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Marlena Rauber

Undergraduate Student
American Sign Language
Rochester, NY
Gallaudet University is Marlena’s third college, and she will finally graduate with the degree she always meant to do. Not only that, but she also found her way home. By coming here, you will call Gallaudet home, too.

The best journey takes you home.

She didn’t go to Gallaudet first because she thought it would be better to go to a hearing college. Instead, it only made her want something more.

Marlena found her home here. You will too.

Marlena will graduate in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in American Sign Language (ASL). She hopes to use her experience and this degree to help more people learn ASL in the future. But it wasn’t until after her second college that she realized that this is what she wanted to do. She believed the common stories, myths, and other reasons why more than 30% of our transfer students didn’t want to come to Gallaudet University at first.

Marlena explains how all of our students from any background are welcome at Gallaudet. Whether they are beginning signers, intermediate signers, or fluent signers, they will get the full academic and social experience.

More importantly, Marlena also found her home here. Gallaudet University is a place that many call home, because here, our students always come first in their education and in their journey.
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#IAmGallaudet Stories

Explore the stories of a variety of members of our Gallaudet community.

The #IAmGallaudet campaign is part of The Gallaudet Promise, our ten-year vision to share the story from many different angles and show that there are many different ways to be deaf. These stories are moving, insightful, and often triumphant. These also reflect the importance of the space Gallaudet has offered to nurture the growth of a broad range of successful members of the deaf, hard of hearing, and signing community.

#iamgallaudet