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The team completed their internships at Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf , Iowa School for the Deaf , and Delaware School for the Deaf . Then , COVID had the team shift to Zoom in the spring of 2020 , where the learning continued . Shifting to a virtual platform presented challenges , but they persevered .
Through the experience of the pilot group of interns , feedback from school administrators , and reflections from the students in the schools , the goal of transforming the internship into a formal graduate certificate emerged . As a result , the SCSU Center for International Disability Advocacy and Diplomacy ( CIDAD ) has developed the goal of having a graduate certificate . Through innovative program development , a new graduate “ Certificate in Deaf Leadership and Advocacy ” is being launched in January of 2023 , when ten new Chinese Deaf students are welcomed to the campus of SCSU .
The Certificate focuses on personal and professional development while learning leadership and advocacy from Deaf leaders in the U . S . There will be three phases of the yearlong Certificate . Phase
One consists of a semester of graduate courses on the campus of SCSU . Specialized courses taught by Deaf faculty have been designed that meet the unique needs of Deaf students from China . Phase Two consists of summer camps for U . S . students who are Deaf , providing opportunities for the interns to learn from experienced teachers / camp counselors how to work with and interact with American students . Phase Three consists of the formal internship at a school for the Deaf in the U . S . in the fall semester , where the interns will teach CSL and Chinese culture .
Sherri Rademacher , CIDAD Adjunct Faculty , and SCSU Visiting Scholar Xiaorong Zhou , in collaboration with Drs . Johnson and Knopf , have taken a leadership role in implementing this new Certificate . The vision is for students to become leaders in China , advancing CSL teaching and strengthening interpreter programs and deaf rights in China .
For more information , contact the Center for International Disability Advocacy and Diplomacy at cidad @ stcloudstate . edu .