Get Recognized for Your Spirit
Students at UMW showcase their spirit in numerous ways. Students, faculty, staff, and alumni are proud of their connection to the University of Mary Washington and their spirit is contagious as they celebrate the accomplishments of their colleagues, peers, friends, and University.
David Dutton is passionate about bringing sign language to Mary Washington. The senior historic preservation major organized Talk to the Hand, a club devoted to teaching sign language on campus and raising awareness of issues in the deaf community.Dutton, who was born deaf and grew up communicating with American Sign Language, launched the club in the fall 2008 semester to reach out to students who are interested in the visual form of communication.
"Most of the people coming to the group right now are people who are curious and want to learn,” he said. “They are very enthusiastic about it.”
At Talk to the Hand meetings, Dutton teaches and reviews new vocabulary, talks about aspects
of deaf culture, and discusses issues relevant to the deaf community.
He refuses to let his disability get in the way of achieving his goals. His hearing impairment keeps him from hearing all but low frequencies. Still, he enjoys playing the cello.
A Bealeton, Va., native, Dutton transferred to Mary Washington from Lord Fairfax Community College where he also organized a sign language club. At Lord Fairfax, he was vice president of the Student Government Association and was selected to the First Virginia Team of the All-USA Academic Team. He also received the International Distinguished Member award with Phi Theta Kappa community college honor society. A Jack Kent Cooke scholar, he received the 2008 undergraduate transfer scholarship offered to outstanding transfer students who demonstrate a strong will to succeed.
He chose UMW because of its prestigious historic preservation program.
“This is the school for historic preservation,” Dutton said.
As a youngster growing up in Virginia, he developed an appreciation for preserving the past while visiting historic gems like Jamestown and Williamsburg. He cultivated a fascination for antique machinery while working as a fireman on a friend’s full-size 1880 replica steam rail car and an 18-foot steamboat. He has even tackled a few of his own restoration projects, including a 1955 Toro lawn tractor, a three-ton steam engine, and an old rivet machine.
Currently, Dutton is an apprentice to a pipe organ builder who specializes in late 18th- and 19th-century wooden tracker pipe organs. There, he’s renovating an early 20th-century reed organ.
When he’s not sharing his sign-language skills or passion for preservation, Dutton volunteers for the historic Walkersville Southern Tourist Railroad in Maryland, for which he received a volunteer service award. He’s also digital command control master of the Piedmont Model Railroad Club and vice president of the Antique Equipment Preservation Society, Inc.
After he graduates, he plans to pursue a graduate degree to become a conservator with a focus on industrial machinery.
Wherever he goes, Dutton will continue to organize outreach programs to raise awareness of deaf issues beyond the Mary Washington community.
“The University has allowed me to put forth an avenue,” he said. “It’s been a door of opportunity.”