Written by Thomsen Young and you can follow him @
An intern who is deaf shares her experience of what it is like interning for the Federal Communications Commission. Mary Harman shares some of her thoughts on what it’s like to work for the FCC and some of the new proposals that are being addressed within the FCC and within the Disability Right Office.

One of those offices is the Disability Rights Office or DRO. I’m the chief of that office. DRO oversees the accessibility aspect of technology and its services and products. Basically, all of the rulemaking decisions and directives have an impact on communication access for people with disabilities. Our oversight is to make sure that any proposals up for consideration address the needs of people with disabilities. 
For instance, there’s a proposal to promote the transition of the current phone network system, which is very outdated, to an IP network. That’s the goal, but we want to make sure that people with disabilities do not get left behind and to ensure they have access to the newest available technologies.