Alice Bianco - Featured Member Profile

Alice Bianco was born hearing like she was talkative and loved dancing. Due to an epidemic of spinal meningitis, she had high fever and spent a week at hospital after being checked by doctor on house call. Alice was sent home after recovery and did not talk much like she was used to. With their concern, her parents had brought Alice to several doctors who repeatedly said she was fine and healthy until at Yale they were informed that she was deaf at the age of 22 months.

By doctor’s advice at Yale Alice was sent to Mystic Oral School at the age of three and half until 1969. Followed her peer, she attended American School for the Deaf (ASD) until her graduation in the class of 1972. While she attended Gallaudet University, she received the Athletic of the Year because she played almost all sports on campus including softball and gymnastics.

After her graduation at Gallaudet with BA in accounting, she had acquired a first job as field hockey assistant coach at Gallaudet for four months until she was not satisfied with her minimal salary. Then she decided to look for job in Washington DC area as an accountant clerk in hope to gain some experience while she had struggled with no support like interpreter for job interview. In her time Gallaudet did not provide an internship program and career placement for graduates. At each successive meeting, she was informed by job interviewers that the phone was mandatory in her job description but she moved out to Alaska for new life.

Living for nine months in Alaska she enjoyed wearing snowshoes and cross country skiing in a first winter time, and also hiking and camping in summer. She did not realize that she could find an assistance from Dept. of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) for job hunting. With VR’s help she had landed in a job as clerk at Internal Revenues Service. After she dreaded another winter time and sorely missed her family, she moved back to East. Then she acquired another job as bookkeeper at the bank for short time until being laid off.

After she had returned to practice word processing training, she received her word processing job and was promoted to typesetter. As typesetter in some time she understood her boss about her status in demand by attending more than several meetings and by requiring an interpreter. However she settled back into her familiar position as word processor, and moved upward as data entry operator. As Alice works at Conair Corporation for 18 years, she enjoys her job with good pay and excellent benefits but she has been frustrated occasionally due to communication barrier. She felt alike being only one deaf among hearing employees in the entire building. In spite of her struggle, Conair, her employer had demonstrated to her as thoughtful and courtesy by making accommodation at her desk with TTY, email and videophone. Plus, as her side job, she owns home based business, USANA.

During her high school years in ASD she finally overcame her fear of sign language after teachers encouraged her that it was okay to use it since she was programmed from an oral school where her sign language was banned. As she realized her speech was not wonderful she should communicate ASL anyway because she feels comfortable in her ASL to express her language freely. Her mother assured her about no difference between one person being deaf and being hearing. However, Alice understood her mother well but she believed the communication was a different story, not just because people were being hearing or deaf. Like she grew up in her family and relatives she had tried to her best to communicate with them but unfortunately she felt that she had struggled to understand their conversations. She believed if everyone knows how to use ASL then she would support her mother wholeheartedly.

On her extra time she is actively involved in some organizations; CT Association of the Deaf, Sign Language Instructors Pool, and Deaf Women of CT. In her previous years she was a former club President for Bridgeport Club of the Deaf and pioneered several women teams for softball and volleyball. Being an independent single Deaf woman, she enjoys cooking, and traveling although she loves to keep in shape by jogging outside daily.

Being an independent single Deaf woman, she enjoys cooking, and traveling although she loves to keep in shape by jogging outside daily.

Alice was one of pioneers in 1994 to become a first president of Deaf Women of CT (formerly CT Chapter, Deaf Women United). When she was asked about why she continues her involvement in the DWC she believes that she gains professional growth and at the same time she is able to develop leadership skills from the workshops, and support from deaf women in the whole. Thanks to the DWC support, she has strengthened her self esteem by working in the Sign Language Immersion Camp.

With a last word about DWC she paused for a few moments to think and then spoke abruptly in sign, “uniqueness” in reference to her belief that the DWC is very unique to have all deaf women gather together to support each other in positive way.

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