Sherri Gutterson Juhas
1981 High School East
Inspiration of Smithtown

Sherri Gutterson Juhas is a 1981 Graduate of Smithtown East High School. She is the winner of the “Inspiration of Smithtown” award given by the newly created Smithtown Alumni Association. Sherri is happily married to Chris Juhas and they live in Nesconset with their son Michael, 16.

She was the first deaf student to attend Smithtown district schools all the way through to graduation. Today, thanks to the American Disabilities Act there are many services available to deaf students. However, when Sherri attended SHS East she had no interpreters and no note takers. She was completely on her own! Although she faced challenges that most students never have to face, Sherri excelled as a student at Smithtown High School. She was also involved in many activities during her 4 years as a student. She was on the Yearbook Committee, the “Hanging Out” magazine committee and was a member of the Varsity Wrestlettes. She also spent time as a teacher’s aid, an assistant in the North Unit Guidance office and volunteered her time for Special Olympics.

Sherri credits Mrs. Spina from SHS East as a guiding force in her life. “She really inspired me in my own teaching methodologies, to create a teaching environment that enables history to come alive in the classroom.” She also remembers Mrs. Mormile-Kelly, her English teacher, challenging her to read and write. “She never gave up on me. She wouldn’t accept anything less because I was deaf. She treated me with the same respect as my hearing peers. What she taught me most and still stays with me today, is to never accept anything less for myself.”

After graduating from Smithtown East, Sherri went on to achieve a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from SUNY Cortland and a Masters degree at the University of Rochester in Secondary Education for the Deaf. Today she works for the Cleary School for the Deaf in their Secondary Program at East Islip High School. She teaches deaf students, grades 9-12 in Global History and Geography, US History, Participation in Government and Economics. In addition to her job as a high school teacher, Sherry is a professor at Suffolk Community College where she teaches American Sign Language. Sherry is committed to her jobs, her family and her community and strives to continue doing all of these things despite a debilitating case of Lupus, which affects her health on a daily basis.

When asked if she had any words of wisdom that she would like to share with the current students at SHS, Sherri replied, “Be true to yourself and others. You have many choices in life. Life choices have consequences. Make the right choices. Don’t allow yourself to be easily influenced by others. Just be YOU! Remember you count in this world. You have dreams, make them a reality. Only you can do that!” It’s obvious that Sherry lives by those words each and every day. Congratulations to Sherri, a truly deserving winner of the “Inspiration of Smithtown” award for 2003.