Nyle DiMarco made Marylanders proud when he won the most recent season of Dancing with the Stars.
DiMarco has been deaf since birth but, he did not let that hold him back in this dance competition, a very impressive victory. One of those Marylanders impressed is Governor Larry Hogan.
Governor Hogan recognized DiMarco for his accomplishments on and off television. DiMarco, who grew up in Fredrick, is using his new found fame and established the Nyle DiMarco Foundation.
His foundation encourages full and early access to both American Sign Language and English for Deaf and hard of hearing infants and children in the United States. DiMarco was a math major in college.
"Ironically my goal was to teach math but, I don't teach math any more. Instead I teach on a bigger scale, Maryland, the United States and internationally. Exposing what deaf people face which is language deprivation and how to avoid that through language acquisition," DiMarco said.
Governor Hogan says he wants this to be a priority in Maryland's schools as well.
"Everybody knows him and the fact that he's willing to focus on these issues, it helps bring attention to issues and needs that normally people don't pay attention to. So we couldn't be and more proud to have him here as a Marylander," Hogan said.
As for the Governor performing on Dancing with the Stars, it's a question he has considered.
"There's absolutely no chance of me going on Dancing with the Stars. I'm very proud to have Marylander who's won and I think we ought to leave it at that," Hogan said.
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