RIT | National Technical Institute for the Deaf | Parent News

November 2025

Happy Thanksgiving, RIT/NTID Parents and Families

On behalf of RIT/NTID, we wish students, parents, and families a joyful thanksgiving and a holiday season filled with joy, gratitude, and relaxation. We are truly grateful for staff, faculty, and families for their dedication, support, and meaningful connections to the RIT/NTID community as well as their hard work in making RIT/NTID a very special place for students.

SAISD Red Ribbon Week featured Clyde Catron

Person standing and speaking in front of a large screen displaying artwork and text, in a lecture hall with wooden walls and chairs.

On October 29, RIT/NTID’s Substance and Addiction Intervention Services for the Deaf (SAISD) hosted “Street-Hardened, Heart-Led: How I Rose from Rock Bottom,” a presentation by Clyde Catron as part of the Red Ribbon Week campaign to raise awareness of drug-use prevention.

This event captivated a packed audience of students, faculty, and staff in NTID’s CSD Student Development Center. Catron, who is deaf, discussed significant challenges he faced, including homelessness, incarceration, and his experiences with drug and alcohol use disorders. Now in recovery, Catron shared his story with the goal of reducing the stigma of substance use disorder and inspiring others seeking help.

NTID Interpreting Career Fair

RIT/NTID’s American Sign Language Interpreting Education Department (ASLIE) teamed up with the NTID Student Interpreting Association to host the annual Interpreting Career Fair in Lyndon Baines Johnson Hall on Friday, November 2, 2025. Interpreting students and recent graduates had the opportunity to meet, connect, and network with interpreting organizations and learn more about potential practicum, internship, apprenticeship, and employment opportunities.

Deaf Culture Day at Rochester Museum and Science Center

Interactive science demonstration at an indoor event, featuring a medical training mannequin on a table with equipment, while participants observe and engage in the activity.

On November 8, RIT/NTID partnered with Rochester School for the Deaf (RSD) and Rochester Museum and Science Center (RMSC) to host a Deaf Culture Day event, a celebration of Deaf culture and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) achievements with tabling from local Deaf community organizations.

The event featured American-Sign-Language-friendly activities, including a meet-and-greet with scientist/sonographer Elizabeth Ayers, science experiments, displays, star shows, and more. In addition to raising awareness of Deaf culture and creating an accessible experience for deaf attendees, the event was an opportunity for fourth-year students from RIT/NTID’s sign language interpreting program to gain valuable experience by providing pro bono interpreting throughout the museum.

“The 39 Steps”

Stage performance featuring actors in period costumes, with a two-level wooden set and a sign with captions reading 'Chief Inspector: Murderer!!!' above the stage.

NTID Performing Arts presented “The 39 Steps,” a fast-paced comedic thriller, based on the movie by Alfred Hitchock, that follows Richard Hannay, an ordinary man caught up in an extraordinary adventure.

The show, which ran from November 7 to 9, in NTID’s Panara Theatre, offered audiences a mix of spies, romance, suspense and non-stop laugher. The performances were fully accessible, featuring actors who used American Sign Language and Visual Vernacular, while hearing actors performed in spoken English.

The show was directed by JW Guido, visiting assistant professor, and Gabi Nocciolino, lecturer, both in NTID’s Department of Performing Arts.

40^th Ebony Club Banquet

Group photo of many individuals gathered in a spacious room with white pillars and framed artwork on the walls.

On November 8, NTID’s Ebony Club hosted its 40^th anniversary banquet in RIT’s University Gallery with students, alumni, and community members there to honor and celebrate the club’s history and legacy. The celebration featured music, food, a photo booth, and an atmosphere for socializing and reflecting on the club’s 40-year history of community building.

Established in 1985, Ebony Club is a student-led organization that aims to serve the community and foster knowledge and understanding of individuals of Black heritage, their identity and culture. The club also offers students with opportunities to develop leadership skills and provides a space for learning and socializing and learning.

30^th LADC Banquet

Large group of people posing for a photo indoors with colorful decorations, tables with food and drinks, and a big screen showing a video call in the background.

The Latin American Deaf Club (LADC) hosted its 30^th anniversary banquet November 15 at RIT’s University Gallery, with students, alumni and community members celebrating the club’s history.

Prior to the banquet, NTID Alumni Relations offered a campus tour and hosted a small reception. Alumni enjoyed seeing the changes to campus and visiting The Street, an interactive exhibition space on the second floor of NTID’s LBJ Hall, to view the items and photos honoring LADC’s 30th anniversary.

Formerly Hispanic Deaf Club (HDC), LADC is a student-led organization that provides programs and works to raise awareness and educate the community about Latine culture.

NTID Summer Programs 2026

Three individuals seated at a table in a classroom setting, wearing orange lanyards, with notebooks, water bottles, and tablets on the table.

