BROWNSVILLE, Texas -- Keeping silent about something that affects every aspect of your life isn't easy, but for Maria Cardenas, it felt like the right thing to do.
"My deafness was kept kind of like a secret," Cardenas said. "It was my business and nobody else's business."
Then, University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College President Juliet Garcia announced to the graduating class that one of their own had earned a degree without special assistance, and who was deaf.
For Cardenas, a weight had been lifted.
"I felt so relieved," she said. "Now that I've come out in the open with my disabilities, I've socialized more, and I'm more open when talking to deaf people. I feel more comfortable being part of the deaf world." More...
"My deafness was kept kind of like a secret," Cardenas said. "It was my business and nobody else's business."
Then, University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College President Juliet Garcia announced to the graduating class that one of their own had earned a degree without special assistance, and who was deaf.
For Cardenas, a weight had been lifted.
"I felt so relieved," she said. "Now that I've come out in the open with my disabilities, I've socialized more, and I'm more open when talking to deaf people. I feel more comfortable being part of the deaf world." More...