Heading Back to the Pacific Northwest!

Pacific Ocean as seen from the Oregon coastline during my 2024 visit. (Image description: A woman with brown hair stands on large, dark rock formations at a beach, wearing a black tank top and dark pants while smiling at the camera. Behind her stretches a beautiful Pacific coastline with rolling waves and clear blue sky.)

Exciting Update: Heading Back to the Pacific Northwest

Hey everyone, I wanted to share some exciting news with you all — I'm moving back to Oregon/Washington in a few weeks! After months of job hunting (thanks to my postdoc funding getting unexpectedly cut and backup funding still at risk), I'm thrilled to share that I've got a new position with the state of Washington. I'm really excited to be heading back.

However, here's the not-so-great backdrop:

I wish I could share this news without mentioning the frustrating situation that got me here, but it's too important not to talk about. The Trump administration's NIH funding cuts killed off something called the Deaf Scientists Pipeline, which directly affected me and others I know in the deaf community. I came to Rochester through this program to do postdoc research on language acquisition and learning for deaf students. These cuts are devastating for our entire deaf education world, and we're left with fewer resources and job opportunities than we had before. We'd been fighting so hard to build these programs up, and now it feels like we've taken this massive step backward.

A shift in perspective

I'll be honest, the past few months have been tough. I've felt disappointed and questioned whether my time in academic research work were making the impact I hoped for and whether there's a future for me in it, especially with the current political climate working against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The rollback of support for scientific research, particularly research that serves underrepresented communities, has made it clear that the landscape for this work has fundamentally shifted for the time being. After months of talking to my family and friends, and also talking with my partner, who's dealt with his share of pivots and setbacks as an entrepreneur, he helped me see this situation differently. He reminded me that this is what we do: we chase something, it doesn't work out due to factors beyond our control, then we pivot and adapt accordingly. I could keep chasing my original academic research vision, but at what cost? Sometimes the best move is recognizing when it's time for me to redirect my energy somewhere new.

Wrapping up my research

Before I make this transition, I want to mention the incredible work happening with the PLAY Lab at RIT's National Technical Institute for the Deaf, where I've been collaborating during my brief time in Rochester. My PhD work focused on the impact of being deaf and using a signed language on how we perceive the world around us, and this naturally led to my involvement with the lab's fascinating project studying how deaf and hearing children explore and learn in museum settings. The team is still actively recruiting participants and making great progress on understanding these exploratory behaviors. While I'll be moving across the country, I'm committed to supporting this important research from afar. The project has been gaining insights into how different groups interact with educational spaces, which could change how museums and learning environments are designed. If you're in the Rochester area and interested in participating or learning more, definitely reach out to the PLAY Lab! Website: https://www.rit.edu/ntid/playlab

Looking forward

Here's the silver lining, though: I'm genuinely excited about my career transition. Having taught deaf students for five years, teaching is what got me interested in research, and now I'm excited to bring that research experience back to direct work with students and families.

Yes, it's disappointing that we're losing research opportunities and resources in our field, but this transition feels right. I'm ready for this next chapter and the chance to make an impact in a different way. I'll share more specifics about what I'll be doing once I get settled!

Thanks for following along on this journey with me. Here's to another new beginning in the beautiful Pacific Northwest! 

Thanks for following along on this journey with me. Here's to another new beginning in the beautiful Pacific Northwest! 

Hammock break during a backpacking trip in Okanogan-Wentachee National Forest, Washington State, 2019. (Image description: A woman relaxes in a black and yellow hammock at a scenic mountain campsite. Behind her stretches a pristine alpine lake surrounded by dense evergreen forests and snow-capped mountain peaks under a bright blue sky.)