Cuesta College ASL Professor Erich Tucker began to lose his hearing at the age of 5, and by the time he was 18, he was fully deaf. Despite going to camps for deaf kids, he struggled to announce that to the world. That was until he met Professor Tom Riggs while attending Arizona State University. Riggs was also an ASL professor and, just like Tucker, also deaf.  

“I hadn’t established my identity as a deaf person until I met him and he guided me through that process, but also told me that I would be a teacher one day, and I had no desire to be a teacher,” Tucker said. 

Tucker was ready to pursue law school. Instead of enrolling in law school, he decided to just sit in on law school classes for a bit to see if he even liked it. After about a week, Tucker realized that law school wasn’t really for him and pursued different jobs. That was until he began substituting at Cuesta College for a while and fell in love with teaching. “My master’s, my graduate program, was a result of getting a job here. The full-time position required a master’s degree,” Tucker said. 

Tucker was able to complete his master’s degree in 15 months and then began to pursue his doctoral degree. “When I was pursuing my graduate degree, which I still am, I haven’t graduated yet, I searched for that deaf-centric, core community,” Tucker said.  

Since joining the Cuesta faculty in 2013, he has been the only full-time ASL professor and has created lasting impacts on the students he teaches. “This semester, he’s having us read this book that really shows the experience of deaf individuals within the time period he grew up in and how hard it was for them. And you know, it shows that you can get through all that stuff,” said environmental science student, Dustyn Park. “Honestly, he’s one of the greatest men I’ve met in a long time, especially at the collegiate level.”

Park’s sentiments about Tucker are shared by other students as well. Physics major Elijah Stieger said, “My friend, who is a current Cal Poly student but previous Cuesta student, took ASL with Erich and was hyping him up so much,” physics major Elijah Stieger said. “And so I take [Tucker’s beginner ASL class] and it’s one of my favorite classes.” 

Starting in July, Tucker will take over the role of Academic Senate President at Cuesta College.  Tucker will be the first deaf Academic Senate President in the college’s history. After the situation that happened last year during the nomination process for Academic Senate president, Tucker felt a pull to step into that role. “My platform is more inclusive and more accessible. I believe Cuesta is getting there, but it’s not fully there. I feel that through the president’s office, I can do more,” Tucker said. 

Going forward, Tucker plans to bridge the gap between the Academic Senate and the students at Cuesta. “I think there needs to be more collegiality with students,” Tucker said. “Students are the primary focus of this campus. There’s been more connection with students, but not enough.”