Community Novice

Jul 22, 2015 3:55:09 PM

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David G. Simmons hails from South Africa, which is considered by most, the Jewel of Africa. He spent his formative years there immersed in many activities that honed his skills in a wide variety of ways. David immigrated to the USA in 1992. He wanted to further educate himself in the fields of multimedia and communications. David did intensive studies into web and graphic design, video and photography. He obtained his Baccalaureate in Digital Media Design, and Masters in Sign Language Education from Gallaudet University. He was the Student Body Government president twice there. He was an omnipresence for a period of time in the arenas of politics, student affairs and multimedia activities. He felt that multimedia design was imperative in communicating and advancing the Deaf community onto the playing field. David achieved his masters degree from Gallaudet University, Masters in Sign Language Education. It is a perfect marriage of technologies with languages. Because he understood Helen Keller's parting words "Blindness separates from things, while Deafness separates from people", he was able to disprove that quotation into his life mission. His belief of a strong presence into technological advancements has enabled him to be at one with the Hearing World in bringing us the accessibility. For his works, David has been awarded Businessman of the Year by Gallaudet University. His journey is seasoned with a plethora of experiences. David did video graphic designs for South African TV commercials. He was instrumental in the creation of the first African Sign Language dictionary in South Africa. He introduced the first two-way pagers to the Deaf community in 1996, which increased our communication modes. This was long before the Video Relay Service, which gave the Deaf community a great leverage in real-time communications. David has been involved with multimedia, sales/marketing, and franchising aspects of VRS. Also with his love of technology and languages, he is enjoying teaching and tutoring ASL students at University of Texas. Now David is continuing to expand his horizons further with multimedia, communications, marketing technologies, and especially languages. With his business acumen and understanding the ins and outs of operating businesses, he has armed himself with knowledge in the areas of accounting, management, and project planning. He has been a consultant to a growing number of businesses aimed at the technical hub. Aside from being a strong presence in the technological/communications field, David admits that the birth of his daughter, Maya made a profound impact on his view of the world and how to best go about helping others become more competent in their station in life. When he has time, he loves to cook, having been an assistant chef at a French restaurant in London in his early years. Like Paul Newman with his food and his love of racing cars, David has come in the fourth place during his rookie season in Formula 500 and fervent Formula 1 pundit. Also notched 3 state yacht racing championships. He enjoys communicating in different 11 languages. He is an avid league soccer, flag football and rugby player; including disc golfing around numerous courses in Austin. As a further testimony to his will and determination, he once won a high school cross-country championship with a broken foot.