Director’s Update: Finding Balance. Gauging Impact. Journeying Together.

Published on September 14, 2020

This is a close-up image of a woman named Stephanie Cawthon. She is wearing a black formal jacket with a reddish pink top inside.

Spinning like a top from one task to the next. Living with uncertainty and stress. Finding the small joys where we can.

Summer was full of anticipation for the new school year. Fall now feels simultaneously like more of the same and new challenges to face. 

For me, I often struggle to juggle continuing to triage short-term COVID-19 responses and having the focused energy needed for long term projects. Finding that balance is a daily process — rarely found, but with a strong and compassionate community, a hopeful possibility.

We here at NDC are with you both in the triage and in the long term mission of supporting deaf people in reaching their education and employment goals.

  • Processing all the new information needed during these times can be a challenge! If you haven’t seen our Back to School Guides yet, I highly recommend them. They represent the very best of who we are and what NDC has to offer. 

  • Connecting with each other is more important now than ever. NDC Live Panels are now a permanent part of our monthly activities! Look out for presentations on critical content from NDC staff and panels of diverse stakeholders from across the country. 

  • The past six months have been pivotal for all of us. We want to recognize what we have all shared and learned during this critical time. NDC’s new impact report, Pivoting in a Pandemic: An Urgent Response to Deaf Students in Crisis, provides a summary of key lessons learned and our focus moving forward. We are grateful to our funders at OSERS for the opportunity to be a part of your journey. 

I hope you can find balance in your own space this fall. As always, please do reach out and let us know how we can support you in both the short and long term goals of #DeafSuccess. 

 

Sincerely,

Stephanie W. Cawthon, PhD
Director 
stephanie@nationaldeafcenter.org | @swcawthon 

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Tags: coronavirus, COVID-19

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