Update: Reservations for this event are now closed. The event will be held in the Lambert Recital Hall.
Deaf mountaineers who made history with Mount Everest climb visit MC on Oct. 29
Oct. 1, 2024
Scott Lehmann and Shayna Unger, mountaineers who have made history and headlines as the first Deaf athletes to reach the summits of many of the world’s highest mountains, will be the featured guests of the 2024-2025 Witherspoon Lecture Series at Maryville College. Their presentation, titled “Climbing Over Obstacles,” is scheduled for 7 p.m., Oct. 29, in the Harold and Jean Lambert Recital Hall of the Clayton Center for the Arts.
The event is free and open to the public but with limited seating.
With Maryville College celebrating the 50th anniversary of its American Sign Language-English Interpreting major this academic year, the Witherspoon Lecture Series organizers wanted to plan an event that would inform (or remind) people of the path that Maryville College blazed with the program, commemorate the impressive milestone and bring together the hearing and Deaf communities.
“Maryville College was the first college or university in the country to offer a four-year degree program in American Sign Language interpreting,” said Will White, associate professor of American Sign Language-English interpreting. “The 50th anniversary of this major is significant because this is the program that started it all. And it started with people who demonstrated a deeply profound sense of service to people who are Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard-of-Hearing.
“Inviting Scott and Shayna to share their inspirational story at Maryville College pays homage to that long commitment of ensuring – through ASL interpreting and other advocacy – that the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard-of-Hearing communities have more access and opportunities,” he continued.
Presenters on track to climb Seven Summits
Lehmann and Unger were born profoundly deaf and communicate using American Sign Language (ASL). They met as teenagers at the Maryland School for the Deaf and went on to Gallaudet University, both earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Washington, D.C.-based school. When not adventuring, they are K-12 educators.
Lehmann was the first to try climbing. In 2012, he and friends tried to climb Mount Rainier in Washington but had to turn back for lack of training. Because no resources existed for deaf climbers, he built expertise through YouTube videos and conversations with other climbers through his smart phone and paper and pen. Unger soon joined him and, in 2015, they climbed their first peak together: Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro. By 2020, they became the first all-deaf team to summit Aconcagua in South America. In 2021, they made history again by becoming the first all-deaf team to reach the summit of North America’s tallest mountain, Denali. In 2023, Unger became the first Deaf woman in the world, and Lehmann became the first Deaf American to reach the summit of the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest.
Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Denali and Mount Everest are four of the “Seven Summits,” which is the term climbers have given to the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. With their “Seeing Beyond” project, the couple have a goal to climb all seven and be the first deaf climbers to do so. They have three summits to check off: Mt. Elbrus in Europe, Puncak Jaya in Oceania and Vinson Massif in Antarctica. According to the couple’s website, “Seeing Beyond” is about more than climbing. The project aims to inspire a new generation of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing adventurers and change global perceptions of their community. It is also about bringing education to their community and closing the huge gap in traditional learning that is inaccessible.
Outdoor brands such as Scarpa, Hestra, Mountain Hardware, YETI, Clif Bar & Company and Black Diamond are behind them. Their story and successes have been chronicled by ABC News, People Magazine and CNN.
Multiple audiences, multiple lessons
Throughout the day on Oct. 29, the deaf mountaineers will visit a few Maryville College classes and meet several students, faculty and staff. Prospective students, especially those interested in the interpreting program, are invited to the evening program.
“I would like to see our current and prospective interpreting students to come away from this event with a sense of deep understanding about the challenges that members of the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard-of-Hearing community have to contend with on a daily basis and how they can become essential elements for providing information access to these communities,” White said.
White pointed out that the couple’s story and passions align with Maryville College’s Mountain Challenge program and its Fit.Green.Happy.®️ initiative that emphasizes the benefits of physical activity, environmental sustainability and the outdoors to a person’s happiness and mental well-being. Through new student orientation and other activities, all Maryville College students are introduced to these programs. Lehmann and Unger will be visiting Mountain Challenge staff members and a health and wellness class during their visit.
Stephanie Proctor, assistant professor of American Sign Language, stated that everyone can benefit from learning the mountaineers’ story.
“For Deaf individuals, Scott and Shayna provide an inspiring example of overcoming barriers in both the outdoor world and society. Through their groundbreaking mountaineering feats, they are dedicated to making the outdoors more accessible for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community,” she shared. “Hearing individuals attending their presentations will gain deeper insight into Deaf culture, communication challenges and the importance of inclusivity in all spaces, fostering greater understanding and collaboration across communities as allies.”
Witherspoon Lecture established in 2022
The Oct. 29 presentation is the third event of the Newell and Mary Lee Witherspoon Lecture Series, which the alumni couple established at the College through an endowment in 2022. The Witherspoons, alumni of the classes of 1952 and 1956, were motivated to endow a series that would support the mission and build the reputation of the College by bringing interesting and thought-provoking speakers and artists to campus.
The purpose of the lecture series is to strengthen relationships between members of the campus community and also between the campus and the wider region by creating opportunities to learn about and discuss topics that are important, timely and of broad interest. Events and guest speakers will strive to express the value of differing views, while seeking common ground and acknowledging the dignity in all.
Funding for interpreting services will be provided by the Jackson Lecture Series Endowment.
