Features
When Sara Goico is interested in something, she tries to learn as much about it as she can. That explains her triple major in American Sign Language, Spanish, and linguistic anthropology (that last one she created herself).
Her interests date to elementary school, when she befriended two deaf students mainstreamed into her class. As a high school freshman, after her guidance counselor told her there were no sign language electives offered, she signed up for four years of night classes at the nearby American School for the Deaf.
Goico’s fluency in Spanish will be necessary if she works abroad, something she had a taste of during a study abroad program in Argentina last year, and helpful for communicating with her relatives in the Dominican Republic.
A member of the women’s varsity soccer team and a member of the University Athletic Association’s All-Academic Team for four years, Goico was also an Urban Fellow and Ronald E. McNair Scholar.
“Ideally, I really want to revolutionize deaf education, whether in Latin America or the U.S.,” says Goico, of New Hartford, Conn. “I want to research what’s wrong with the current system, then work for policy change and try to develop new curricula.”
As for her individualized major, she was impressed that an anthropology professor encouraged her to create a program that his department was not providing.
“He was definitely looking at my needs,” she says. “It was all about what was going to help me and my future.”
