About Mrs. Vigil

I was born in Michigan but have spent much of my life in other countries. When I was 5, my family moved to Guatemala to learn Spanish. I was enrolled in a Guatemalan kindergarten while my parents attended Language School. After a year of language school, we moved to Panama, where we lived for five years. My parent were missionaries, and we lived in a city where there was only one other American family. I got to learn Spanish by being completely immersed in the culture. My time in Panama taught me to love different cultures, foods, travel, and languages.

 

We moved back to the States when I was twelve, and because of my time overseas, most of the friends I made were people from other countries. I loved hearing their stories of their cultures and traditions. My passion for languages and travel continued to grow as I went through high school.

 

I went to Ozark Christian College and majored in American Sign Language because it was a language of a people group that has been largely marginalized. No matter what language is the spoken language of the country, Deaf people are often forgotten because they look like everyone else, but can't hear what's being said. 

 

I got my degree in American Sign Language, got married, and then my husband and I moved to Uganda, East Africa. There my husband established an audio and visual production studio to teach Ugandans a trade in the production world, and I worked with deaf students at a local college. We lived there for eight years. 

 

We've now been back in the States for a while, but my passion for languages and people of other cultures remains. I am thrilled to be able to share that with the students here at Flagstaff.