ASL Club: Sharing Culture, Creating Community
Written by Zoey Peralta SJND ‘29
Community is an essential piece of SJND student life. Whether the community is the student body as a whole, individual classes, or different clubs, there is a strong sense of connection everywhere. One example of this is SJND’s ASL Club, full of culture, learning, and inclusivity. At the ASL Club, you can learn about Deaf culture, learn American Sign Language, and help advocate for inclusivity for Deaf people.
History and Present
The ASL Club was originally founded in 2012 by Mx. Mullin when they went to SJND as a student. They served as president of the club until graduating in 2014, after that the ASL program slowly faded away. In 2023, Mx. Mullin came back to SJND as an ASL teacher after the class was reintroduced as a language option in 2022. Then, in 2024, Cecilia Serna (class of ’25) refounded the club with Mx. Mullin to continue educating students about ASL and Deaf culture as the president and Mx. Mullin as the moderator. Now, for the 25–26 school year, the ASL Club’s presidents are Kylee Lau and Sam Hillenbrand, after serving as vice president and publicity respectively during the 24–25 school year.
Mx. Mullin thinks, “My vision is for ASL and Deaf culture to become part of the broader SJND community– not just another club to join. As a former deaf student and now a deaf teacher, it brings me joy whenever people sign with me. Communication becomes easier, and I feel more connected as more people learn ASL.” This club is part of a bigger goal at SJND. It is a way for you to educate yourself and meet new people, but it is also a way for you to help foster inclusivity and accessibility within our community. For example, signing at Mass, or signing in theatre are some main goals for the ASL Club
Mission and Fulfillment
Kylee Lau (class of ’26) says, “The ASL Club’s mission is to introduce people to Deaf culture and Deaf life outside of the classroom in a way students don’t have to worry about offending people.” Deaf culture is something that many people do not know much about. Through the ASL Club, you can receive education about Deaf culture without worry of being wrong. It is important to learn about these things to be inclusive and understanding, and it also helps when communicating with Deaf people through signs. In addition, the ASL Club offers peer tutoring for those needing help in their ASL classes.
Sam Hillenbrand (class of ’26) comments, “I’ve taken ASL 1–3 and they are still some of my favorite classes to this day, so having an extracurricular for it would just be so awesome because it’s a way to have a well rounded experience, not just learning things in a classroom. Experiencing Deaf culture outside of school is so, so fun. I want to be able to give students even a little bit of that with the ASL Club.” This shows that personal experience is an important part of learning. Through the ASL Club you can continue educating yourself off campus and gain more understanding of the Deaf community whether you take ASL classes or not.
Club Activities
In the 24–25 school year, the ASL Club’s big event was a casual dress fundraiser. The club partnered up with Latinos Unidos, where students could give 5 dollars to wear casual dress. This money was given to Deaf children in Mexico. For this 25–26 school year, the focus is on Deaf culture. Every second Thursday of the month, the ASL Club will be having a meeting during flex. During these meetings members of the club will watch a Deaf culture movie and have a potluck! For these potlucks, students will bring various pre-packaged snacks with no nuts to share with the club. These meetings directly connect to the ASL Club’s mission. Through these movies, students can learn about the rich and diverse culture of Deaf people in an entertaining way while connecting with fellow club members. To add on to these potlucks, the ASL Club does fun games in the quad relating to ASL! On September 30, 2025, the ASL club hosted a game of Videophone for Deaf Awareness Month. This game is similar to telephone, but you sign instead of whispering and try to get the sign correct. This event allows people to learn ASL and show off their skills to win spirit points for their division! Throughout the school year, the ASL Club will continue to do events similar to these.
Sam Hillenbrand shares, “I know I at least was pretty afraid to join clubs when I was new here because all of them seemed to have super high engagement activities and that was quite scary, so having activities that range from chill movie watching to activities in the quad to field trips to Deaf events is key to attract as many people from as many levels of interest as possible.” In this club you do not have to be worried about high commitment activities! With the club meeting only once a month and with chill activities, you can contribute to a bigger cause in a more casual way.
Club Members: Why Should You Join The Club?
Mx. Mullin says that, “Students should join ASL Club to immerse themselves in an inclusive and accessible community. Learning a new language and culture can open doors to new opportunities — a new community, career paths, and more. Many students, staff, and faculty want to communicate with me but struggle to do so. Joining the ASL Club allows them to turn that struggle into a new friendship — not just with me, but with many others!”
As Mx. Mullin said, many people have difficulty communicating with those who are Deaf. Through the ASL Club, you can learn a language that helps you communicate with those who sometimes need help when it comes to communication with others. This allows you to create new friendships with those who are Deaf, but also help people. Some ways you can use ASL to help are being an interpreter in various environments (entertainment events, school, courts, hospitals, media, etc.), social worker for Deaf clients, or advocate for Deaf rights organizations. Knowing ASL can also be great in a customer service job where you may need to communicate with Deaf people.
Kylee Lau states, “It is a really chill way to learn about a new culture where you don’t feel like you’re pressured in any way. For example, you don’t have to know ASL to join the ASL Club, but that’s the whole point. We’re gonna teach you, embrace diversity, and learn as much as you can about everybody in order to become the best, most educated version of yourself.”
As stated earlier, this club is very low commitment. In fact, you do not even have to be in ASL class or know ASL to join. However, the main goal is about education and being able to share that education with your peers.
Quinn Cerefice (Class of ’28, ASL Club underclassmen representative) says, “I joined the ASL Club because I have a love for the language and culture. It also helps that I have an amazing ASL teacher. I also have a close relative that is a CODA (Child Of Deaf Adult) and wanted to learn more about the language that soon became her job.”
Some of the best ways to connect with someone is to try to understand and learn more about their life. When learning ASL and Deaf culture, you gain some understanding about Deaf life, allowing for you to be educated. When you know someone who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or CODA, this club can help you connect with them! The ASL Club currently has 38 members, but is excited for more participation!
If you want to join a low commitment club full of education, culture, and community, join the ASL Club! There you can have fun with different events to learn and help others learn. Through your participation, you could help many people and help this club grow to new heights.
