SUCCESS AT HAND CSUN'S PROGRAMS ARE TRAINING DEAF GRADUATES TO ACHIEVE GREATNESS.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

Inside the 2000 Miss Deaf America Pageant program is an ad from the California State University, Northridge, National Center on Deafness. It offers congratulations and good luck to eventual pageant winner Lauren Teruel (the former Miss Deaf Illinois), Alexis Marman (Miss Deaf California) and Tami Lee Santimyer (Miss Deaf Florida) - all of them CSUN students.

``You are all,'' the ad reads, ``winners in our eyes!''

Indeed, by now the accomplishments of Teruel, her Miss Deaf America predecessor Amy Wong, Marman and Santimyer are considered noteworthy, but are hardly unexpected. Accomplished deaf or partially deaf alumni are becoming the norm rather than the exception at CSUN.

In addition to the pageant contestants, CSUN alumni include high-level officials at Boeing, Sprint, IBM and Real Estate Investment Trust.

``If you look at 'Who's Who in Deaf America,' most of those people came through here,'' says Dr. Merri Pearson, director of CSUN's National Center on Deafness (NCOD). ``We have people who have high-level government positions, (positions in) community service organizations, advocacy organizations, several school superintendents.''

CSUN has far more programs and opportunities than the bulk of universities in the nation, including a deaf fraternity and sorority, a student government and a political action committee. An average of 250 deaf or partially deaf students attend the university each year - all in mainstream classes with the same academic requirements as their hearing classmates.

``We have a critical mass here,'' says Robert Sidansky, administrator of student services at the NCOD. ``The deaf and hard-of-hearing students here socialize with their own peers instead of being isolated. They have lots of leadership opportunities and lots of support from the university.''

Now in its 38th year of existence, NCOD makes CSUN one of the premier educational resources for deaf students in the United States. Students have access to interpreters, note-taking, real-time captioning and tutoring. The center's special projects division provides students with career service assistance, and helps train faculty in other academic departments.

Pearson also uses the term ``critical mass'' when she talks about the community available to deaf students. ``By that, I mean there are more than just one or two deaf students here,'' she says.

``Deafness is more than having a disability,'' adds Pearson, who is partially deaf. ``It's having a cultural identity. There's deaf humor, theater, dance, language - everything you can think of when you think of what defines a culture.

``And in order to celebrate and learn and grow, quite frequently it's important that you surround yourself with the people who share your cultural heritage.''

Even before she became the fourth student from California State University, Northridge, to be crowned Miss Deaf America, Lauren Teruel figured to have one of those just-out-of-college resumes that practically screams ``well-rounded individual.''

In her final semester before graduating from CSUN with a bachelor's degree in English, Teruel was a full-time student and held down a full-time job at the University's National Center on Deafness (NCOD) as an assistant grant coordinator. She also performed as a dancer with a traveling vaudeville troupe, Defywood.

``And I was on the Dean's List, first time!'' says Teruel, 22, who has been deaf since early childhood. ``It's strange. The busier I seem to be, the better I do academically.''

Busy she certainly is. Teruel has talked about literacy at a national conference and was the facilitator for a satellite class on the topic of diversity. And she's a volunteer storyteller at the new ``Sign Language Story Time'' program at Borders bookstore in Northridge.

This summer was supposed to be a break for Teruel before she would begin applying to graduate English programs in the fall. Instead, she was crowned Miss Deaf America, an honor that will give her a two-year reign as a national spokeswoman for the more than 28 million Americans who are deaf and partially deaf.

``My free time is really going to be reduced,'' says Teruel, at NCOD's offices before giving a presentation. ``While I was preparing for the pageant, I already had some insight into what could potentially happen if I were crowned. So I prepared myself in case it happened. And in fact it did happen.''

She would do well to be prepared, says the departing Miss Deaf America, Amy Wong, who gave Teruel some friendly advice during the months leading up to the pageant.

``I told her it's a lot of work and a lot of responsibility, and that she'll have to maintain a good image successfully,'' said Wong.

Consider it advice, not only from a friend, CSUN alumna and former classmate, but from someone who can truly claim to have ``been there, done that.''

Wong, who has been deaf since infancy, completed her reign as Miss Deaf America 1998-2000 in July. During the past two years she has traveled all over the country, giving speeches and appearing at festivals, graduations and awards presentations.

Fluent in four languages, including American Sign Language, Wong has studied classical ballet and competed in horseback riding competitions. Since graduating in December with a degree in fine arts, Wong has worked in the feature animation department of Disney Studios. Last summer, she was one of only 15 people from across the nation to land a paid internship at Disney.

So, like Teruel, Wong simply goes from being busy to being busier.

``I feel, as a deaf person, you always have to work harder than people who have normal hearing,'' says Wong, 23. ``But that does not give us excuses. I believe that no matter what, you have to work hard.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Sign of the times

CSUN's Center on Deafness and graduate Lauren Teruel - two national success stories

(2) Teruel discusses her platform for the Miss Deaf America Pageant - family literacy - while Dr. Merri Pearson, director of the National Center of Deafness at CSUN, looks on.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer

(3) Lauren Teruel, a CSUN alumna and current Miss Deaf America, uses American Sign Language to answer questions during an interview.

Lexey Swall/Special to the Daily News