Deaf theater staff member inspires customers, colleagues

“People asked me some questions about working at concession, so I’m willing [to] help them and taught them how to do work on concession,” he writes.

One of the customers Mr. Petit helped recently was Kara Kennedy Allen, daughter of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat who championed the cause of people like Mr. Petit through his sponsorship of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

“I think it’s terrific,” Mrs. Allen told The Washington Times as Mr. Petit filled her order.

“It didn’t even phase me,” she explained, referring to using a note to communicate her order.

Indeed, some guests walk into the theaters with a renewed appreciation for the films they are about to see, knowing people like Mr. Petit can’t enjoy them the same way.

Mr. Petit writes that “Slumdog Millionaire” is his favorite movie.

“Yes, I have been watching it often and I have [it on] DVD at my home to watch it. It is a great movie and story,” he writes, noting that he, like many people who are deaf watch movies at theaters that offer special captioning for the hearing impaired.

He is on track to graduate with a degree in computer information systems in 2012 from Strayer University, but a career at the movies could be an option.

When asked if Mr. Petit could one day be a manager himself, Mr. Morgan says, “It would be a challenge, but I would not rule it out.”