APPLAUSE] >> WELCOME BACK. OUR WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION CONTINUES. SARA, THIS IS YOURS.3 >> WE ARE HONORING JUSTINA MILES, AN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE OR ASL PERFORMER. YOU MAY RECALL HER REMARKABLE PERFORMANCE AT RIHANNA'S SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW, MAKING HER THE FIRST DEAF WOMAN TO PERFORM AT THE SUPER BOWL. AND HALFTIME SHOWS. IF YOU MISSED IT, TAKE A LOOK. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [APPLAUSE] >> JOINING US TODAY IS JUSTINA WHO IS HERE TO TELL HER STORY. LET'S DO THIS. OKAY. I HAVE BEEN DEAF SINCE AGE TWO AND RAISED BY MY SINGLE MOTHER WHO WAS ALSO HARD OF HEARING. AS OUR MEMBER MEMBERS OF MY FAMILY. SO LIKE OTHERS LEARN ENGLISH OR SPANISH, MY FIRST LANGUAGE IS ASL. IT IS HOW I COMMUNICATE WITH MY FAMILY. AS A PRETEEN, I ATTENDED DEAF SCHOOLS, WHERE, LIKE MOST OTHER KIDS, I PLAYED VOLLEYBALL, CHEERED, RAN TRACK, AND DANCE. MY PASSION FOR MUSIC INSPIRED ME TO BECOME AN ASL PERFORMER AT VARIOUS CONCERTS AROUND THE COUNTRY. AFTER GRADUATING AS A VALEDICTORIAN AT THE MODEL SECONDARY SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF IN WASHINGTON, D.C., I WENT TO COLLEGE AND JOINED THE NURSING COLLEGE AT BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY. IF YOU WANT TO GO, THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEAF CONTACTED ME ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIGN AT THE SUPER BOWL PREGAME AND HALFTIME SHOWS. I SUBMITTED A VIDEO PERFORMING RIHANNA'S SONG "WHAT'S MY NAME" AND WAS CHOSEN TO PERFORM AT THE MOST POPULAR SPORTING EVENT IN AMERICA. I TRULY FEEL HONORED THAT I WAS ABLE TO BRING AWARENESS TO OUR COMMUNITY AND SHINE A LIGHT AS IT HAS LED TO SUCH A GREAT DIALOGUE AROUND THE IMPORTANCE OF ENSURING ACCESSIBILITY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] SO JUSTINA, WE ARE SO HONORED AND EXCITED TO HAVE YOU HERE TODAY. >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE. >> THANK YOU PAYOR GO AND AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE, YOU ARE. SORRY. I AM LOOKING AT THE WRONG THING. YOU HAVE BEEN BIG AND VOCAL ABOUT TALKING ABOUT EDUCATING PEOPLE IN THE CORRECT WAY TO DESCRIBE A PERSON WITH HEARING LOSS. SO CAN YOU CLARIFY FOR US THE PROPER TERMINOLOGY THAT SHOULD BE USED WHEN REFERRING TO A MEMBER OF THE DEAF COMMUNITY? >> YET, SO TYPICALLY, YOU NOTICE THAT A LOT OF US ARE CALLED OR REFERRED TO AS HEARING IMPAIRED, AND THAT IS TO US LIKE A SLUR BECAUSE WE ARE NOT IMPAIRED. WE ARE NOT IMPAIRED TO DO ANYTHING. WE CAN DO ANYTHING, INCLUDING HEAR, SO THE BEST PROPER TERMINOLOGY TO REFER TO US IS DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT WE ARE. >> I ALSO THINK THERE IS A MISCONCEPTION THAT WHEN SOMEONE IS DEAF, THEY CANNOT SPEAK WELL. BUT YOU SPEAK VERY WELL. IS THAT BECAUSE OF THE LEVEL OF YOUR DEAFNESS? >> IT IS NOT BECAUSE OF THE LEVEL OF MY DEAFNESS. IT IS BECAUSE I TOOK SPEECH CLASSES, IT IS BECAUSE OF MANY DEAF PEOPLE WHO TOOK SPEECH CLASSES OR THEY WERE PUT IN SPEECH CLASSES OR THEY WERE BROUGHT UP IN A HEARING FAMILY AND WERE FORCED TO BE VERBAL, SO THERE CAN BE SOMEBODY WHO IS PROFOUNDLY DEAF, CAN'T HEAR NOTHING BUT CAN SPEAK SO WELL, AD SOMEBODY WHO IS JUST A LITTLE BIT DEAF CANNOT SPEAK AT ALL. >> OKAY. >> SO IT IS REALLY NOT ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL SPECTRUM. >BEAUTIFUL SPECTRUM. >> JUSTINA, YOU CALL YOURSELF A DEAF PERFORMER AND NOT AN INTERPRETER FOR THE DEAF. