Welcome to our series, #WHYoming, brought to you in partnership with Commerce Bank of Wyoming.
We are highlighting people throughout our communities and asking them a few questions. We want to learn a little about them and see why they chose this great state to raise their families, start their businesses, or simply to ask — Why Wyoming?
For this month’s #WHYoming, I had a chance to have a conversation with Jacob Galvan, a Green River High School senior. Jacob has lived in Wyoming since he was a young kid, and has been in Green River since he was in the sixth grade, and he loves being part of this community.
Jacob was born deaf, and he is currently helping students at Lincoln Middle School learn how to sign the National Anthem. He takes pride in sharing his experience as a deaf person with his community, and believes it is important to increase exposure for those with disabilities. Jacob is also on the GRHS football team, which he sees as a big family, is a member of the National Honor Society, and is a very talented welder, which he plans to follow into a career. It was so fun getting to interview Jacob, and I’ve met few people who radiate as much kindness as he does. I hope you enjoy getting to know Jacob as much as I did.
Jacob, how long have you lived in Green River? Where are you originally from?
I’m originally from California, I was born in Long Beach. My parents decided to move. They didn’t really like the city, they were really young, and they just felt like it was too dangerous, so they wanted to move somewhere safer. So, I moved to Green River in my seventh grade year. I lived in Rock Springs before when I was in second or third grade, and went to school in Rock Springs until sixth grade. Then my parents wanted to move to Green River because they were able to find a really nice house that was big and had room for my family.
What do you like most about being on the Wolves football team?
I really love my football coaches, they’re awesome. They do a really good job teaching us. They also really took the initiative to learn sign language, and I just really enjoy being with them. I feel like that football is more of a family, and we just get to play games together, so it’s awesome.
I’m on special teams, like kick off return, and I sometimes play defense. And I get the opportunity to help out with junior varsity, so that’s really fun. I really enjoy working with the younger kids and hanging out with them. I just really like interacting with everyone, and it’s really important to me to be a good role model to the younger kids.
What are some of your other hobbies?
I really love hanging out with my family. We do a lot of family-like events, like we watch movies. My mom always cooks a bunch of food and everything, so it’s always a really good time. I also do a lot with NHS (National Honor Society). Currently, I’m actually teaching kids at Lincoln Middle School how to sign the National Anthem. It’s kind of fun to be able to show sign language to everyone and get them exposed to sign language. They really seem to enjoy it.
Can you tell me a bit about your experience being deaf?
So, I was born deaf, and I feel like it’s a little bit hard. I definitely rely on my interpreter a lot. One of the benefits is I can sleep through anything, obviously, since I don’t hear anything. But technology’s been wonderful because it does connect to my hearing aid, like for my phone, but I do rely on close captioning for TV and movies and stuff like that.
I got my cochlears when I was three years old, and my parents had to pay quite a bit of money for them. It’s kind of been a struggle too, because I have to get them remapped and connected again, and they break kind of often. I actually have two cochlears but I don’t use one of them because it’s not mapped quite right, so it has kind of a weird sense of sound. My other one I can hear pretty well with it and it seems like normal for me.
Is there anything you want people to know about what it’s like being deaf?
I really do think it’s important to make sure that people know that deaf people are not something to be scared of. I think it’s really cool that we are able to connect with people in so many different ways to communicate, and I do think that is awesome that here, especially in Green River, I’ve had a lot of people that want to learn sign language, or they’re willing to work with me.I get to go work with students to teach them sign language.
What is something unique about you?
So, actually, I have a birth mark on my eye. So it’s pretty different. It was really funny because one time I was taking a picture and I thought my eye looked weird, like, you could see some brown, and I almost forgot I had a birth mark.
Being a senior, what are your plans after graduation?
After I graduate, during the summer I would love to go to Western and do their welding program, and also maybe get a job too. After I finish that program, I want to work at the mines and just really set up a good life there.
What do you appreciate most about our community?
I really like the small town here, I feel safe here. I feel like when I go to a big city that maybe I could be taken advantage of, not being able to hear someone. I also feel like here people are a lot more giving, a lot more accepting, and I feel like it’s just really peaceful here. We live in a very beautiful area, the cost of living here is actually really good, and I really enjoy actually just walking around and checking everything out.
If you could give one brief piece of advice, what would it be?
Respect will get you everywhere. I think that it’s really important that people are respectful to each other because you don’t know what people are going through. I feel like, especially being a deaf person, people always have kind of an agenda, or they have a preconception that I can’t do something, and it’s not until people meet me and they realize that like, ‘oh, he actually can do that,’ so I think just having respect and being open to people is really important.
What is one, or a few, of your proudest accomplishments?
I am definitely proud of helping out with my mom and my family. I am proud of the fact that I can get up and help my siblings, and I help cook. I am also proud of helping spread exposure for disabled people. There are smaller accomplishments, like I’m really proud of my weightlifting record. I am proud of myself for being more independent.
Where is your favorite place to hang out in Sweetwater County?
I like being at home. I like hanging out with my mom and my brothers and sisters and kind of hanging out like, we all can get along and communicate really well. I enjoy looking at the stars at night from my backyard. The cold is not really my favorite but I love being outside.
If you had all the time and resources necessary, what’s a skill you would want to learn?
I think it would be so cool to do paragliding. I think that would be amazing.
How would your friends and family describe you?
I think that I’m very helpful. I enjoy helping people, I really like going out of my way to help others. Also, I’m very respectful. I think they would say I’m funny and I really enjoy working hard and kind of just trying my best at everything.
Who would you want to play you in a movie about your life?
I don’t know, I would definitely just wanted it to be a deaf actor. That’s important to me.
Why do you enjoy living in Wyoming?
It’s gorgeous outside, the summers are great here. I love snow, like, it’s pretty, but I don’t love the cold that comes with the snow, but I love the snow. I also really enjoy how when you go to a restaurant, people know who you are, or they know what you’re gonna order, and everybody just knows everybody.
This community series is brought to you by our great sponsors at Commerce Bank of Wyoming.
