2014 - A Summer That Will Never Be Forgotten: Our Experience with a NTID

Summer Intern

By: Dana Fuerst

Sr. R&D Lab Chemical Technologist

Organics, Polymers, & Organometallics (OPO), Core R&D

The Dow Chemical Company

In February, I was called down to my leaders’ office. It was a quick phone call saying

“When you have a few minutes, please stop down.” I have to admit, I was a more than a little

nervous since I had NO idea what it was going to be about. When I entered his office, he

handed me a résumé and explained that he wanted to offer a summer internship to a student

from Rochester Institute of Technology, NTID.

We’ve had summer interns in our group & lab before but what the NTID meant was

something that I knew nothing about! NTID – or National Technical Institute for the Deaf – has

a collaborative effort with Dow Chemical that places deaf and hearing impaired students in the

workplace for summer internships. Their students are enrolled in programs that span all areas

of S.T.E.M., so Dow Chemical is a perfect partner for this!

As my leader continued to explain to me about the program and the candidate he was

interested in hiring for the summer, the wheels in my head began spinning – How will we

integrate a deaf or hearing impaired person into the lab? How will we communicate? How will

he be perceived by others? Will he fit in? How will we handle an emergency situation? HOW

WILL WE COMMUNICATE???

As the questions entered my head, I immediately started thinking of solutions – I know

how to sign the alphabet. We have white boards in the hallways – we can get more in the

offices and labs. Flashback to what my supervisor was saying (yes, he was still talking). I

reassured him, “Yes, we will make this work. I know how to sign the alphabet. I know a few

other signs that my kids learned in daycare. I don’t know about others, but I will talk to them

and find out. It’ll be fine!” A flash of relief showed on his face and he said that he would call on

Monday morning to make the offer and he would let me know if the candidate accepted.

After I heard back that the candidate had accepted our offer, I needed to have a

conversation with my team. I explained that we would have a summer intern working in our

lab again and explained that he is deaf. I explained, “We need to come up with some ideas of

ways to communicate with him. I can sign the alphabet and a few other signs like ‘please’,

‘thank you’, etc.” My team immediately started offering suggestions. One person said they

used to know how the sign the alphabet. Another suggested we get a whiteboard in their office

and some small ones for in the labs. “We can use Sharpie markers to write on the glass of the

hood doors & doors in the lab!” I am sure a flash of relief showed on my face as I saw my co-

workers coming up with the ideas. Whew – we could make this work!

Fast forward a few months…our preparations for Carlos’ arrival were in full swing.

Additional visual fire beacons had been installed in specific labs and the co-op office. Testing

for magnetic fields had been completed in several areas of the labs. A large whiteboard was

installed in the co-ops office and a smaller one was ready to go in the lab. We had the

workstation that would allow for video conferencing and had installed & tested the ZVRS (or Z5,

for short). I had been in contact with the instructor that scheduled American Sign Language

(ASL) classes for the Dow Disability Employee Network (DEN). We had scheduled the group

“Working Together” seminar. There were laminated copies of the ASL alphabet around the labs

and offices. I’d sent a link for a great ASL website I’d found (www.lifeprint.com). I had installed

a voice-to-text app on my phone. Others in the area had been informed that we would have a

deaf summer intern working in our lab. YES, we were going to make this work!

There was a shared nervous excitement between me and my 7 year old daughter as we

waited at the airport. She held a handwritten sign that she had made. As soon as Carlos

approached us, he pulled out his phone and started texting a message and showed me. I

grabbed my phone and typed a reply. A few signs, gestures, facial expressions, and clumsy

attempts (on my part) to reply and we were on our way!

We had arranged for an interpreter for orientation at the Employee Development

Center (EDC) for Carlos’ first morning at Dow. Once the orientation was done, we were on our

way without the interpreter – security for a badge then off to the building for a tour and the

beginning of the MyLearning trainings. A break here and there, introductions to co-workers

(again some clumsy signing on my part) and a LOT of whiteboard writing! We were making this

work!

One sunny afternoon, I was returning to our building after a meeting in another area –

the building had been evacuated! I got out of my car and scanned the groups of people

gathered in the shade of the trees and sitting on the grass chatting while they waited for the

“All Clear”. There was my team…our plans and group discussions flooded my mind – “make

sure that if an evacuation occurs…” - someone made sure Carlos was there too! Relief…

Fast forward to the end of Carlos’ eleven week summer internship. After participation

in the ASL classes that were offered through DEN, personal sign conversations with Carlos, a

couple ASL classes that Carlos led for us, conversations using Jabber, texting, whiteboards and

sticky notes, typing word-for-word for our weekly update meetings, having ASL interpreters

come in for safety meetings, larger group meetings, and tours…we made it work!

My personal experience: I got to see my team embrace and experience a new culture –

deaf culture - without going anywhere! To learn a new language – some to the point that

they’d begun to sign to each other even when Carlos wasn’t in the room! Another has decided

he will study ASL as his foreign language for his undergrad degree. One thing that we all

noticed – when we sign, we don’t speak! We will whisper or mouth what we say so Carlos can

read facial expression and lips while we sign – then we repeat ourselves aloud for the others in

the room! There were times that Carlos’ voice was the loudest in the room.

Carlos’ experience of Michigan and Dow: A summer internship where he was able to

learn how to use analytical equipment in the High Throughput Research (HTR) labs. He was

able to assist HTR equipment operators in preparation for their runs. He was able to shadow

synthesis and purification techniques for some of the cutting edge technologies that Dow is

researching. He was able to present to a group of ~30 co-workers on HTR FTIR - and did an

awesome job! Most importantly, he was able to experience Dow culture at it’s best – diversity,

inclusion, embracing, empowering, positivity – the Dow Human Element!

“Dear Michiganians,

I really want to honor and thank people who treated me really awesome in Michigan!! Honestly, I thought Michigan is boring state until y'all proved me wrong that Michigan is fun state!! Y'all showed me that y'all are really proud of being Michiganians, which inspired me alot. I totally understand how proud y'all are. I am really pleased that y'all shared your guys pride with me! I have been learning alot through values, friendships and loyalties from y'all! I am really glad that I made a right choice to come here for internship since I gathered a lot of experiences in Michigan. I can't imagine what I would do without y'all in Michigan! I really thank y'all for all your times with me for summer, which I really appreciate!

Dana

Sean

Jordan Amanda

Christina

Tyler

Brook

William

Tomas

Jeff

Chad

Daniel

Bradley

Timothy

Steve Tina August and others, which I don't remember names. Forgive me!”

-Carlos’ Facebook post from his last day at Dow Chemical for his summer internship in Organics, Polymers, & Organometallics (OPO), Core R&D

For more information on the collaboration between NTID & Dow Chemical, please see

http://www.ntid.rit.edu/news/ritntid-honors-dow-zvrs-and-kresge-outstanding-employers.

Group tour of the Dow 1616 Building Materials Engineering Center (MEC) – pictured with the

Team USA Luge designed by Dow MEC

Volunteering at the Bay County Habitat for Humanity Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative

Dow Core R&D - Organics, Polymers, & Organometallics (OPO) Group “World Cup” Soccer Event