Meet the Interns

Six women stand in front of the Gallaudet Archives with their arms raised like Rosie the Riveter.

A Latina woman with red hair smiling at the camera.

Hello, my name is Mia Fernandez, a Senior at Gallaudet University from Artesia, New Mexico. I’ve been highly active in all the four years of Gallaudet, being involved in Softball, Delta Zeta, and Bison With Attitude. Softball has always been apart of my life growing up and I knew I wanted to continue playing all through college. In Gallaudet softball program I have earned the award as Most Valuable Player of 2014 and this year voted as a Team Leader. Bison With Attitude is a Dance group that was founded in September, 2010 by Brianna Johnson, graduated May 2012.

In 2012 I took the responsibility and became the President/coach/choreographer for the next three years in college. BWA has grown to performing for home basketball games and events on and off campus. In Fall of 2012, I joined Delta Zeta Sorority as a member then in Spring of 2014, I became an alumna of Delta Zeta.

I am majoring in Deaf Studies and minoring in American Sign Language. In the Spring of 2012, I earned the honor of being on the Deans list and have traveled to China for Studying Abroad to learn Asian culture and signs. The program was for the program called 100,000 strong.

A white woman in a yellow scarf smiling at the camera.

Hi, I’m Abby McNamara, I’m a Deaf Studies major, from Ohio, the middle of the country. I am hoping to attend University of Cincinnati for my graduate school in Fall 2015. My hobbies include hanging out with friends, watching kids movies, and doing anything related to the country life. I love to travel and meet new people. I enjoy Gallaudet because of the social environment it gives students. I have met some of my closest friends here on campus because of Gallaudet and I continued to improve my signing skills through the interaction with students on campus.

I decided to take this internship because it relates to my Senior Thesis Project. I am working on a Project about DeafSpace relating to Deaf Children with Hearing Parents, I am using designs and accessibility to figure out the best access for Deaf people. This internship deals with the change in theme and design of the Weyerhaeuser Family Gallery from the Peace Corps to Herstory for the new year. I will be part of the designing prospect of the internship, plus I will get to learn things about deaf women in history I have never learned before.

I am excited to be a part of the internship team and I look forward to being able to work with the museum team and interns.

A white woman with red glasses smiling at the camera.

Hello, my name is Jenni Mosiman and I am a Coda from Kansas. I graduated with an A.A.S. degree in interpreter training at Johnson County Community College in 2013 and transferred to Gallaudet University the very next Fall. I will graduate with my B.A. in Deaf Studies this May.

In my professional life I interpret part-time for Sorenson Communications as well as work for the Registrar’s Office at Gallaudet University. My experience at Gallaudet has been a rich one and the opportunity to work with the Gallaudet Museum and the Weyerhaeuser Family Gallery is going to make it all the richer.

I have recently taken an interest in women’s studies and this internship allows me to explore that a bit more making it a valuable experience for me.

I like to entertain myself with a variety of activities. When I’m not spending time with close friends or family I can be found cheering for the Denver Broncos or Kansas City Royals (depending on the season) or filling my time with Netflix.

I look forward to working with my fellow interns and ultimately seeing the information we find being shared with the Gallaudet community and it’s many visitors.

A white woman with long brown hair smiling at the camera.

Hi, my name is Lisa Napoli and I’m from New Jersey. I’m proud to call Gallaudet University as my second home and becoming an Intern at the Gallaudet University Museum has manifested that experience of being home here. It will be a great experience for me learning about designing and researching for the Deaf HERstory exhibition as well as learning more about the herstory of Deaf Women. I feel honored and am privileged to have this opportunity.

I enjoy traveling, trying and learning new things that will help develop many new skills.

A white woman with short red and blonde hair smiling at the camera.

Hello! My name is Dorathy Sietsema, though I prefer to use my middle name, Meagan. Its a family tradition to use our middle names. I am hearing, as is my whole family. I grew up in Southern California, the oldest of six children. I was exposed to American Sign Language (ASL) at the age of 9, when I took it as a second language. I continued to study ASL into high school when I got really serious with it. I graduated from a community college with an AA degree in ASL Interpretation at 19, and then I transferred to Gallaudet.

I really enjoy being here, and I love to learn about different life experiences than my own. That is one of the reasons I took the internship at the Weyerhaeuser Family Gallery: I wanted to know more about the experience of Deaf women, and what is more expressive than art? I am looking forward to all the insights we can gain from this project.

I am now majoring in Deaf Studies and minoring Ethics. My hobbies include all things handwork: I sew, embroider, cross stitch, crochet, and knit.

A white woman with curly blonde hair smiling at the camera.

Dr. Arlene Blumenthal Kelly is a Professor at the Department of ASL and Deaf Studies at Gallaudet University.

Currently she is the Academic Coordinator for the Interns. She is looking forward to the completion of Deaf HERstory exhibition at the Weyerhaeuser Family Gallery at Student Academic Center this coming spring.