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By JOHN SENA | The New Mexican
Teacher started program to connect sign language and Spanish-speaking families
Some students remembered his thick mustache and bushy eyebrows while others said they won’t forget his laugh. But Ralph Sedano’s legacy will run deeper than that.
Sedano, who was deaf, coordinated Santa Fe Community College’s American Sign Language interpreting program.
The longtime faculty member also was responsible for starting a trilingual interpreting program that taught students to work with Spanish-speaking families who also needed an American Sign Language interpreter.
Sedano, 58, died in a motorcycle accident in July. Students and other college staff members shared their memories about him Friday at a memorial service at the college.
“He worked tirelessly to keep this program alive,” said Debra Sommer, chairwoman of the college’s world languages department. “He touched the lives of so many people, and he will be sorely missed by all.”
Terry Vinson, a student of Sedano’s who teaches in the ASL program, said Sedano wanted to develop a program that would help Spanish-speaking families with deaf children.
Because their children are taught English and ASL, the families often had a hard time communicating, but the trilingual program trains interpreters to bridge that gap, Vinson said.
Sheila Ortego, president of the college, said she had known Sedano for years. “He was truly a pioneer and so passionate about this field,” she said. “I’m proud of this program; I’m proud of what Ralph did.”
The school didn’t always do the best job of accommodating deaf students, Ortego said, but Sedano always was there to remind officials that more needed to be done. “I will miss Ralph being here to fuss at us and keep us honest,” she said.
Sedano’s students and friends, most of whom are not deaf, said he worked constantly to help them understand the deaf culture, whether in class or through examples in his own life.
John LeDoux, another faculty member, told how he once talked to Sedano about moving to the Rancho Viejo subdivision where Sedano lived. “One drawback was that the houses were so close to each other,” LeDoux said. “We didn’t want to know all our neighbors’ business.”
LeDoux said Sedano simply pointed to his ear and shrugged. “He said, ‘I can’t hear. It doesn’t bother me,’ ” LeDoux said.
Cisco Vigil, a student in the interpreting program, said Sedano “taught me that the deaf world and the hearing world are equal.”
Sedano died on a trip to Mexico in an accident that happened when he and other riders came across a cow in the road. His daughter, AnnaMarie, who was there at the time, said Sedano died while doing what he loved.
“When Ralph left us, he was happy,” LeDoux said. “And we should all be so lucky.”
Contact John Sena at 986-3079 or jsena@sfnewmexican.com.
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