at college… but worse! The stress level, practicing our platforms, talents and trying to get the evening gown “walk” in right was challenging. Thank goodness that we had a Starbucks in the hotel!

My marvelous experience during the entire Miss Deaf America Pageant wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for the support of the National Association for the Deaf (NAD). The NAD decided to start the pageant for deaf and hard of hearing women in 1972. It has now become an opportunity for countless women, including me to represent their states and for some, the NAD. It is truly an honor to represent an organization that has done so much for the deaf and hard of hearing community in its 125 years of existence.

Representing the NAD

When I was younger, I was mainstreamed in small local school where it was difficult to find a qualified interpreter. At the time, my interpreter wasn’t qualified to interpret for a young student. When the South Dakota Association for the Deaf (SDAD) heard about my situation, they came in to help. Several people from Sioux Falls (where SDAD and South Dakota School for the Deaf are located) fought for better interpreting access. When I began the fourth grade, I got another interpreter who really opened up my world. I had never known that my peers actually contributed to classroom discussions and learned that students are supposed to work independently. My prior interpreter did not show me that I could do the same thing as my peers. That is how the mission of the NAD has contributed to my education, to my life, through the SDAD. The experience helped me realize that I have the rights, as a deaf person.

For next two years as NAD Miss Deaf America, I would love to see NAD Youth Programs to expand to include more diverse backgrounds. I come from a mainstream background and was frequently the minority at camps, where many came from deaf schools across the nation. Langford, my hometown, has learned what NAD is all about, and why it is important to the deaf and hard of hearing community. I look forward to educating so many others about the important mission of the NAD and their hard work over 125 years…to the deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing populations.

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