At Kennesaw Mountain, a two-person team worth cheering for
Larenzo Parker II is a sophomore linebacker at Kennesaw Mountain. He plays with discipline, is drawn to the game’s physical nature and is a scout teamer for the varsity squad.
He has a kind face, loves to fish and reads his Bible daily (the King James version). He is also deaf.
Diana Jarvis is an interpreter for deaf and hard of hearing students and an American Sign Language teacher at Kennesaw Mountain. She is a people person and is passionate about her work and her school, so much so that she extends her commitment past the end of classes each day. At Mustangs football practices and games, she serves as Parker’s interpreter.
They are a team within a team, a student with hearing loss who is clearing hurdles in a sport reliant on hearing ability and an educator who has come alongside him to help.
“Whenever the coach is explaining the plays and he goes into detail about something, she’s right there to explain and I have better clarity of what I need to understand or where I need to position myself,” Parker told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Parker began playing football in middle school, but it was difficult to understand coaches’ instructions without an interpreter, hindering his efforts to improve and know his assignments.
“And now, since he has Miss Diana, he loves it,” Parker’s mother, Andrea, said.
Jarvis has been an ASL interpreter since 2010, working at Kennesaw Mountain since 2022. The school is a hub for the Cobb County School District’s HOPE program, which serves students who are deaf or hard of hearing or have visual or orthopedic impairments. Parker is one of 25 Kennesaw Mountain students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Jarvis said she fell into interpreting but calls it “the best field in the world.” Interpreters tend to be a selfless lot, she said, as it is a job of serving others.
“And there’s always a deaf person doing something cool or interesting and you just get to be part of it,” she said.
People such as Parker. Respectful and hardworking are words Jarvis and coach Caleb Carmean used to describe him.
“What you hear from every adult in the building is, he asks every adult, ‘How are you?’” Jarvis said. “He’s just a good kid. Just thoughtful and thinks outside of himself.”
This past Wednesday, as the Mustangs practiced on their stadium field, Jarvis interpreted for Parker when special-teams coordinator Anthony Washington came over to him to explain his role for the scout team in an upcoming period.
When Parker was doing position drills, she was there to tell him what outside linebackers Chris Walker was saying to him and the group. (Parker can lip read, but that’s more difficult to do if not face to face.)
On game days when Parker is on the field, Jarvis stands by the defensive coordinator, passing along his verbal instructions.
But she also gave Parker his space at other times during practice, sometimes necessarily as she is also the team’s director of operations. As the starters practiced and the backups waited their turn, Parker chatted and joked on the sideline with teammates, occasionally breaking out dance moves.
“We talk about relationships and how vital and important relationships are,” Carmean said. “It’s so cool to see, you go in that locker room, and those kids aren’t treated any differently.”
Carmean has prioritized an inclusive spirit. For instance, he involves the school’s special-needs students with the team. He is also an equal-opportunity yeller, including at one particular linebacker with hearing aids.
“There’ll be times I’m yelling at Larenzo and I get on to Diana that she’s not interpreting loud enough,” he said, levity in his voice. “She needs to be louder to get my point across with more emphasis. But he’s a great kid. He’s an easy one, for sure.”
It hasn’t always been so smooth for Parker. When he was in middle school, other students teased and isolated him, he said, which made him want to withdraw. But since coming to Kennesaw Mountain, having a community of deaf and hard of hearing students has made him feel more included, as has being on the football team.
“He hasn’t let his hearing loss stop him from doing (what he wants to do),” said his mother Andrea. “He’s an advocate for himself.”
A wonderful thing happened for Parker last week, as Gallaudet University – the Washington D.C. school for the deaf and hard of hearing – reached out to begin its recruitment of him. (Naturally, being a teenager, he didn’t tell his mother until Jarvis reached out to her to make sure he had told her the news.)
Parker sees purpose in his condition, which he has had since birth, and an example in pushing his boundaries.
“I want to inspire other deaf people and hard of hearing students to go out and give it a shot and just try, and they can have fun,” he said.
Jarvis has helped open a door. Parker has not only walked through it but wants more to follow.
The biggest wins don’t always show up on the scoreboard.
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