It’s not often that I am deeply affected and impressed by university promotional materials. After all, they’re intended to, well, sell the school. So I’m always wary of their sincerity.

We’ve all seen promotional materials distributed by any given university. They display pictures of smiling, carefree students wearing sweatshirts or t-shirts imprinted with the university’s name. Brochures and booklets slickly detail how great the university is, how it has superb academic and extracurricular programs along with a cozy and supportive residential life, blah, blah, blah. Lest you think I’m immune to such public relations charm, I’m profiled in a current Gallaudet University booklet.

But Gallaudet, an eight-minute film, is something else, all right. Despite a few glaring typos in the onscreen text, Gallaudet is so stunningly profound in so many ways. Each time I watched it (six times), I found new meaning and inspiration. Gallaudet provides wonderfully reflective messages while successfully highlighting what makes Gallaudet University so great. Alumni will nod in understanding, connectedness and pride as they watch the story unfold. People who haven’t attended Gallaudet will also nod in understanding at the film’s underlying implications.

Gallaudet has everything – diversity, inspiration, suspense, hidden meanings, and elegant cinematography. The film also has an amazingly clear point: that Gallaudet is an extraordinary place to be not because it’s “for deaf people,” but because it offers so much more. The university offers the human experience an opportunity to thrive, and Gallaudet captures that significance perfectly.

Check the film out at http://www.facundoelement.com/gallaudet.