Linda Hatrak Cundy, ’74, is one of several worthy alumni and community advocates who will be honored at this year’s Gallaudet University Alumni Association (GUAA) Charter Day Awards ceremony. In recognition of her service, she will receive the Above and Beyond Volunteer Award in honor of Pauline ‘Polly’ Peikoff, E-’36.
The award is well-deserved. Cundy has dedicated herself to volunteerism and advocacy. For over 50 years, she has served on boards, committees, and task forces that have advanced rights for deaf and hard of hearing people in Canada.
A young leader
Cundy’s leadership skills were fostered from a young age. She and her three sisters grew up in LaPorte, Indiana immersed in deaf culture and American Sign Language (ASL). Just like her parents and grandparents, Cundy attended Indiana School for the Deaf in Indianapolis. She walked the halls with hundreds of other deaf students every day.
In 1968, Gallaudet hosted the first-ever Junior NAD National Convention. Cundy attended alongside classmates from her school’s Jr. NAD affiliate chapter. “Chapters from all over the United States came to Gallaudet,” she remembers. “Many of the people I met through Jr. NAD are still my friends today.”
Cundy stayed involved with the program for years after, acting in various roles such as Secretary and Program Director. All four Hatrak sisters were part of the very first NAD Youth Leadership Camp in 1969.
Gallaudet bound
When Cundy arrived at Gallaudet in 1970, many of her peers from Jr. NAD were now her classmates. She was later joined by two of her sisters: Stephanie Kay Vincent, ’75 and Dr. Marla Hatrak, ’92.
“I felt at home right away,” Cundy says. She majored in English, with the goal of becoming a teacher.
Outside of class, Cundy got involved in as many different student organizations as she could. She pledged Phi Kappa Zeta and joined the swimming, volleyball, and basketball teams. She also acted as Assistant Secretary for the Student Body Government and wrote articles for the Buff and Blue student newspaper.
During her time at Gallaudet, Cundy enjoyed acting in well-received theatre productions Antigone, Sign Me Alice, and Angel Street. In 1974, she received a Best Supporting Actress Award for her role in Angel Street.
“Gallaudet was home,” Cundy says. “I had four years of wonderful experiences. The extracurriculars allowed me to meet people and strengthen my leadership skills. I felt ready for the real world.”
Advocacy in Alberta
Cundy met her future husband, Robert Cundy, ’76, while they were students at Gallaudet. After graduating in 1974, Linda stayed in the D.C. area. When Robert finished his own degree, they got married and began their new life together.
The couple decided to move to Canada and settled in Edmonton, Alberta. Cundy taught high school classes for over 20 years at Alberta School for the Deaf. She started as a science teacher, adding deaf studies and English to her resume over time.
After teaching, Cundy became an Education Consultant. At the time, the practice of placing deaf and hard of hearing children in mainstream classrooms was becoming more popular. While working for the Province of Alberta, she traveled to different cities around the country to help schools implement inclusive practices for their deaf and hard of hearing students.
“If schools had a question or concern about deaf students, they contacted me,” Cundy says. She provided invaluable trainings for teachers and administrators. Her goal was to advocate for deaf children. When she could, she would bring mainstreamed deaf students to deaf schools to expose them to peers with similar identities.
“I wanted to empower the students. I asked school staff about the students’ hopes and dreams, likes and dislikes. They weren’t used to being asked those kinds of questions.”
Making a difference
Cundy’s advocacy has extended far beyond her work with deaf and hard of hearing students. Since moving to Canada in the 1970s, she has served on the board of organizations such as Connect Society, the Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf, and Alberta Association of the Deaf.
“I saw a need for deaf representation on the board level,” Cundy says. “If we weren’t in the room, they wouldn’t discuss our needs.
“The best way to effect change is to join a board. If you want to see any kind of change, small or big, in the deaf community, join a board and make those changes happen.”
In addition to her board service, Cundy has served on committees and task forces that have impacted the lives of Canadians. In the 1980s, she led a task force that negotiated with a local television station to begin captioning their programs. Later, she and two of her sisters invited a representative from Sorenson Communications to Edmonton and convinced them to offer VRS services for the city.
In the 1980s, Cundy served on the Planning Committee for Connect Society’s Family Learning Vacation and founded a pre-school program for CODAs in the community. Later, she served on the Executive Committee for the 1991 Winter Deaflympics in Banff. She also gave time to Gallaudet. She has served on the GUAA board for three terms totalling 12 years.
Staying busy
Cundy no longer works in education, but her schedule is busier than ever. She spends much of her time as a deaf interpreter for community members around Edmonton and Canada. It’s a role she’s taken on for many years in order to support community access. As soon as she retired from her consulting work, she began getting so many interpreting requests that her days immediately filled up.
Every winter, Cundy travels to Mexico to stay at a house she built with a friend. She relaxes, swims, and, of course, volunteers her time. When she’s in town, she serves at a local deaf school and a domestic violence shelter. She even learned Mexican Sign Language (LSM) to communicate with the people she supports.
Cundy and her husband still live in Edmonton, with their three adult children and four grandsons all nearby. Two of the grandsons are now in traveling hockey programs. When everybody is in town on Sundays, the extended family gathers for dinner.
Soon, Cundy will return to the Gallaudet campus to receive her award in person at the GUAA Charter Day Awards Brunch.
“I’m very honored and humbled ,” she says. “I spent 12 years on the GUAA board and saw many Charter Day Awards given out. I never thought it would be me.”
It’s a fitting recognition for somebody who has devoted so much of their life to uplifting the deaf and hard of hearing community. But it’s not the end.
“Just because I get an award, it doesn’t mean I’ll stop. I’ll keep contributing my time. The real reward is connections, friendship, and community impact.”
Where could an English degree take you? Visit the English program webpage to see Gallaudet’s offerings.
