Rodney Voris:  

Life My birth-parents were divorced when I was about 5. My mom remarried into poverty. My step-dad and mom were determined so we moved to Orange, Texas. We started out in the projects, a step up for us, then moved to the old naval base in Orange, another step-up. Joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Moved to Dallas, a huge step up. Mom and step-dad both began working. In 1966-7, we bought our first house on 5th street and thought we had made it. Attended James Bowie for 2 years. Attended Adamson from 1969-1971, GO LEOPARDS! Lettered in tennis, planned to become a cheerleader, and become proficient in Spanish! During the summer of 1971, our family was notified kids were to be bussed to schools to aide segregation problems. All our friends either moved away or lied about their addresses. We stayed and attended the court ordered schools. I was one of 2 white seniors in a class of 311. My 3rd year Spanish teacher had a strong Texas accent, I dropped out of Spanish. I dropped out of tennis my Senior year and joined Distributive Ed. so that I could work part-time. I was named valedictorian of Roosevelt High School. I won a 4 year scholarship to the Airforce Academy through some political maneuverings. For a variety of reasons, I quickly left the Academy, it just wasn't for me. I went to Brigham Young University in Utah for 2 years, paying my own way. Became a full-time missionary for 2 years, serving in Washington, D.C working with deaf people. I became proficient in American Sign Language and worked many years as an interpreter for the deaf. After being a missionary, I married a deaf woman I had met while in school. We struggled to earn a living for a long time, moving often trying to find a right niche. Over the 19 years of marriage, we had 4 children spaced about 2 years apart and moved about 39 times. In 1987, I earned an AAS degree while working as a Professional Interpreter for the Deaf at RIT/NTID in Rochester, NY. In 1988, I decided I couldn'...Expand for more