The iPad was my first splurge after I got my first paychecks. I paid off the debt, and I now bring the iPad with me to auditions.

Before a big acting competition, my dad sent me a note that said, 'Define the moment. Don't let the moment define you.'

It's really important to be active in your community, whatever community that is... find allies and find people who you relate to and who make you stronger as a group.

In my normal life, I do not speak with an accent. It's harder for people to realize my hearing loss in everyday life.

I was born in San Antonio, TX, but moved to Lakewood, CO in elementary school. Then, I moved to Valley Center, CA in high school.

I got my first job when I moved to Los Angeles. I worked at a coffee shop for five years and it was one of the best experiences I ever had. It was a bunch of actors covering shifts for each other and becoming great friends.

In the deaf community, in order to play a role of someone with a hearing loss... you have to have hearing loss.