Gloria Nathanson
Fridley, Minnesota
Graduate student
Audiology
Gloria Nathanson is driven. She knows what she wants in life and she's going after it, even if achieving her dreams leaves her sleep deprived in the process. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Nathanson is pursuing a degree in audiology at Gallaudet. Her goal is to give parents and deaf children her own culturally deaf perspective.
Nathanson might be considered a surprising candidate for the field of audiology, but she feels like its a perfect fit. She always knew she wanted to be a doctor, but wasn't sure about which discipline. During her freshman year, many of her friends complained bitterly about the hearing/speech class that was required at the time. Nathanson, however, was fascinated. She knew at that moment that she was meant to study audiology, and she is in passionate pursuit of her goals.
Being deaf doesn't create any conflicts for Nathanson as she works to become an audiologist, but being culturally deaf sometimes does. She cites as her greatest challenge the difficulties inherent in dealing with philosophies, attitudes, and approaches to deafness within the audiology field that contradicts her own beliefs. She deals with this by keeping an open mind. She takes a step back when conflict arises and tries to understand the other person's point of view, without taking it as a personal attack. The obstacles that these attitudes present can be frustrating, but they don't deter her. She dreams big, and believes in herself.
For her Ph.D. dissertation, which she plans to pursue upon her completion of the Au.D. program this spring, Nathanson plans to research language use in audiology. Changes in language, she believes, will lead to changes in attitude. The difference in the use of the term "hearing loss" as compared to "hearing level," for example, could significantly have an impact on both parental and medical approaches to deafness.
When asked what she does with her free time, Nathanson laughed: Free time is nonexistent. When she is not in class, doing homework, and working, Nathanson is raising a family. She has a two-year-old daughter, and another baby on the way, with her husband--her hometown sweetheart from Minnesota.
By Ranti Abel, The Buff and Blue
