[VIDEO DESC & TRANSCRIPT: Trevor is seated in his office, there are stacks of books around him. The NAD logo is on the bottom right corner.
TREVOR: I’ve always enjoyed hanging out at bookstores because if I’m curious about something or want to learn about something, the bookstore is guaranteed to have that information. I always find something new to read and keep myself informed on a daily basis. For example, when a new book comes in, I like being one of the first few people to read it! It’s a nice feeling.
Black and white clip of Trevor organizing a book shelf and pulling some books out. In the center, a white border surrounds white text “TREVOR” underneath, appears in white text “RETURNS SPECIALIST.”
TREVOR: Hello, my name is Trevor Patten. I work here at Book People, an independent book store in Austin, Texas. My position focuses on returns and receiving, I’m a Returns Specialist.
Black and white clip of Trevor pulling a book trolley and placing it against the wall.
TREVOR: I grew up in the capital of Maine, Augusta. I grew up there and went to a deaf school for the first four years, from four years old to when I was eight years old. Afterwards, I transferred to a mainstreamed program until I graduated high school. I went to the University of Maine for a year, eventually I learned it wasn’t the right fit for me, especially with interpreters. It wasn’t until a woman told me about Gallaudet University that I thought about going there.
Black and white clip of Trevor opening a box and stacking books on the book trolley.
TREVOR: I graduated from Gallaudet University in 1996 with a degree in TV, Film and Photography (TFP). I planned on moving to Los Angeles but then decided to move to Austin instead based on my friends’ suggestion. When I first moved here, I planned to stay for a year or two to see if I liked it and if I did, I’d stay another year. Well, I’ve been here 22 years and I’m still here!
Black and white clip of over the book trolley of Trevor working on his computer.
TREVOR: I had a great experience the first two years here with the film community in Austin. It’s big but there’s long hours and the pay isn’t much. It was hard to support myself. I was looking for a day job so I applied to Book People. When they hired me, I expected to work for a year or two just to support myself until I went big in film. Well, I stayed longer than I planned! I still do some films on the side.
Black and white clip of Trevor moving books from the book trolley to a box.
TREVOR: The first time I applied to Book People, I never got a response from them, actually. I visit the film section often and made friends with a woman who worked there, on the same floor. I decided to let her know that I applied for a job but was never contacted for an interview. She told me to apply again but with her name as a referral, so I did and was hired!
Black and white clip of Trevor pouring some packing peanuts in a box.
TREVOR: I deal mostly with books. I do work with people if I go out of my office, but I work with books mostly, every day, all day! Basically, if there are books that have been here for more than a year, we can’t leave them here because it will start piling up and cram our space. So we have to return these books to make space for newer books. We swap out the old books with the new books. Before I return them, I organize the books based on where they were sent from and by publishing companies. Then I send them all back to where they came from. I have to know over 300 (or more) publishing companies, in fact I know some of their addresses by heart!
Black and white clip of Trevor pulling some books off shelves. White text appears at the bottom center, “In the process of removing old books from the floor, sometimes I come across a book that sparks an interest in me. Before you know it, I end up reading the entire book!” Light blue text “- Trevor” and a light blue line outlines the left side of the text.
TREVOR: Before I started working at Book People, they didn’t have a good returns system. They were struggling with it, they had people work on it but nothing stuck. One day, they asked me to do a returns task, so I did and I really enjoyed doing it without realizing it. I kept working on it and they noticed my initiative. They let me grow in this position and I got to develop the whole system for returns from scratch.
Black and white clip of Trevor working on his computer.
TREVOR: Sometimes I do need a deaf-fix at work because my co-workers don’t sign. However, I’m lucky to live in Austin where there’s a big deaf community. On my days off, I take advantage of that! I realized I contribute a lot to this store, more than I expected to. My co-workers know how to work with deaf people thanks to me — they can help deaf customers on their own. It’s a nice feeling to know that I helped with that.
Black and white clip of Trevor inspecting the bookshelves and pulling some books off. Next clip, Trevor is taping up a box. Video cuts to grey background with the NAD logo quickly changing in different bright colors from teal to white to black to hot pink to green to orange to teal to yellow to purple to finally the official NAD logo with copyright text underneath “The National Association of the Deaf (c) 2019 All Rights Reserved”.]