Mikayla Agregado, a Deaf Studies major who spent part of her teens volunteering at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont, received a $2,500 scholarship from the Fair Housing Federation of Southern California toward participation in CSUN’s rigorous Interpreter Education Program (IEP).
In the IEP, Agregado and other students pursuing the ASL/English Interpreting Concentration in Deaf Studies learn about the interpreting processes and how to work with diverse populations. The Department of Deaf Studies is part of the Michael D. Eisner College of Education.
“The Federation selected Mikayla as the recipient of our scholarship award, because this amazing CSUN student’s childhood exposure to signing, her early academic accomplishments and her natural desire to remain fully immersed in the Deaf community as an adult, made her an ideal fit,” said James Woodson, board president.
The Federation investigates bad faith operators of properties that practice housing discrimination, including senior residential facilities that are not Deaf-friendly, Woodson explained.
“We are hopeful that increasing the number of young ASL interpreters will raise awareness and help reduce Deaf housing discrimination,” he added.
Growing up in Union City, California, Agregado often watched her mother communicate with friends using American Sign Language (ASL). Because her mother previously worked at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont, which is located in the San Francisco Bay area, Agregado started volunteering there during high school and has returned as a summer volunteer ever since. She uses ASL as a chaperone on field trips and during activities with students.
Today at CSUN, Agregado is aiming for a career as an ASL interpreter, possibly in the medical field. She praised the Deaf Studies program for its commitment to serving the community and for working with organizations like the Federation to ensure Deaf tenants have equal housing rights.
“Everything the Deaf Studies program does is with equity and access in mind,” Agregado said. “The program was founded that way and it sets up those connections with the Deaf community and continues to cherish and grow those relationships.”
Flavia S. Fleischer, chair of the Department of Deaf Studies, commended Agregado’s commitment to the IEP and to serving the Deaf community.
“As a Black Filipina woman scholar, Mikayla is preparing for the ASL interpreting profession where her presence and perspective will meaningfully contribute to greater representation and equity within the interpreting profession,” Fleischer said.
Jonathan Webb, IEP coordinator, said the program will equip Agregado and members of her cohort “with advanced linguistic, ethical and cultural competencies essential to professional interpreting practice.”
“Our department is very proud of Mikayla for her academic excellence and leadership,” he added.
Agregado said she and her siblings – an older brother and sister – started learning ASL as children, when their mother taught them the alphabet and other basics. She said her interest piqued when she watched her mother sign with a Costco employee during family shopping trips.
“I think that part – seeing a Deaf person in everyday life, rather than academic life – really got me connected early on, and then in high school I officially took an ASL class,” she said.
CSUN’s Deaf Studies program and its commitment to social justice drew Agregado to the university.
“The professors and everyone graduating from this program are people who will serve the Deaf community, not exploit it,” Agregado said. “This scholarship is important, because the Federation wants to make sure that there are people of color in the interpreting community, to make sure that there are interpreters who can represent Deaf individuals who look like them. By the Federation supporting me, there will be more representation so that Deaf individuals can have access, understanding and successful communication.”