Clover native receives Clemson American Sign Language award

Published: April 21, 2010

Hunter Eakes image by: Dede Norungolo

CLEMSON — Hunter Eakes of Clover, a Clemson senior majoring in elementary education, received the Gallaudet/Clerc Award for Excellence in American Sign Language from the department of languages at Clemson University.

The award is given to a student who demonstrates outstanding expressive and receptive skills in American Sign Language (ASL), understands and appreciates deaf culture and promotes the awareness of American Sign Language both on and off campus.

Eakes was surprised to receive the award because he is deaf and using sign language to communicate is a way of life for him. He assumed he would not qualify for the award.

American Sign Language professor Alton Brant said it was Eakes’ contributions to Clemson’s American Sign Language Club that earned him the recognition.

“First and foremost, Hunter's American Sign Language skills have improved immensely over the past three years. His expressive and receptive abilities in ASL exemplify what we hope to see in all our students,” said Brant. “In addition, Hunter was co-president of the Clemson American Sign Language Club. His leadership was instrumental in bringing the upstate deaf community together with students at Clemson University.”

Eakes was born hearing but became deaf after a case of chicken pox when he was 6 months old. A high fever destroyed the hair cells in the cochlea of his inner ear. At the age of 2, he received a cochlear implant, making it possible for him to have a limited range of hearing.

Being one of the few deaf students on Clemson’s campus poses some unique challenges for him, Eakes said.

“Sometimes I get nervous that some people don’t accept me for who I am,” he said. “Some people, when they see a deaf person, they’re not really sure what to do. I try to let them know that I’m deaf, but I’m just like anybody else.”

Eakes said one-on-one conversation is fairly easy for him. But in larger groups or classroom settings, things become more difficult, as he has a hard time distinguishing between voices. He turns to Clemson’s Student Disability Services office for help. The office provides interpreters who attend class with Eakes and translate the lecture into sign language.

Eakes said he chose elementary education as his major because he wants to help deaf children. He hopes to teach at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind in Spartanburg, where he has worked as a tutor and a resident assistant in the boys’ dorm.

Eakes is an active member of Clemson’s American Sign Language Club, helping organize events such as silent dinners and seminars to help connect club members to members of the deaf community in and around Clemson. Eakes also has worked as a tutor at Vickery Hall for student-athletes taking American Sign Language classes.

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