Song, Joyce

Born in Korea and deafened at age 2; her uncle abandoned her at a doctor's office at age 4. An American family adopted her, and she came to America in 1983. Attended the American School for the Deaf two years before moving to Minnesota, where she was mainstreamed using cued speech. Her adoptive family experience was not a happy one, leading to some psychological problems for her especially during the period 1991-1993. After leaving and breaking with her adoptive family, she transferred to another high school while also undergoing psychological therapy and discovering her deaf identity, graduating after two years there in 1995. Made a return trip to Korea to visit her natural family, missing her mother who had died in the meantime, then came back to the U.S. to enter college.1995-2000, graduating National Technical Institute for the Deaf with a BFA in graphic design. She planned to take further schooling. Co-founded a church ministry to the deaf.