Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 7, 1995 TAG: 9507070059
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TONYA WOODS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``Just because I'm deaf doesn't mean I only communicate through signing,'' said the rising junior accounting major at Jackson State University.
Whitestone was the opening speaker for ``Quest for Quality,'' a two-day workshop for sign-language interpreters sponsored by Virginia Tech. Nearly 150 people attended the Hotel Roanoke Conference Center meeting, which was geared toward helping educators in the public school system communicate more effectively with hearing-impaired students.
Representing Alabama, Whitestone was crowned Miss America in September 1994. And since then, she says, one of the more difficult things she has had to face is alerting the country about the differences in people with hearing disabilities.
Not all people with hearing loss use interpreters, but they are needed, she said. As a student and during church services, she has had to use an interpreter at times. But for some, she added, having an interpreter is their only way to communicate with the outside world.
Whitestone lost her hearing when she was 18 months old and learned to speak and read lips. She firmly believes nothing is impossible if a person works hard. And Whitestone is living proof: She was the first hearing-impaired woman in the history of the Miss America pageant to win two preliminary competitions, talent and swimsuit.
Whitestone has created a program called STARS: Success Through Action and Realization [of Your Dreams]. With this program, she encourages youth to remember five points to achieving success: having a positive attitude, believing in a dream, facing obstacles, working hard and building a support team. This program has allowed her to speak out for children with hearing disabilities.
``My biggest accomplishment has been meeting the children and seeing their smiles,'' she said of her reign.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***