John Castrese has not heard a spoken word since he was born; he is deaf.

Castrese played football for the Mean Green from 1996 to 1998 while earning his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology. Now, as a graduate student, the 6’4", 330-pound, 24-year-old works toward a career in deaf athletics.

"I had a lot of fun playing sports in school, and I’ll make sure other deaf kids have an opportunity to excel in it like I did without fear of rejection or failure," Castrese said.

Castrese grew up as the only child in a deaf family, which he said gave him an advantage over many other deaf children because he could easily communicate with his family. To communicate, Castrese’s family uses American Sign Language, the signing system used within the deaf culture that has a syntax different from that of English grammar.

"I grew up with ASL, picking it up like any other child would pick up normal speech," Castrese said. "I picked up new signs everyday, just like a baby would learn new words. I had deaf classes and teachers and learned signs from them too."

Castrese describes himself as profoundly deaf. With the help of a high-tech hearing aid, he can hear sounds but not words. He wore hearing aids daily until junior high, but now relies solely on sign language and some lip reading.

"I stopped wearing it when I started playing sports at either 11 or 12 because it was too much of a hassle," Castrese said. "I couldn’t fit my football helmet on over it and in other sports, I sweat too much and that bothered it."

Castrese attended the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School and the Model Secondary School for the Deaf in Washington, D.C., both under the auspices of Gallaudet University, the only college in the nation exclusively for the deaf. He also went to public school for a few years in junior high and attended the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin.

Castrese started college at Gallaudet, but decided to come to North Texas after football recruiters offered him a scholarship. Recruiters took notice after he was named to the 1994 TAPPS Class 2A All-State Football First Team Offense as a senior offensive lineman. Castrese said he accepted the opportunity because he liked the idea of being close to his family again and having a chance to make more friends in the hearing community.

He also said he had great confidence in both the kinesiology program and NT’s department of speech and hearing sciences. Debbie Henry of the speech and hearing faculty said that Castrese has acted as a role model for many students in his American Sign Language IV class. Other students respond positively to his fluent signing and often ask for his help. Henry said students are also impressed with how "normal and outgoing" he is and that he played football for NT despite his deafness.

Dallas junior Candice Kuesel, who is also deaf, said she took special notice of Castrese’s football abilities. She first met him at a mutual friend’s 21st birthday party.

"I didn’t think he was my type at all," Kuesel said. "When I first met him, he seemed to be a real nice guy, but I didn’t expect him to be so tall and he really looked like a football player!"

After a few rounds of phone tag, Kuesel and Castrese started dating exclusively. They also keep in touch through the Internet, an advancement that Castrese said has opened up communication for the deaf community.

"It was pure fate that I had a bi-week for football and it was my only free weekend of the entire semester," Castrese said. "We flirted and played telephone tag for a while. I remember our first kiss. It was nighttime under an antique streetlight. I could remember that because it was after the Super Bowl XXXII."

Castrese played many sports throughout his life, including baseball and throwing the shot put in track, but football remained his first love.

As part of the NT team, he usually had an interpreter with him to help communication flow efficiently and taught many of the players and coaches sign language. The coaches switched him from offense to defense because of the plays and audible. Defensive line coach Eric Russell said the interpreters sometimes came sporadically, so they had to find new ways to communicate with Castrese.

"It actually was no different than coaching any other player; we just did a lot more demonstrations, explained things more with our hands and had to break out the markers and chalk," Russell said. "John played his heart out for us, he really paid attention and he made some good friends on the team. I don’t think he ever got intimidated, but he did get frustrated a few times by things he couldn’t hear or understand."

Castrese spends much of his time with both hearing and deaf friends. He enjoys going out to eat, playing sports and working on his big blue Dodge truck.

But although he has a lot of friends, never knowing whether new people will truly accept him is what Castrese said is the hardest thing about living in a deaf world.

"I’m never quite sure what people think about me and how they perceive me," Castrese said. "The first time I played for NT, I wanted to be accepted as an equal player and as a friend. I received both. I always tell people step up and accept challenges; don't let anybody put you down."

Fear of acceptance could also put a crimp into a love life, but Castrese has mastered that too. He and Kuesel have dated for more than three years and they plan to marry as soon Kuesel graduates from NT with her degree in elementary education. She, too, has had to overcome challenges, both in school and in her career as a model with the Campbell Agency in Dallas.

Kuesel began modeling in 1999 after entering a model search sponsored by the Ford Agency in New York City at North Park Mall in Dallas.

"I modeled a couple of outfits for Tommy Hilfiger," Kuesel said. "Music was being played so I could barely feel it. We had to follow along the music. I kept hoping I was not off beat or that I looked silly."

Ford sent Kuesel’s tape to the Campbell Agency, where she has worked for the last year.

"Since I was about 13 years old, I had always wanted to be a model," Kuesel said. "So far, my deafness has not made it difficult for me to work. I have a pager, which is a ‘cell phone’ for the deaf. I am able to get in touch with my agents and the people I’m working for by using my pager. I read lips very well and after so many photo shoots, I know how things work and what to expect. Everyone treats me like any other model."

Kuesel said she plans to teach deaf children in elementary school after she graduates.

"I love working with little kids and I believe we need more deaf teachers teaching deaf students," she said. "The deaf students need more deaf role models and I want them to see that deaf people are successful."

Castrese has other big plans for his future. He will earn his master’s by the end of this year and wants to jump right into teaching. He also wants to raise several children.

"I want to bond with my kids and I want them to go to the same schools I went to," Castrese said. "I don’t want any hearing kids; I want them all to be deaf."

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