Vicki Hurwitz
Stands Tall In Her Own Right
There is a cliche – that behind every successful husband is an equally successful woman in her own right. Let us reverse the cliche – behind every successful wife is an equally successful husband in his own right. In other words a successful wife supports a successful husband and vice versa.
The JDCC News featured T. Alan Hurwitz a couple of issues ago. This time around it is Vicki Hurwitz’s turn to be featured.
Vicki is an eminently successful woman at NTID (National Technical Institute of the Deaf in Rochester, N.Y.). Her resume lasts eight-pages long, detailing her background as well as presentations, publications, activities, affiliations and honors.
Well, where should we begin? Let’s start with her present profession.
Vicki is the Student Development Coordinator, an unit of the Center for Student Resources at NTID. In that position she has assumed since 1994, she helps with putting first year students at ease in the new environs of the NTID, the RIT campus, the city of Rochester and most important of all – exposure to deaf culture.
Vicki’s past positions at NTID were varied and interesting and all of which contributed to her professional growth. As an accumulation of her past jobs, she has a strong background in tutoring, records keeping, mental health services, legal advocacy, social work, and education. Her background has made her an individual of varied and diverse interests, all of which have placed her in great stead in her present and demanding position. If one says versatility is Vicki’s strongest suit then that statement is true.
A very involved participant Vicki is, a familiar face at workshops, panels and presentations. Her list of participations, too numerous to mention, is three pages long on that same eight-page vitae.
Even as busy as Vicki is she has found time to coach the NTID Collegiate Bowl team that competed against Gallaudet and CSUN at the 1998 NAD Convention at San Antonio. Even though her team did not win, it was not for the lack of effort. Simply put, the better team (Gallaudet) won even though NTID tried their best.
A measure of a successful person is how much contribution has been made by the individual to the deaf community, outside and beyond the environs of the work peace, meaning the RIT/NTID campus. On this count alone, Vicki certainly reaches out. She has worked with the National Association of the Deaf, Deaf Women United, National Congress of Jewish Deaf, Empire State Association of the Deaf and oh yes, in athletics! Not an athlete, she found time to work with the highly-regarded Rochester Sapphires women’s softball team on their travel arrangements and co-chairing a regional tournament.
Let’s look back at the early roots of the seventies and eighties to see how these have developed Vicki into the person of such a magnitude that she is – volunteer coordinator for deaf volunteers at a nursing home; library story teller at a camp program for the deaf; serving on the board of substance and alcohol intervention services for the deaf; judging Miss NTID pageants several times; a stint as a juror in a court trial; featured on several deaf-related TV programs, etc.
She has not been ignored by her peers. When the Deaf Women of Rochester presented its first Woman of the Year honor in 1994, Vicki was the first recipient. This is just a few of the other honors and awards that have come her way.
Like with husband T. Alan who thrives on keeping busy and keeping involved in a range of activities, we will continue to hear more from Vicki (and Alan) in the years to come.
