The Journey ofMegan Majocha

Inspiring story transformed intoan interactive storytelling website

PhDMegan Majocha

Megan was born in a third-generation Deaf family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

She attended a primary school for Deaf children and went to a mainstream secondary school.

Her parents believed learning to work with interpreters would benefit her later.

During secondary school, Megan worked closely with interpreters for six years, developing signs for scientific terms.

Balancing this effort with her studies was a significant challenge in her teens.

In August 2019, Megan began her PhD in tumor biology at Georgetown University in Washington DC.

During her research, she faced significant challenges leading to burnout.

As she prepared to defend her thesis in her fifth year, Megan encountered a critical problem - communicating her research.

This was a pivotal moment in her PhD, a challenge she had to overcome.

Megan developsnew signs to presenther research

Discovering the Problem

After conversations with fellow deaf PhD students, Megan realized that each student used different signs for the same scientific terms because many signs did not exist in the American Sign Language (ASL) dictionary.

Developing New Signs

Megan had to create her own signs for the scientific terms and built a team of interpreters. These interpreters worked closely with Megan to understand her research and coursework.

Ensuring Accurate Representation

Megan needed to ensure her scientific ideas were communicated accurately by the interpreter because a single misused word could make her appear uninformed.

The Main Challenge

The main challenge was developing signs that followed the official ASL grammar rules. She spent a significant amount of time developing the signs but wished to focus solely on her research work.

“All of this hasbeen a lot of work.”

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