Bring Me That Horizon

For some, traveling to 11 countries, including Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Brazil, and South Africa might take a lifetime to achieve. Destiny Yarbro did it in a semester.

Aboard a ship, Destiny and her Semester at Sea program classmates took classes on international topics with faculty. At each port, students continued their classes in the new country, experiencing first-hand what they studied on board.

Destiny, who is Hard of Hearing, had an arrangement with a friend and fellow Brigham Young University student, who provided sign language interpreting. The pair sparked a strong curiosity and interest in sign language and Deaf culture among those aboard the ship as well as the nationals of the countries they explored.

Destiny also found opportunities to meet Deaf individuals and visit Deaf schools while abroad. These exchanges called her attention to the lack of education access among the Deaf community, an issue that she aims to change through her own non-profit organization.

"I truly feel that Semester at Sea not only opened my eyes, but provided me with the knowledge and experience needed to change the world. It is so exciting!  I am not afraid to dream big, and now, I am not afraid to make these big dreams happen.  I have seen the world; now it is the time to “Bring That Horizon” to all Deaf people around the globe."

Read Destiny's blog, "Bring Me That Horizon."

Read an article from Semester at Sea about Destiny.

Below: Destiny traveled to the Deaf school in Manaus, Brazil to learn more about sign language linguistics and language barriers. In the video, Destiny is counting to 30 in American Sign Language, and Jackson is counting to 30 in Brazilian Sign Language.