Deaf actor and advocate John Maucere joined Mid-Pen students and staffulty on Monday, March 28 during an assembly hosted by the school's ASL Club. He greeted Dragons with excitement; his visit was serendipitously timed the day after the Academy Awards. His friend, Deaf actor Troy Kotsur, won an Oscar for his role in the movie "CODA." Kostur directed John in his first film, "No Ordinary Hero: The Superdeafy Movie." 

John also shared the challenging journey he faced in becoming a working actor, including the many times he was hired to train hearing actors in ASL so they could play a Deaf character on a show. It took him 15 years for his first movie to get produced and his second film, "What? The Movie" took three years. As he works on the script for his third film, he believes it will be made faster due to the success of CODA.

“This the golden era for us, and that includes each of you," he said. “If you have the passion or a goal, don’t give up. Just keep going. Who makes the last decision to give up? You do, so don’t give up.”