Hopeful hands

Professor Wayne Mnich walked into his first-level sign language class at 8 a.m. on a Monday and asked the students a question.\n“I’m getting my haircut Thursday,” he said while signing. “Should I just have them shave it off?”\nWhile Mnich would normally just get a trim, he recently discovered that a relapse of his lymphoma and the chemotherapy treatments accompanying it would leave him without hair in two weeks. \n“I don’t want it falling out all over the place in patches,” the speech and hearing sciences professor said, smiling. “I’m not a punk. Too conservative for that.”\nMnich’s first bout with lymphoma took place just three years ago, when he received chemotherapy treatments just once a month to combat the disease. He was able to beat cancer the first time and is just as confident that he will beat it a second time.\n“We’re going to treat it aggressively,” Mnich said. He will now receive chemotherapy treatments up to three times a week.\nDespite all of this, however, Mnich maintains a positive attitude and demeanor, never letting on that he is in pain or tired, unless of course, he talks about it only to make his students laugh.\nAfter becoming deaf at the age of 8, Mnich has never looked back. He even said he feels sorry for his hearing students.\n“You know how all you hearing people get stressed out when people talk behind your back?” he asked his class. “Well, I can’t hear that, so I don’t get upset like you.”\nMnich’s positive attitude, along with his humor, are things that draw students to him and make them want to learn sign language, said sophomore Brooke Scott.\n“He’s probably one of the most interesting teachers I have ever met,” Scott said. “He has a lot of experience with teaching and in other aspects of life too, and he has a lot of knowledge to pass onto his students.”\nWith his full blushing cheeks and wispy white hair, Mnich gives the impression of a typical grandfather figure. His worn IU sweaters fit snugly around his belly, and his Converse tennis shoes complement his light jeans. \nAlthough Mnich is fluent in both English and American sign language, he learned to sign out of necessity after losing his hearing.\nConsequently, Mnich’s schooling started after his parents first consulted a Catholic priest and a psychiatrist about his deafness, who both told them that Mnich was mentally retarded.\n“They dropped me off at the Indiana School for the Blind first. Oops!” Mnich said. His parents were confused about how to “deal” with their deaf son, and obviously made the wrong choice.\n“Then (they took me to) the Indiana School for the Deaf in Indianapolis,” Mnich said. “I was only 10 years old, going on 11, in the ninth grade, so they (made me) go to public school.”\nMnich was forced into the public school system he so desperately tried to avoid because of his incredible intellect, which placed him three grades ahead in school. After graduating high school at 15, Mnich went on to Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., a higher institution of learning for the deaf. It was there that he gained a lot of the knowledge he uses to teach his students today.\n“I could teach you biology, chemistry or physics if I wanted to,” Mnich said to his beginning sign language class. “I even taught logic in my other life. But you would hate me.”\nIt was also at Gallaudet where Mnich met his wife, Carolyn. Their two sons are not deaf, but both married deaf graduates of Gallaudet. All of their seven grandchildren can hear but have been taught to sign fluently.\n“The appeal here is sign language communication,” Mnich said in an e-mail. “The deaf community is close-knitted, more so due to their ‘handicap.’”\nAs a teacher with more than 48 years of experience, Mnich has “worn many hats,” he said. He has taught and coached individuals of all ages in a variety of subjects. This includes sign language classes at Bloomington Hospital, where he helps doctors understand medical terminology so they can communicate with deaf or hearing impaired patients in the emergency room.\nIn 2001, only three years after Mnich started teaching at IU, he was honored with the Herman B Wells Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding teaching, according to an IU Web site. Mnich said the award is given once a year to only one teacher at IU-Bloomington, and may include anyone from any department. \n“It’s the one award I will cherish above all,” Mnich said. “When I was told I was nominated for it by the students, I cried in the auditorium.”\nThe Herman B Wells award exemplifies everything Mnich stands for, Scott said. His interesting teaching methods combined with his genuine love for his students make him an appealing teacher and person.\n“Everybody can agree that he’s a great teacher,” Scott said. “I actually want to come to class because it’s enjoyable and interesting, even though it’s at 8 a.m.”\nWhile the chemotherapy treatments for Mnich will be demanding and exhausting, he has no plans to quit teaching. \n“I’ve been positive all my life,” Mnich said. “ I’m going to do what I always do. I’m too young to retire.”