‘Survivor’ Smith Spreads Message Of Hope To Kids

By JEFF MELLOTT

Daily News-Record

PENN LAIRD — Christy Smith is a survivor, even though she did not make it all the way through the CBS television program "Survivor."

Smith, the show’s first deaf contestant, lasted 32 days in its Amazon edition, and finished sixth in the survival contest that resulted in the winner getting $1 million. Her trials in the jungle, however, pale compared to her daily struggles with her impaired hearing and struggles to communicate and feel included.

"It hurts," she said of the discrimination. "You hold on to it. You bottle it up. You wish it was a perfect world," she told Spotswood High School students that included many with learning disabilities.

"If you want to be something," she said, "if you want to dream and realize your dreams, there are going to be barriers. You have to overcome those obstacles," she said with her voice and sign language. She answered questions by the press by reading lips.

Invitation To Speak

The severely and profoundly disabled members of the class, taught by Chris Dodsen, already knew Christy Smith before came to speak to them Thursday. They watched her during the Survivor series. Dodson incorporates the show as a way to teach the students how to assess information and try to predict what is going to happen.

But he took it one step further. Dodson established contact with Survivor contestants, whose pictures help fill a wall of his classroom that also includes items from the show. CBS invited him to New York for the show’s finale. That is when he met Smith and invited her to come to Spotswood.

Dodson invited Smith to come and inspire his students and motivate others to become peer tutors and work with the special education class. The tutors provide Dodson’s students with socialization experiences beyond sitting in regular classrooms. "They are not working on real life situations that are going to add up when they hit 22 and have to go out into the real world," Dodson said.

Junior John Rose, 17, of Massanutten Village spends three of the five days of the week helping out in Dodson’s classroom. Dodson attracted his attention through a similar event. "It made me interested to help with the kids and be a positive role model for them," he said.

He found Smith’s story that someone with a disability could get so far in the Survivor contest.

Facing Challenges

Smith, who grew up in Colorado, had no such role models. Three months pre-mature, she was born deaf. Her parents did not send her to a school for the deaf until high school. Remarkably, she knows how to speak. At a school for the deaf in Washington, D.C., she learned sign language and other things.

"It gave me the confidence and the self esteem that I needed to be able to overcome life challenges," she said. Smith went on to earn a college degree in sociology and criminology. She plans to work with juvenile delinquents.

She was working at a camp for the deaf in Aspen, Colo., when she got her latest challenge. It came from her dad. As a father’s day present, he wanted her to apply to compete on Survivor.

Smith decided to go for it when her father told her it would be challenging and she could serve as a role model. As it turned out, Smith said her decision to apply was not nearly as difficult for officials with the show about allowing a deaf person on the program.

Each day, she wondered what she had gotten herself into but persevered. Communicating was the most difficult task. She tried to feel included. But, she said, everyone faces that everyday. Now, she wants to go back. "I want to raft the Amazon," she said.

Fan Club

Her experience left her father with a deeper understanding of what his daughter goes through. "He was very proud of me," she said. "It made my whole family close," she added.

Other reaction to her being on the show has varied. Some were shocked and amazed, she said. "They’re rooting for me. They got emotionally involved," she added.

But Smith has also heard criticism for not adequately representing the deaf community. Some people have told her that she should have signed on the program. Instead, Smith read lips and tried to communicate that way. "I can’t please everyone," she said. For Smith, it is just one more challenge to over come.

Contact Jeff Mellott at 574-6290 or jmellott@dnronline.com

Andrew Scot Bolsinger can be reached at asbolsin@dnronline.com