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE TO US? >> YES, I CAN. ED INTERPRETER IS MORE LIKE CERTIFIED AND IT IS A LOT OF PROFESSIONAL AND SIGN PROPER, WHATEVER, BUT THE DEAF PERFORMER, THE DEAFNESS, THE DEAF PERFORMER, IT BRINGS AUTHENTICITY. I'M BRINGING THE AUTHENTICITY, AND BRINGING THE CULTURE, THE HISTORY, EVERYTHING THAT IS INCLUDED IN BEING DEAF. AN INTERPRETER CAN BE HEARING, COULD BE CODA, COULD BE DEAF, COULD BE ANYTHING. WITH A DEAF PERFORMER, I AM SIGNING MY NATIVE LANGUAGE, MY HOME SCIENCE, WHATEVER IT IS, AND I AM BRINGING IT TO THE AUDIENCE. >> AND THAT THAT SHE DID OF THE SUPER BOWL WAS A PERFORMANCE! [LAUGHTER] [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] >> IT WAS! >> THANK YOU. >> WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THE SUPER BOWL, OF COURSE. AS MUCH ATTENTION -- YOU RECEIVED AS MUCH ATTENTION AS RIHANNA DID FOR YOUR PREGAME AND HALFTIME PERFORMANCE. I JUST WATCHED YOU BASICALLY. WE KNOW THAT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE DEAF REACHED OUT TO YOU ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIGN AT THE SUPER BOWL PREGAME AND HALFTIME SHOWS. HOW DID THEY COME TO FIND YOU? >> SO I BELIEVE THEY FOUND ME THROUGH MY VIRAL VIDEOS OF SIGNING AT CONCERTS AND STUFF LIKE THAT, AND PLUS THE DEAF COMMUNITY IS BIG BUT IT IS REALLY SMALL. WE ALL KNOW EACH OTHER. SO WHEN IT CAME OUT THAT RIHANNA WAS GOING TO PERFORM AT THE HALFTIME, I WAS WILDING OUT, I WAS ALREADY GOING VIRAL, JUST DOING MY OWN THING, SO I WAS LIKE, OH, YEAH, LIKE, BRINGING MY NAME UP IN THAT CONVERSATION, SO THAT IS HOW THEY FOUND ME. >> I SEE. >> MAY I ASK, HOW DID YOU PREPARE FOR THAT MOMENT? BECAUSE FOR MOST PEOPLE, THAT IS THE BIGGEST MOMENT OF THEIR LIVES. AND DID YOU MEET RIHANNA AND WHAT DID SHE THINK OF YOUR PERFORMANCE? >> I DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO MEET HER IN PERSON. BUT SHE DEFINITELY DID REACH OUT TO ME, LET ME KNOW I KILLED IT. [LAUGHTER] SENT ME SOME GOODIES TOO, SHE SENT ME SOME GOODIES, SO I BELIEVE SHE LOVED MY PERFORMANCE AS WELL. AND HOW I PREPARED FOR THAT REALLY WAS JUST, LIKE, A LOT OF FOCUSING, BUT I JUST WANTED TO GO BIG. THAT WAS THE GOAL, THAT WAS THE GOAL AND I WAS MOSTLY ROLLING UP MY SLEEVES READY TO WORK. BECAUSE SIGNING SONGS COMES NATURALLY TO ME. I HAVE BEEN DOING IT ALL OF MY LIFE. THIS IS JUST, LIKE, A LITTLE SNEAK PEEK FOR THE WORLD. [LAUGHTER] >> I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE ALL OF THE THINGS YOU DO IN THE FUTURE. BUT RIGHT NOW, YOU ARE CURRENTLY A NURSING STUDENT AT BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY. AND UPON GRADUATION, WHAT IS YOUR ULTIMATE CAREER GOAL? >> MY ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO OPEN MY OWN NURSING PRACTICE FOR DEAF PEOPLE. SO AT A DEAF COLLEGE, I WANT TO OPEN MY OWN NURSING PRACTICE THERE SO OTHER DEAF PEOPLE CAN BECOME NURSES AND HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME TEACHERS FOR NURSING TOO, NOT JUST NOTHING NOW. [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] >> WHAT IS GREAT ABOUT IT IS I NOW SEE IN MY HEAD ALL OF THESE OTHER KIDS WHO REALIZE THEIR LANGUAGE IS ALSO MUSIC. BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS A PLACE, BUT SHE'S HERE. YOU COULD BE HERE, YOU COULD DO THIS TOO, JUST SAYING. >> RIGHT, RIGHT. >> THAT'S RIGHT. CONGRATULATIONS. >> THANK YOU.
