Man Of the Month: July

The first non-Nigerian to be featured so far (this is only by pure coincidence that all the rest have been Nigerian). The amazingly gorgeous Deon Harrell is a Senior Economics major at Texas Tech University, with a minor in  American Sign Language. He will be walking across the stage with me in December. The only sad thing about that is, he recently received a promotion and will be spending his last semester in his home town Dallas (Oak Cliff), Texas. I'm sad to see him go, but we have quite a few good memories together, dating all the way back to my freshman year of college. Staying up late, laughing hysterically over lunch, and always screaming each others name across campus when we see each other. But he is moving on to greatness. Take a look for yourself.


KA: Who is Deon?
DH: Deon is... how do you define yourself in one word? I am a very optimistic, and open minded individual. I'm goal orientated, hard working, stubborn... I do my best to stay level headed in any situation. I try to be relate-able.  I'm confident in who I am.
KA: You would have to be in order to interpret the amazing people you have. Is that what made you interested in ASL?
DH: No. My mom has a strong personality, and I couldn't imagine talking back to her. So my sister and I decided to learn sign language so we could talk to each other without her understanding what we were saying. Then I got really into it. I don't have any def people in my family.
KA: Who have you interpreted for?
DH: Keith Wann, Hill Harper, Taraji P. Henson, T.D. Jakes, and the National Alliance Of Black Interpreters. Less than 30% of all interpreters are black males.
KA: What do you see yourself doing in the next 5 years?
DH: I plan on finishing my MBA, traveling, and just making my way up in the company that I work for. I have been in the banking and financial services industry 4 years now, since I was 18. I recently earned a promotion with Well Fargo
KA: How would you describe you personal style? 
DH: If i had to describe it in one word: Professional. I am a brand. My uncle taught me that if you want to make $100, 000, you have to dress like you have $100,000. While I obviously don't have $100,000, I still want to represent myself and my brand well.
KA: Is there any special lady that you would spend that $100, 000 on, if you had it?
DH: Yes, there is. My beautiful, amazing girlfriend Abree. We've been dating for 4 years now. We both ran track in middle school, so we met in the 7th grade. I always had a crush on her. When I finally had the courage to ask her out, we went on a date 5 years later. I was just shy I guess. Sorry ladies...

Twitter: @kingdharrell
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