The typical sounds of a basketball game were there – the thump of a bouncing ball, the squeaks of quick-moving shoes and the periodic blares of the buzzer – but University of Virginia professor Greg Propp was moved to tears by the sights.
He saw players in unison, who high-fived one another after good plays and helped each other up after tough plays. He saw the joy in them as they made steals, grabbed rebounds and hit shots. He saw their constant communication.
Most of all, Propp saw a former student thriving in a new environment.
Cam Lexow, a UVA soccer player from 2019 to 2021 and a 2022 graduate of the University, is in her first year attending and playing basketball for Gallaudet University in Washington, the world’s only liberal arts college for students who are deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind.
A number of hearing students are also enrolled at Gallaudet, where, for example, there’s opportunity to pursue a bachelor’s degree in interpretation. Lexow is seeking her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. She’s the only hearing student-athlete on the women’s basketball roster.
She speaks to her classmates and teammates through her hands and expressions. A product of UVA’s American Sign Language Program, which Propp directs, Lexow has the skills to not only function among her deaf contemporaries, but to learn and grow from them.
Propp’s tear-filled eyes saw it crystal clear the first time he watched Lexow play in a Gallaudet uniform.
“I told my wife this,” Propp said, “I got choked up. You know, I don’t have kids, but here’s someone who I was able to have a little to do with what she’s doing now. And she’s out there, obviously enjoying it and enjoying being a huge part of the community.”
It’s company Lexow chose with conviction.
From UVA to Gallaudet
Lexow majored in psychology at UVA and minored in ASL and Deaf culture. She limited her graduate school search to colleges with programs designed for students seeking to become counselors for deaf and hard of hearing people.
