Stellenbosch University student becomes first to graduate with sign language

Ilze Aäron became the first student to graduate using sign language as a medium of learning at Stellenbosch University.

Aäron’s family realised that she had hearing loss when she was about 10-years-old, after discovering that her speech was different.

“Two days after the news, my mom went back to the doctor and asked him what she could do to help me. He suggested that I wore hearing aids to improve what hearing I had left,” said Aaron, in a media statement for Stellenbosch University.

Ilze Aäron has always had a passion for teaching. Following her matriculation, she became a teacher’s assistant at the Dominican Wittebome School for the Deaf, where she learned about teaching deaf children. Courtesy: Stellenbosch University

 

The 22-year-old graduated with a Bachelor of Education in foundation phase education.

“I cannot wait to graduate just to prove that deaf people also have dreams and that we can achieve anything that we set our minds to,” said Aäron, last year.

Done By: Caitlin Maledo