There are many ways to communicate, one of them being ASL (American Sign Language)— a language that uses forms of hand movements and gestures and facial expressions to communicate with the deaf.

Liberty’s ASL club was founded by Lillian Nelson on Dec. 5, 2021. ASL’s next meeting will be on Monday, April 25. 

ASL average attendance ranges from about 5-6 people. If students would like to join the club, they can come to Mr. Range’s classroom 400 after school. The Google Classroom code is “yfxxomj.” All students are welcome to join. 

At ASL’s last meeting, four people showed up. Students in the ASL club learned how to sign family members including mom, dad, brothers, sisters, cousins, niece, nephew, aunt, uncle, grandma, grandpa, growing up, kids, and students in ASL were reviewed of how to sign letters and numbers.

“I had joined an ASL club in middle school and wanted to join one here but there wasn’t one so I just made one,” Nelson said. 

ASL club has also brought in an interpreter to help the club better learn the language. The club members are all learning together as most know minimal ASL.

When meeting with a deaf person, you would first fingerspell your name and they would then give you a sign name which consists of a sign describing you starting with the first letter of your name. Students made their own sign names at the first meeting of ASL. 

Since the group’s first meeting in December, they have learned how to sign various things such as animals, foods, numbers, letters, how to sign family members, etc. 

Aubrie Carpenter is the interpreter in the ASL club. Carpenter remembers loving ASL since she can remember, and started to self-teach herself when she was in second grade in high school. Carpenter took ASL 1 and 2, but also has external experience.

“I really learned it when I served a mission for my church and was assigned to an ASL mission in California. So I lived in the deaf community for 18 months,” Carpenter said. 

Carpenter is still involved with the deaf community in her church. When Carpenter isn’t involved in being an interpreter, she is busy being a massage therapist and is on her way to opening her own massage school in a year and a half.