Summer 2004

Jeremy Sasser, e-commerce program coordinator

“Moving to Seattle is one of the best decisions I ever made in my life,” says Jeremy Sasser, using sign language while an interpreter translates his comments to English. “I just fell in love with Seattle through the community and what it had to offer me.”

Jeremy spent his childhood in California and Oregon. At age one, Jeremy’s family discovered that he had profound hearing loss. Growing up, he attended both public schools and oral schools for deaf children. Oral schools do not use American Sign Language (ASL), but rather follow a curriculum focusing on lip-reading and speech. Sometimes Jeremy would attend an oral school in the morning and public school in the afternoon. “No wonder they put me to bed early,” he observes.

As a child, Jeremy underwent two surgeries to reattach his retinas. During these surgeries, doctors noticed irregularities in Jeremy’s retina and diagnosed him with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The combination of RP and hearing loss means Jeremy has Usher’s syndrome, the leading cause of deaf-blindness.

After attending a public high school in Oregon, Jeremy entered Western Oregon University where he majored in computer science. It was there that he was introduced to ASL and the interpreting process. “At that time, I didn’t know ASL, so I started learning during college,” he explains. “I also experienced interpreters for the first time. I had to learn ASL and how to use an interpreter at the same time.”

He continued his education at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York State. He graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Information Technology and then worked as an intern with an Arizona-based Internet company. Moving back to the Northwest, Jeremy continued working as an intern by telecommuting from his home computer in Gresham, Oregon. His internship quickly evolved into a full-time job as a programmer.

Jeremy remained in the Portland area working for Internet start-ups, but he felt more and more isolated by the lack of a Deaf-Blind community in Oregon. He started making trips to Seattle and learning more about the Deaf-Blind community here. It wasn’t long before he decided to make Seattle his home.

Initially, Jeremy worked at the Lighthouse producing canteens. His time in production lasted a mere six weeks, however, since a brand new e-commerce position was posted shortly after he arrived. His computer skills and information technology expertise made him a perfect match for the position, and he started work as e-commerce program coordinator on December 1^st, 2003.

As program coordinator, Jeremy has been instrumental in establishing a business card ordering process on the Web. This development allows federal employees to custom order business cards through our e-commerce website www.lighthousestore.org.

In addition to this site, dedicated to serving federal customers purchasing a wide range of blind-made products, Jeremy manages two other websites for the Lighthouse. The www.seattlelighthouse.org site gives an overview of the Lighthouse mission, history, and services along with archived newsletters, links to recent media coverage, an on-line giving button, and extensive blindness resources.

Meanwhile, www.deafblindlh.org, especially designed for people with Usher’s syndrome, holds information about our nationally recognized Deaf-Blind program. Of the Lighthouse’s presence on the Web, Jeremy says, “it’s an ever-expanding program.” He adds, “it’s a continual learning process. I like to learn about new technologies and I like working on websites.”

His other passions include reading and exploring the Northwest. “I love to read books. It’s one of my favorite pastimes. I love to take long walks and check out the community.” Jeremy also enjoys traveling. He is planning a trip to New York this June to attend a performance by Nalaga’at, an Israeli Deaf-Blind stage troupe.

Jeremy cultivates a keen interest in linguistics and is knowledgeable about a variety of languages. In addition to two years of ASL, he has studied French and German. While he regularly uses a form of sign language known as Pidgin Signed English (PSE), which combines elements of ASL and English, he continues to improve his ASL skills. “Even though I use PSE for everyday uses, I try to brush up on my ASL because the Deaf-Blind community uses ASL.”

Today, Jeremy is an active part of Seattle’s Deaf-Blind community. “I’m a board member of the Deaf-Blind Service Center. I am also a member of Washington State Deaf-Blind Citizens. I go to Deaf-Blind community classes pretty consistently.” Jeremy praises Seattle for its commitment to offering support for people who are Deaf-Blind. “Seattle is just service oriented for Deaf-Blind people. There are so many services for Deaf and Deaf-Blind people.” 

This summer, Jeremy will be attending the Seattle Lighthouse Deaf-Blind retreat in Seabeck, Washington on Hood Canal. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet people who are just like me. In Oregon, I felt very alone. When you go to Seabeck, there’s a very cohesive feeling. You socialize, you learn from each other. It’s fantastic!” He adds that “it’s also a wonderful opportunity for support service providers and interpreters. We share with them, they share with us, and they learn to really cherish this culture.”

Jeremy also makes a point of attending Deaf-Blind community classes, hosted by the Lighthouse at Seattle Central Community College throughout the academic year. Community classes offer a completely accessible environment where Deaf-Blind people can learn and share information. These classes are made possible in part through contributions to the Seattle Lighthouse for the Blind Foundation. “Community class is great. You can get information, and communication needs are matched. I know that when I become totally blind I can go and have my communication needs matched by someone who knows tactile sign language.”

For Jeremy, the classes are a part of the Deaf-Blind community that he treasures here in Seattle. “We have a support system here. We are here to support each other. There are great networking and social opportunities in Seattle.”

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