Internships

So recently I've been going through the application process for some internships. I just want to contrast two different situations that have happened. A little bit of background information first. BYU constantly has different tables set up in the student center, the Wilk, for companies looking for interns.

The first company was Holland America and Princess Cruises. I had picked up a few brochures because there wasn't a person sitting at the table in the Wilk at the time. When a representative showed up I walked over to talk to her. I typically don't speak orally, so I pulled out pen and paper to talk to her. My first question was the all important one, what accommodations do you make for Deaf people.  You should have seen her face. She went from excited to talk to a possible intern to disappointed in about five seconds flat when she realized that I couldn't hear her. She began by listing the jobs that I can't hold with their company and then said she didn't know what accommodations if any the other jobs had. I wanted to make sure it was competely clear and so I asked her if I couldn't be hired for those jobs just because I can't hear. She wrote back that, that was the exact reason. I have to admit I was really angry at that point. Before walking away I spoke orally telling her I thought that was interesting because  denying me a job just because I can't hear is blatant discrimination and completely illegal.

The other situation could not have been more different. I went to the Disney College Program presentation on campus. Like normal I had two interpreters with me to make communication easier. The staff from Disney worked with me to be set up for the presentation. They kept the lights up during two movie clips so I could watch the interpreter. The recruiter is also learning ASL, he practiced signing to me. He let me know that there were a variety of jobs available to me regardless of whether I can hear or whether I speak orally. He also let me know that Disney would make all the necessary accommodations for my living arrangements. Disney would provide things for the doorbell, fire alarms all of that at no charge to me if I was selected to work for them.

It's always interesting to see how people deal with my deafness especially with jobs. These are just two of the many experiences I've had but I think they show the best and worst scenarios.
Rachel