Due to COVID-19, many clubs have been off and on this past year, and just like many others, American Sign Language (ASL) club has never really had an opportunity to showcase what their club is all about.
Carly Duerre, ‘22 is the president of this club and talks about the history of the club and how far it has come.
According to Duerre, the club has been around for quite a while, but was not very active. She says, “it felt more like a social club.”
ASL club is to help promote the learning and use of American Sign Language.
Not only is Duerre the president of this club, but she is also the daughter of the beloved Mrs. Duerre who is the ASL teacher at Redwood.
As someone who has experience with the ASL community, Mrs. Duerre is, “very glad that this club is active on Redwood campus.”
Mrs. Duerre talks about her excitement for the, “activities that the members have planned [because they will] expose the community to the beauty of the language and hopefully promote more students in the future.”
During Zoom, the club was not thriving. Carly Duerre says, “no one really took it over.”
The mother-daughter duo took the time to “plan out a revamp for the club.”
Carly says working with her mom is great because they can, “constantly come up with ideas together.”
She explains that as becoming the president, she did change the club and she believes “for the better.”
She feels that improving the club was very important because it gives students “an outlet to give back to the deaf community and use their signing skills outside of the classroom.”
Duerre is “really excited about the future of ASL Club and [she] hopes that it continues to grow after [she] graduates.”
The club meets once a month. The next meeting is to be determined.
Brienna Burr
Brienna Burr, '24, is in her third year of writing and editing for the Redwood Gigantea. Outside of journalism, Brienna is a part of Dance Force, CSF, Assisteens Visalia and International Dance. You can reach her by email at brien.bu9038@vusd.us
Tags: asl, ASL club, Brienna Burr, Carly Duerre, clubs & lifestyles, Redwood, redwood clubs, redwood gigantea, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, Roxy Bahr