“I learned ASL so I could communicate with my student without a translator,” said Ashley Chance, 33, a professor at WKU since 2000. Chance learned American Sign Language from Daniel Lee, a student in one of her University Experience classes. She studied Lingua Italiana dei Segni at the Siena School for the Liberal Arts in Siena, Italy, this past July. ALBERT CESARE/HERALD

At the fresh age of five, Ashley Chance received a finger spelling book from her mother.

“I thought it was cool,” she said with a spark in her eyes.

To her mother’s surprise, she was fostering a dream that continues to grow today.

Chance, a McLemoresville, Tenn., native and university experience and American sign language assistant professor, has been interested in ASL since that day.

Chance received her degree in psychology at the University of Memphis but still had a passion for ASL and deaf culture.

She was able to put her skills into action after earning a position to teach a university experience course at Western.

“I had a deaf student who needed help with his English since it was his second language,” Chance said.

She was thrilled to help him and began to attend picnics and other events with the deaf or hearing impaired in the Bowling Green area.

To further utilize her ability, Chance worked as a graduate assistant for three years and began teaching ASL in spring 2008.

Although her first love was ASL, she has become infatuated with Lingua dei Segni Italiana, or LIS.

Countries around the world use different forms of sign language, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Many forms differ notably from country to country.

During the summer, Chance traveled to Italy for a two-week course at the Siena School for Liberal Arts. She had no doubts about seizing the opportunity.

“I knew no Italian but, like ASL, LIS doesn’t directly mirror the Italian language,” Chance said. “It really helped me remember what my students go through.”

In Italy, Chance noticed the benefits that the hearing impaired in America have.

“It broadened my knowledge base on where we stand on deaf education and hard of hearing services,” Chance said.

Italy does not nationally recognize LIS as an official language. In the U.S., ASL was recognized in the late 1960s, she said.

“In Italy, you don’t see deaf people with hearing aids or interpreters,” Chance said. “Many people were surprised to see us in public practicing LIS. They would literally stop and stare at us.”

Even with this cultural difference, Chance still had a wonderful experience.

She lived in an apartment outside the city with five roommates.

“We became a tight knit group of program participants,” Chance said. “We also had great professors and directors.”

Chance was one of about 50 Western faculty members who have studied or taught courses abroad since last fall.

Teaching abroad has a tremendous impact on Western and faculty, said Jerry Barnaby, the director of Study Abroad and Global Learning.

“There’s almost nothing more effective than traveling overseas and bringing the experiences back to your students,” Barnaby said.

Though thousands of miles away, Chance never felt too far from home.

Chance avoided homesickness with the support of her husband, two golden retrievers, Skype and instant messaging.

“I had so much fun with the culture that the two weeks went by so fast,” she said.

Chance smiled graciously at the thought of traveling to other countries to learn more international sign language.

“I would rather foster LIS study abroad programs here and become fluent in spoken Italian as well,” she said. “But I would never say no to a learning opportunity.”