The NTID Student Life Team and Youth Programs are hiring current students to work during 2026 NTID summer programs, including Explore Your Future, Health Care Careers Exploration Program, Tech Tigers, and more. Students interested in summer work can apply for leadership positions, including:

Summer Directors: These students supervise student leaders during the summer program, working closely with the NTID Outreach Consortium and NTID Student Life Team. Students with strong experience in teamwork, management, leadership, logistics, and scheduling are encouraged to apply.
Group Leaders: These student leaders are responsible for a small group of summer program participants, providing guidance, supervision, and ensuring the participants adhere to the program schedule and expectations of behavior. They connect and interact with program participants, sharing experience, and encouraging them to participate and make memories.
Community Leaders: These students assist in administrative duties, plan downtime activities, help run logistics, and ensure that all student leaders and program participants are supported at all times. During the day, they organize and prepare, and in the evenings, they run fun activities to keep program participants engaged.
Night Leaders: These students supervise the dormitory where program participants sleep and assist in morning routines. They are responsible for ensuring the program participants’ safety in their rooms at night.

Visit the NTID Student Life Team website to apply

STP Summer Jobs Information Session

NTID’s Summer Transition Program (STP) is hiring current RIT/NTID students for these positions:

Program Assistants
Program Assistant Coordinator
STP Resident Advisors
Office Assistants
Teacher Assistants

Students can attend the STP Summer Jobs Information Session on Thursday, December 4, from 7 to 8 p.m., in Lyndon Baines Johnson Hall Room 2950 to learn more about these positions. Encourage your student to attend this event, explore summer employment opportunities, and discover how they can make an impact with STP.

For more information, contact Alex Jones, program coordinator, at aajstp@rit.edu. Visit the website to learn more about the program.

RIT Hockey ASL Day – December 5

Crowd of hockey fans in stadium seats wearing orange and black team jerseys, making the sign for tiger in ASL.

RIT/NTID invites students, staff, faculty, and alumni to the annual RIT Hockey ASL Day on Friday, December 5, in the Gene Polisseni Center. The RIT women’s team will take on the Delaware Blue Hens at 3:00 p.m. and the men’s hockey team will take on the Canisius Golden Griffins at 7:05 p.m.

NTID President Caroline Solmon will do the ceremonial puck drop at both games. The National Anthem will be performed in American Sign Language, and there will be a demonstration of the Tiger fight song between the first and second periods. A video featuring RIT hockey players signing common hockey terminology will be shown during the games.

Admission to the women’s hockey game is free. Tickets for the men’s game are available for purchase in the box office and online at rittickets.com. If students plan to attend the men’s hockey game, please use promo code NTID2025 for a discounted rate.

Film Screening: Deaf Santa Claus

Person dressed as Santa Claus standing with garlands and icicle lights, raising both hands in a festive outdoor setting.

Join NTID Alumni Relations at the Dryden Theatre, located at the George Eastman Museum, for a screening of the film “Deaf Santa Claus,” featuring Deaf educator Charles Graves, who becomes a Santa Claus using American Sign Language to create accessible and positive holiday experiences for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. The film highlights Graves’ journey from small-town Texas into the corporate world of Big Santa, where he achieves his dream of becoming a professional Santa Claus and ensures that holiday experiences are inclusive for the Deaf community.

Date: Saturday, December 6, 2025
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: 900 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607

Tickets are available for purchase here. ASL interpreters and open captions will be provided. Encourage your students to attend the film screening and learn more about Graves’ remarkable journey as a Deaf Santa Claus.

For more information or questions, contact Amelia Hamilton-Ketchum, assistant director of student-alum mentoring and special projects, at akhoea@rit.edu.

RIT Sports Clubs

RIT has a wide variety of club sports for students, including those offering competitive and non-competitive athletic activities. Club sports help students find their fit, develop skills in their chosen sport, and stay active.

RIT has nearly 50 different club sports, and each year, approximately 2,000 students are participating, with 96 percent of students reporting that club sports improved their mental and physical health.

Read the “RIT University Magazine” story to learn more about club sports and athletes who share their experiences.

RIT Thanksgiving Break Guide

The university will be closed beginning at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, and will reopen on Monday, December 1, 2025.

The RIT Department of Public Safety will remain open 24/7 and can be reached at 585-475-3333 or via text at 585-205-8333. For emergencies, please call 911.

If students plan to stay in Rochester during the Thanksgiving break, visit the Thanksgiving Break Guide website for information about campus programs, service schedules, dining locations hours, travel information, and things to do in the area.

Stay Connected

To stay in touch with other parents and up to date on current events, join our Facebook group for parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing and interpreting students at RIT/NTID! More resources are available on the NTID Parents and Families page. Other resources also are available on the RIT Parents and Families page.