Deaf ESL Students - Gallaudet University

Looking Back
A Deaf Adult
Remembers
Coming to America
Odyssey Interview
Fanny Yeh-Corderoy du Tiers, now a
distinguished graduate of Gallaudet
College, dancer, artist, wife, and mother
of twins, remembers arriving in the
United States after a two-year hiatus in
Brazil. Originally from Taiwan, Fanny
and her older brother, John, became
the only Asian students in Kendall
Demonstration Elementary School. It
was 1962 and she was 11 years old.
ODYSSEY: How was your reception?
Corderoy du Tiers: (smiling): While we
waited to go to our first class outside of
the principal’s office, little children
walked by, saw us, and went crazy. They
pulled at the corners of their eyes,
tucked their bottom lips under their
upper teeth, and said, “Bah! Bah!” I
think they were playing as if fighting
the Japanese in World War II. It was
terrible! I looked at my brother, and
he looked at me. Oh no, I thought,
what have we come to? We were so
depressed! Then the next class came
by. The students were older, closer to
our own age. Their reaction was entirely
different. They gave us the thumbs
up sign and made us feel welcome. I
looked at my brother again, and he
looked at me, and I was like, “Hooray!”
We were so relieved.
ODYSSEY: How were you able to come
to the United States?
Corderoy du Tiers: My father was a civil
engineer. He would not have been
allowed to leave Taiwan but he pleaded
a special circumstance—finding a
better education for his two deaf children,
my brother and myself. The government
let him go. We moved with a
third older sibling, but my two oldest
brothers were not allowed to leave.
They had to stay in Taiwan to graduate
from the university and perform military
service.
ODYSSEY: Did you come directly to the
United States?
Corderoy du Tiers: No, my family went
first to Brazil because my uncle lived
there, but there were no good schools
for the deaf there. I stayed home and
fretted. At that time, my eldest sister,
living in Washington, D.C., helped us
to explore options in deaf education in
the United States. She saw an article
about Gallaudet College and wrote to
Leonard Elstad, who was then
Gallaudet’s president. Dr. Elstad
promised us a place at Kendall School.
So John and I moved to Washington,
D.C., lived with my sister, and went to
Kendall.
ODYSSEY: How did that first day feel?
Corderoy du Tiers: I was so excited to
finally be here and to be starting
school.
ODYSSEY: How was class?
Corderoy du Tiers: Well, at first they put
me with eight- and nine-year-old kids
in third grade. I was so humiliated. I
knew I had to study hard and get out
of there!
ODYSSEY: Did you have support?
Corderoy du Tiers: Oh, yes. Especially my
teacher, George Johnston, who was
deaf. He was always helping me with
vocabulary. Some older students made
fun of me and my brother. For example,
they would laughingly ask me what
a “CAT” was and I would have to look
up the word in my English/Chinese
dictionary.
ODYSSEY: How long did you remain
with the younger children?
30 Spring 2000