Stephen Laracuente

Played on the Freshmen basketball team in the fall of 1970. The most memorable game was the one where we played the University of Maryland's Freshmen, which included Tom McMillan, Len Elmore and John Lucas. At halftime, we were tied at 52 all. However, the University of Maryland prevailed in the end 102-89. I was not a starter, so I sat on the bench for most of the games. Coach Kennedy let me play the last two minutes of the Maryland game and I got a compliment from Tom McMillan because I got a layup while he was trying to stop me.

I live too far away in Hawaii and the time of the year chosen for reunions are bad for me as a Special Education Administrator (Student Services Coordinator). Our school year at the Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind ends during the last week of May. Since 1975, I have gone back to my roots as a Deaf person, thanks to a counselor (sorry can't remember his name) at Lehigh, who asked me why I didn't go to a college program for the Deaf. No one ever told me there were programs like that. I was just ignorant about who my self identity and what it meant to be Deaf. I've learned American Sign Language (ASL) and now I feel that I've come full circle.