INPERSON
n
o
i
s
s
a
p
FOLLOWING HER
MOON AREA HIGH
SCHOOL GRADUATE
EARNS FULBRIGHT
SCHOLARSHIP.
BY W.B. FRESA
10
724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE
❘
icmags.com
related disparities between deaf and hearing children. These
opportunities helped solidify my goals to work in the medical
field with the deaf community.”
Family members (l to r): Steve Washington, Stephanie Washington,
Casondra Washington, and Stephen Washington, Jr.
F
inding your passion can happen like a strike of lightning
as Stephanie Washington can attest.
As a 2014 Moon Area graduate, she had no concrete
path, but she followed her passion and can now say she’s
exactly where she’s supposed to be.
“When my brother and I were little, my dad took us to a
farmers market where we saw a woman communicating with
a man using sign language,” says Washington. “The woman
could see me staring, see my interest in what she was doing, and
waved us over. She explained that the farmer was deaf and she
was helping him communicate. She taught my brother and me
two words in sign language—‘apple’ and ‘cool.’ This was my first
introduction to sign language and the deaf community.”
Fast-forward several years later to high school where
Washington, as president of the Spanish Club, helped organize a
10-day trip to Spain.
“This is where I experienced the beauty of the country and the
diversity of its citizens,” she recalls. “When I had the opportunity
to return to the United Kingdom and Spain in college to
study abroad, I learned about the educational and health care-