Watch This: Obama Signs to Deaf Student

A community college student in the Washington, D.C., area was standing in line after a campus event on energy policy with President Obama, waiting for a chance to shake hands with the president, when he got a moment of face time with the guest of honor. He greeted him the only way he knew how:…

A community college student in the Washington, D.C., area was standing in line after a campus event on energy policy with President Obama, waiting for a chance to shake hands with the president, when he got a moment of face time with the guest of honor. He greeted him the only way he knew how:

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"I am proud of you," Stephon signed to the president.

President Obama signed back: "Thank you."

The elated student later recounted his experience on YouTube via American Sign Language.

If your sign language isn't as good as the president's, here's a partial transcript of what he said, from the Huffington Post, first reported by D.C. blog Distriction.

[I] was close enough to touch Martin Oโ€™Malley on his shoulder but I didnโ€™t want to bother him. I regret I could have done better holding my camera while talking to Obama. The moment I will never forget was when he looked at me. He gave me a chance to talk to him. It was like he was waiting for me to say something. I took the moment and signed โ€œI am proud of you,โ€ and his response was โ€œThank uโ€ in sign language back! Oh my gosh! I was like wow! He understood me after I said I was proud of him. It was so amazing โ€ฆ I was just speechless. Right after he thanked me, he smiled at another deaf lady who signed โ€œI love you.โ€ When I shook his hand it did not feel like he was superior to me. He was just a humble man. I am just impressed by him and know that he will have my vote and he will win second term without a doubt. Yeah, I feel safe to have him for another term.

The Huffington Post reports that in 2008, several deaf bloggers noted that then-Sen. Obama understood basic sign language after he signed to them.

Read more at the Huffington Post.

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