My world changed in 1999 when I received my cochlear implant. All at once, I felt I was immersed in a totally different language. It required more auditory and speech classes to effectively use my new technology to listen and speak. The process frustrated me at times, but I loved hearing new things like leaves rustling, noisy dishwashers, and consonant nuances which define words, such as the difference between "time" and "dime." It was tough, but I needed to succeed.

Campbell Elizabeth "Cami" Garland, in a recent essay.

It was only 13 years ago that the headstrong Cami plopped herself on the floor outside the office of Sister Joyce Buckler, principal of St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf, and refused to enter. Sister Joyce and Cami and her mom, Stephanie, reminisced about that the other day.

"You and I and Sister Joyce are all alike: hardheaded," Stephanie Garland noted.

From that day forward, Sister Joyce knew Cami was destined for success.

"Pretty dire predictions were made of this child, predictions that she would never talk," Sister Joyce recalled. "We never doubted that she would do well, particularly because of her family. They were not about to not let her succeed."

Originally from Baton Rouge, La., Cami's family moved to St. Louis so that the child could attend classes at St. Joseph Institute of Chesterfield, a noted auditory-oral school for children with hearing impairments. Stephanie also detected her daughter's hearing impairment when she was a few months old, and had her infant daughter fitted with hearing aids immediately.

"I called a pediatrician and he tested her by shaking two sets of keys, one that was colorful and one a regular set of car keys," recalled Stephanie, a Glendale resident. "Cami never took her eyes off the colorful keys no matter how hard the doctor shook the other set of keys."

Stephanie went on to become a teacher at St. Joseph Institute, and Cami progressed as well. At 6, she pronounced her own name for the first time. In third grade, she "mainstreamed" from St. Joseph into regular classes at Our Lady of the Pillar School and served as valedictorian there at the close of eighth grade. Now a senior at St. Joseph's Academy, Cami received word recently she had been accepted at Yale University when classes begin in the fall.

"I'm really excited," she said. "I want to major in archaeology because I'm really interested in ancient history and I like hands-on education."

Is she scared?

"A little," Cami admitted.

Cami's mom is excited, too. She said she cries every day.

"I think it's awesome that my daughter is going to Yale," Stephanie said. "I think about those early years and how the world is open to her now. Her future is unlimited and I am so very proud of her."

These days, Cami is a blue belt in Tae Kwon Do and loves to read and write stories. She's also a member of the Our Lady of the Pillar youth group and the Glee Club at St. Joseph's Academy. Recently, she has been serving as a volunteer with preschool students at the same school where — and the same age at which —she received her start.

"It's nice to see all the teachers again," Cami said. "All the credit goes to the teachers; I'm just helping out. It's rewarding because you're helping the children talk. When you see them smile, it's nice. The kids don't always smile, but they get used to being there and they enjoy having you there."

Preschooler Brooke Timmerberg agreed.

"She's funny," Brooke said.

St. Joseph's reputation is nationwide.

Recently, two profoundly hearing-impaired children were talking in the halls of St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf.

The kindergarten-aged boy chattered on and on, and finally the little girl looked him straight in the face.

"Zip it," she told him.

Such a conversation speaks to the school's early-intervention programs and a curriculum that begins to "mainstream" the students at a young age, said Lynn Raney, director of fund development for St. Joseph. In fact, the school employs "reverse mainstreaming," or the inclusion of hearing students in educational programs of all levels.

Founded in 1837 by the Sisters of St. Joseph, the independent, nonprofit Catholic school moved from University City to the old Kangaroo Shoe Factory building in Chesterfield in 1997. It operates a birth-to-eighth grade, day and residential school for children with severe to profound hearing loss.

St. Joseph is one of 40 schools nationwide that specialize in auditory-oral education, meaning children are taught to listen, read and speak; no sign language is used. About 80 percent of the school's 100 students have cochlear implants, which stimulate sound in the inner ear; students are then taught how to interpret that sound and to speak, Raney said.

Families from 41 states have relocated here so their children may attend school at St. Joseph, Raney said. In 1996 the school became the first auditory-oral school to be fully accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States, an academic accrediting body. It is also accredited by the North Central Association.

For more information, call (636) 532-3211 or visit www.sjid.org.

By Robbi Courtaway