063-Annual-Report-2023-v13 Final pages - Flipbook - Page 16
A ClemsonLIFE student makes history. Twice.
Georgia native Taylor Freeman knew she belonged at
Clemson University when she was in eighth grade, even
while surrounded by Bulldog fans. The call to be a Tiger
came through her love of football coach Dabo Swinney
and Taylor’s family noticing the blossoming ClemsonLIFE
program.
Taylor followed her dreams and recently finished her
junior year with ClemsonLIFE while making history in
the process. In Fall 2023, she became the first Clemson
student with Down syndrome to complete an American
Sign Language course.
“I loved it,” Taylor said of the experience. “Having the
students and volunteers help me made me very happy.
This class felt like my family. I always wanted to take
this class from the moment I was accepted into the
ClemsonLIFE program.”
A connection was formed through a program volunteer
and a Sigma Kappa sorority sister after they invited ASL
lecturer Tasha Goodrich to the spring 2023 ClemsonLIFE
talent show. Since then, Taylor has been surrounded by
a distinguished group of ASL professors. Clemson is one
of 172 four-year institutions that fully recognize ASL as a
unique and complex language.
With help from professors, classmates and ClemsonLIFE
first-year instructor Courtney Dukes ’15, Taylor thrived
in the course and remains an active member of the ASL
Club. She was even on the field with the club to sign the
national anthem in Memorial Stadium before the Tigers
upset Notre Dame in early November 2023.
Taylor’s mother, Ayoca Freeman, said her daughter
thrives in the Clemson community. As Joe Sherman ’34
wrote more than 50 years ago, Ayoca believes there is
“something in these hills” that has bonded Taylor to the
area.
She is a member of the Sigma Kappa sorority, is an avid
Clemson Football, Basketball and Volleyball fan, attends
church on Sundays, and, of course, enjoys the occasional
treat from Starbucks. Taylor pledged Sigma Kappa
because of how active the sisters are in the ASL Club.
Taylor worked with a creative team from Mattel and
the National Down Syndrome Society to create a doll for
Barbie’s latest Fashionistas line. By sharing her story and
insights, Taylor was able to help creatively design the first
ever Black Barbie with Down Syndrome.
“My sisters have taken me under their wings,” she said.
“Their motto is, ‘one heart, one way.’ I truly feel like I am
one of their sisters.”
With graduation on the horizon, Taylor intends to live
independently in Clemson. Why?
“This is home!” she said.
15 | College of Education
