Brian Cristobal, a senior at Holyoke High School has signed his letter of intent to play basketball at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C.  The private university was founded in 1864 and is a school that focuses on the education of deaf and hard-of-hearing students.  Brian was born deaf, enabling him to become more adaptable than others. He never let this stop him.  Basketball has been something he loved to do ever since he was 10, but basketball didn’t start his love of sports.

Baseball was something he played during the earlier part of his childhood but he says he fell in love with basketball the minute he started playing the sport. It is sad to think that he may never get a chance to play one last season with this team that has helped him grow so much, but Cristobal says some of the fondest memories he has with the team are from his junior year.  The team communicated with him through hand signals during games which made being prepared much easier for him along with the help of an interpreter. 

During an interview at the signing, we asked Cristobal why he chose Gallaudet University to be the place where he furthers his academic and athletic career, responding “I wanted something different, one of my goals is to help the deaf community so that athletics and basketball can be available to deaf kids everywhere.”  

Cristobal has undoubtedly faced many challenges in his career but continues to persevere.  Cristobal plans to major in either physical education or athletic training while attending the university.  He hopes that this field of study will bring him closer to his goal of changing the lives of deaf children wherever he plans to use his degree.