MassBay Staff Member Inspires American Sign Language T-Shirt to Promote Inclusion and the Deaf Community

Lisa Dunn, a dedicated member of the Admissions team at MassBay Community College since 2014, has inspired a meaningful initiative to promote inclusion and raise awareness about the Deaf community. Lisa, who is deaf, has been a driving force in sharing MassBay’s welcoming spirit with students and the broader community.

Last spring, Lisa attended a Worcester Red Sox (WooSox) game during their Deaf and Hard of Hearing Awareness Night, an event celebrating fans in the Deaf community. That evening, Lisa purchased a t-shirt featuring the WooSox logo written in American Sign Language (ASL). Lisa proudly wore the shirt and, inspired by its impact, shared the idea with her colleagues. Together, they envisioned creating a similar t-shirt to represent MassBay’s support for the Deaf community.

“It was important to show the students and the wider community that MassBay is a place where everyone belongs,” said Lisa. “We offer ASL classes, interpreters for Deaf students, and employ Deaf staff like me. We are an inclusive community, and I thought, why not celebrate that on a t-shirt?”

The final result was a MassBay ASL t-shirt that features “MassBay” spelled out in ASL across the front, the College logo on one sleeve, and the phrase “I love you” in ASL on the other. The t-shirts were an immediate hit. “Staff members wear them outside of work, and people often approach them to ask where they got the shirt or to learn more about the College. That’s exactly what we hoped for – sparking conversations about MassBay,” Lisa added.

In early fall 2024, MassBay’s Marketing and Communications team submitted the ASL t-shirt to the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR) District 1 Medallion Awards. Competing in the “logo wear” category, which highlights creative and innovative college apparel, the t-shirt earned MassBay a Gold Medallion Award, their highest honor. One of the judge’s commented, “Sometimes you just see something, and it is just wow. This is WOW! Great job.”

Lisa, a graduate of Newton North High School and California State University of Northridge, is a proud resident of Sherborn, MA. Her contributions to MassBay’s mission of inclusion and accessibility continue to inspire her colleagues and the community.