Deaf student defies odds to become the first graduate in his field
Published:Wednesday | December 6, 2023 | 12:12 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
Cristophe Phillips has high hopes of securing a job in Jamaica after recently becoming the first deaf graduate to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance and Choreography at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.
Although unable to hear sounds perfectly well, Phillips aspires to become a performer, a choreographer or a teacher for other deaf persons and the wider community of persons with disabilities.
He also aspires to take his talents to international heights.
Since completing his degree, the unemployed 32-year-old, who graduated last month, is yet to gain employment in the field he has grown to love and appreciate, primarily because of his disability.
“My first mode of communication is sign language because I am deaf, so it is important for me to work in an environment that accommodates deaf persons, be it in the performing arts industry or educational arena,” Phillips said in a Gleaner interview recently.
“Initially, I wanted a career in teaching deaf children. This decision was based on my experience and observation that many deaf children have the potential to excel in performing arts. I would love to guide them as they showcase their talents to the world,” he said.
PASSION FOR THE ARTS
He chose to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance and Choreography after developing a passion for the arts in high school and began dreaming of a career in the field.
“Also, a friend encouraged me to choose that career field, believing in my potential to excel in it,” he added.
Phillips is honoured to be the first deaf graduate from the programme.
“There were three of us (deaf students) who started the programme at the same time; however, I completed it ahead of them. The other two are still in the programme. I am now more qualified and will be able to carry out my tasks well in my chosen career field,” he told The Gleaner.
As a deaf person with abled instructors and classmates, Phillips said that completing the degree was no easy feat.
He faced many challenges while pursuing his degree and even from the start, he did not meet all the requirements to pursue the degree.
“I had obtained all my CSECs (Caribbean Secondary Education Certification subjects) from high school, except English and mathematics. I had to do English during continuing education at Edna Manley College and took mathematics in the second year,” he said.
Other challenges, he noted, included limited communication due to the shortage of sign language interpreters and difficulty gathering content without an interpreter.
“In these cases, where I did not have an interpreter, I had to depend on my classmates and lecturers for assistance where necessary, but this was limited because of communication barriers,” Phillips told The Gleaner.
“I would sometimes face prejudice or discrimination on campus, especially from those who do not believe the deaf can excel to something great,” said Phillips, adding that since high school, he started to aspire to become a trained dancer as he did not see many deaf trained dancers in Jamaica.
Phillips said he uses several affirmations for daily motivation.
“I even place [them] on my room wall as a reminder to me,” he said.
“Think! Do! Be Positive!” he recalled one saying.
“Nothing is impossible. The word possible means all things are possible if I believe, so my main daily motivation is to not limit myself. I believe that I can.”