Tyese Wright and Michelle Banks have very different lives; however, both women are independent, confident, and successful, and both were identified as deaf by the age of 18 months. Perhaps their success is partly a result of their upbringing. Both had parents who learned sign language and who became intimately involved in their education. In fact, both had parents who put their own lives on the line for their children. Both sets of parents sent their daughters to the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center--first to Kendall Demonstration Elementary School and then to the Model Secondary School for the Deaf--on the campus of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. Tyese and Michelle were students there when the author met them. It was during the 1980s and 1990s, when Barbara Hunt was an instructional aide and fledgling interpreter. Since that time, she has watched Tyese and Michelle grow up, graduate, and lead their adult lives. This article shares their stories and provides helpful links for families of deaf and hard of hearing children and the professionals who work with them.