Sassouni, Orkid

Born at Tehran, Iran; deafness discovered at age 3. Attended regular school until her family escaped to Europe during the Islamic revolution of 1979. The family eventually settled in the U.S., and she attended regular American public schools as an oral student, graduating Great Neck North High School in 1990. News coverage of the 1989 Gallaudet Deaf President Now protest made her realize she was not the only deaf person in the world, and after high school graduation she decided to enter Gallaudet University, in opposition to family, religious and cultural beliefs that did not allow an unmarried Persian girl, let alone a deaf one, to go away to college. Graduated Gallaudet in 1995 with a bachelor's in art history and museum studies. Became involved with photography, taking courses at the Parsons School of Design, and spent one summer as an intern under noted photographer Annie Leibovitz. Worked as a gallery lecturer (in ASL) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum's only deaf employee.