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When attending school with hearing students in the United States for the first time, he taught himself to read lips, body language and facial expressions to better understand people. Without other Deaf peers, he learned to navigate new environments independently and advocate for his own needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt first, I felt overwhelmed because everyone communicated so naturally. They talked with each other, helped one another, and shared fun moments,\u201d Marroquin said. \u201cIt was a completely different experience from the schools I had attended before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI know every deaf person\u2019s journey is different, but for me, growing up in a hearing academic environment, using cochlear implants, learning to lip-read and developing my own ways of communicating helped me move toward the goals I have today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consistency in learning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Marrquin is among the first Deaf students, based on available data, to complete the Information Assurance & Cybersecurity option within CSSE. To stay on top of his coursework, he came up with his own methods of learning material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI often rely on self-study, visual learning, repetition, written notes, captions when available and breaking complex topics into smaller pieces,\u201d he said. \u201cThis has helped me become more disciplined and reflective as a learner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also mentioned how UW Bothell supported access to his learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaving access to course materials, project guidance, and supportive instructors has helped me continue moving forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Marroquin, the academic environment at UW Bothell works especially well when materials are clear, organized, and available for review outside of class. \u201cThis is very helpful for me because I can go back, study at my own pace and process information more deeply,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Refining his own techniques became especially important for learning in CSSE, which Marroquin said can move very fast. Learning how to study in his own way made him more confident in his learning process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have learned that consistency matters more than trying to understand everything all at once,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This consistency also applies to his capstone project, which reflects his personal interest in seeing how technology can be applied to real-world situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marroquin’s capstone project, \u201cAlmarr: Nutrition Tracking and Progress Management for Well-being and Health\u201d is designed to track meals, manage nutrition, monitor body transformation and receive personal AI guidance on nutrition, motivation and healthy habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The idea for the project came from Marroquin’s personal journey as a natural vegan bodybuilder which began when he was in high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt the beginning, I barely knew what I was doing, but I stayed consistent,\u201d he said. \u201cI continued researching, experimenting and learning from both mistakes and progress. Each time I learned something new, I incorporated it into my routine and stayed consistent in my fitness journey. Over the years, I gained knowledge about nutrition, workout programming, injury recovery, diet, stress management and time management.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After graduating, Marroquin is already looking ahead to what’s next. He plans to pursue a master’s degree in AI & Cybersecurity while exploring projects that improve people\u2019s security, health and daily lives. His long-term goal is to create accessible tools that improve health, education and security while making technology easier for people to understand and use. Just as importantly, he hopes his own experience will inspire Deaf students and students with disabilities to pursue careers in technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marroquin shared his story because he wants students with disabilities to know that they belong in engineering and technology fields and that there is no single path to success. He hopes his experiences demonstrate that challenges do not define a person’s potential and that different ways of learning and communicating can be strengths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know the path can be difficult, and I think stories like this can help other students feel that their goals are possible too,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to show that even if the journey takes time and is challenging, it is still possible to grow, break barriers, contribute, and make a meaningful impact.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Graduating Senior Bruno Marroquin (CSSE: IAC) shares his journey as one of the first known Deaf students to complete the Information Assurance & Cybersecurity option within CSSE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":637,"featured_media":38095,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_is_archived":false,"_archived_contact_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,11,13,9,7],"tags":[],"school":[],"class_list":["post-38094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-department-of-computing-software-systems-css","category-diversity","category-innovation","category-research","category-students"],"acf":{"related_links":{"toggle_visibility":false,"link_1":"","link_2":"","link_3":"","link_4":"","link_5":""},"highlight_box":{"toggle_visibility":false,"title":"","content":"","button":"","button_style":"angled-purple-button","button_screen_reader_text":""},"contact_type_1":{"toggle_visibility":false,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"contact_type_2":{"toggle_visibility":false,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"social_media":{"toggle_visibility":false,"facebook_url":"","instagram_url":"","linkedin_url":"","twitter_url":"","youtube_url":""},"blog_archive_sidebar_visibility":false},"yoast_head":"\n![\"Bruno](\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/stem\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2026\/08\/stem-blog-bruno-diaz-marroquin-first-day-hero-683x1024.jpg\")
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Expanding access through technology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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