Mansfield Student Impacts Local Deaf Community

MANSFIELD, MA — A Mansfield student suffering from profound hearing loss wanted to make a difference in the local deaf community. Earlier this year, Catherine Fitzgerald taught the Mansfield Police Department American Sign Language (ASL) for her senior project at South Eastern Vocational High School. It only took two days after that first class for Fitzgerald to make an impact.

Last January, when Fitzgerald began teaching the classes, Officer Nicole Boldrighini was among her first students. Two days after the first lesson, Boldrighini was called out for a medical emergency — and it was no routine call. The woman she needed to help was deaf.

"Officer Boldrighini, using ASL, was able to ask,' Are you deaf or hard of hearing?'" Lt. Roy Bain told Patch. "Getting an affirmative answer, Officer Boldrighini was able to follow up with the sign for, 'Do you read lips?'"

The woman told Boldrighini she could, and the officer introduced herself by signing her first name. Bain said the patient was excited that Boldrighini could understand her. The officer told Fitzgerald right away about what happened, and she responded with a shy but proud smile, Bain said.

"Two days in, and she had already made a difference in two lives," Bain said. "Neither the patient nor Officer Boldrighini will likely forget this encounter. The patient needed help. Not only did she get the help she needed, but it came from someone who took the time to establish a human connection with her."

Fitzgerald was quiet in her interview with Patch, with a humility beyond the average 18-year-old. The goal for her started small; it became larger, and she said she couldn't be more excited about it.

"I wanted to combine my love for criminal justice with hearing loss," Fitzgerald said. "That's how this idea was born."

Fitzgerald said she's attending Curry College in the fall and will study criminal justice in hopes of finding a career in forensics. Her passion for criminal justice led to her noticing that local police departments might struggle helping the hearing loss community.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, hearing loss is the third most common chronic physical condition in the U.S. It's more prevalent than diabetes or cancer, so police officers are likely to get calls for deaf patients in need during their careers.

With this information and her own experiences in mind, Fitzgerald reached out to Bain and organized classes for the entire department.

She said each police shift was taught twice. The first class focused on officers being able to sign their names and string together some basic questions, while the second taught officers longer sentences and how to spell out more words in sign language.

"I thought I'd be nervous, but then I got up there," Fitzgerald told Patch. I was calm. I knew what I was doing."

Bain said Fitzgerald did a great job and had the attention of every police officer with ease because "it's impossible not to like her."

"Catherine has a very positive attitude, very driven," Bain said. "They're qualities you like to see in people. She has aspirations beyond her own interest."

Fitzgerald also compiled an instructional book with letters, words, and phrases, and every Mansfield officer carries one with them on patrol now.

Word spread about the books to other police departments. Bain said he received a call from the Manchester, NH, Police Department, asking about the books. When Bain told Fitzgerald about the request, she said she was overwhelmed with joy.

"To be seeing it go to something as big as this is blowing me away honestly," Fitzgerald told Patch.

The work blew Bain away and led to him nominating for the 2019 Oticon Focus on People Awards, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the hearing-impaired community.

"This was something she created," Bain said. "It wasn't something she looked up on the internet ... A young person that did what she did needs to be recognized."

Fitzgerald needs the help of the community to make winning the Oticon award a reality. Voting for the award is open through Sept. 26. Anyone that wants to help recognize Fitzgerald can vote at Oticon's website.

Fitzgerald's older brother Steve said he couldn't be prouder of his sister, and that despite her hearing loss, learning to communicate through sign language has only made the family stronger. For Fitzgerald's first six years of life, there was always an ASL teacher around, and since then, she's become the teacher for the entire extended family.

"They'll see us at a cookout giving a hand sign across the yard and they'll ask about it," Steve Fitzgerald told Patch. "They're definitely interested."

But for Fitzgerald's family, sign language has become much more than just a way to communicate with her. About 15 years ago, Steve Fitzgerald was swimming at a beach in Nauset when his father saw a shadowy figure in the water.

"He thought it was a shark," Steve Fitzgerald said.

The beach was crowded and loud, so Steve Fitzgerald couldn't hear his father yelling to him. His father used sign language to warn him to get out of the water. The shadowy figure, fortunately, turned out to be a seal. Still if it were a shark, sign language might have saved Steve Fitzgerald's life, he said.

"ASL isn't just contained to the hard of hearing community," Fitzgerald told Patch.

The story drives home a big part of Fitzgerald's message. Yes, first and foremost, she wants to help police communicate with the deaf community, but ASL is for everyone.