Deaf Student Wins State Competition

A deaf student won this year's Poetry Out Loud competition for the entire state of Iowa. Dakota Meyer is a junior at Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs. He took the title at the State Historical Museum of Iowa in Des Moines with his performance of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's A Psalm of Life and Edwin Arlington Robinson's Miniver Cheevy and Richard Cory. The effort earned $200 for Meyer and $500 for his school. Next month, Meyer heads to D.C to represent Iowa in the Poetry Out Loud National Finals. The contest will hand out $50,000 in awards and school stipends. Meyer is only the second deaf student to compete in the national contest. The first came from Oregon four years ago.

The First Deaf Teen to Win Irish Contest

Maggie Donaldson is the 50th to girl hold the title Miss Smiling Irish Eyes. But a more important number than that, she is the first in the Pittsburgh contest to win who was born deaf. Watch a video report below on DeafNewsToday.com from KDKA-TV (includes captions) or read the story here.

And the Winner is...

An app for the deaf won a software competition over the weekend in San Diego. A team from Cal State Northridge beat out teams from teams from USC and UCLA at the SS12: Code for a Cause contest. Teams of five students only got two weeks to come up with the software. The winner is an Android application that can interpret loud sounds like crying babies, sirens, smoke alarms, car horns and then turn them into flashing lights, vibrations and texts. You can even download the app for free on Google Play. Cal State Northridge's 28th Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference was sponsored by Project Possibility, a nonprofit group dedicated to creating open-source software for the disabled.

Spelling Bee Winner

A deaf Texas fifth-grader won her school's spelling bee contest in Wichita Falls. Yaquelin Anaya now moves to the regional contest, which takes place two weeks from Saturday (March 23). She will face 25 other children in the Scripps Regional Spelling Bee--the first time a hearing loss student has advanced this far in this region. The definitions of words she is to spell will be signed to her, though she must spell the word in English, as the other children do. Yaquelin has an cochlear implant attends the Cunningham Regional Day School for the Deaf. Only Spanish is spoken in her home, so Yaquelin is learning three languages: Spanish, spoken English, and ASL.

Miss Deaf International

Natalia Ryabova from Belarus has won the crown for Miss Deaf International 2012. The 18-year-old model competed with girls from more than 20 countries in Ankara, Turkey. She was also awarded the titles of Miss Photo and Miss Europe. You'll find more photos from the contest here.

Miss Deaf Europe

This year's Miss Deaf Europe comes from the Ukraine. Maryana Yatseviyuk is a 21-year-old actress who now holds the titles of Miss Deaf Europe and Vice Miss Deaf World. Her fiancé was among her supporters in Prague during the Miss Deaf Europe contest.

the New Big Idea Contest

A team of NTID students took top honors in a technology competition for their device designed to help deaf athletes. V-Sports won $5000 as part of the New Big Idea contest. Team members include:

• business administration major Jeremiah Thompson
• applied mathematics technology major Tyler Swob
• accounting technology major Michael Della Penna
• engineering technology student Shane Qualls
• hearing and computer engineering student Ken Hertzog

The students tested their prototypes at Rochester School for the Deaf. Team Get Dancin’ won Second place. They pocketed $3,000 for an idea to open a dance studio for the deaf, where teachers would use sign language. The team was made up of:

• graphics design major Nicole Hood
• accounting technology major Nic Shaw
• Master of Science Program in Secondary Education student Samatha Braidi

Third place and $2,000 went to team WaterSocket:

• packaging science major Casey Jaeger
• Matthew Hente
• mechanical engineering major Richie Prilenski

Their idea is to create a waterproof cover for tcochlear implants using a super hydrophobic spray.

The competition was sponsored by ZVRS video relay service.

School Wins Green Competition

The Texas School for the Deaf has won the Global Green USA Green School Makeover Competition. That means the Austin school gets $130,000 toward a green makeover. Nominated by Austin's Francisco's Salon, the school beat out more than 220 other entries from both public and private schools. The renovation plans include: 

Retrofitting light fixtures to allow for energy efficient bulbs and motion-activated lights 

Hands-free faucets 

Collecting rainwater in barrels to be used for watering the school grounds 

Reusable water bottles and a tap filtration system Hands-free hand dryers 

Adding recycling bins to the campus 

 An education program

Deaf Woman Wins Dance Contest

Judy Hodak took home top honors at the Buckeye Ball with the help of her dance instructor, Travis Manero. The contest took place in Independence, Ohio (near Cleveland). The pair performed a rumba-style dance without music to accompany them because they wanted to give spectators a sense of how the 58-year-old Hodak lives. Manero owns part of the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Boardman. Below is a video report from WFMJ-TV. You can read the story here.

Miss Deaf Texas

The Miss Deaf Texas contest takes place tomorrow night at Lone Star College-CyFair in the Houston suburb of Cyprus. The winner will receive the Tara McAvoy College Scholarship. For more information click here.

Miss Deaf International Contest

Miss Deaf Jamaican, Cassandra Whyte, won the 2nd Miss Deaf International 2011 in Orlando last week. There were 20 contestants from countries representing China, The United States of America, Peru, South Africa, Poland, France, Korea, Brazil, Cuba, Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Sweden, Mongolia and Switzerland. First runner-up was Miss Deaf Brazil, while second runner-up went to Miss Deaf France, and third to Miss Deaf Korea. The contest included a talent show, costume, evening gown, and swimsuit portions. Read more about the competition here.

Express Yourself Contest

Here are the winners in the Sorenson Communications annual "Express Yourself" Video Contest. They were announced last night at the California School for the Deaf in conjunction with DeafNation Expo Riverside.

• The Youth category winner is Daniella, from Chicago. She'll get $1000 for her effort.
• The General category winner is Melissa Malzkuhn, from Washington, D.C. She'll get a check for $1500.
• The Sorenson Employee winner is Robert Giuntoli, from Austin, Texas. He will also receive $1500.