Hi! I'm Penny

Who is Penny?

Hi! I’m Penny. I’m fluent in American Sign Language. I’m hearing, meaning I’m not Deaf or Hard of Hearing, but I choose to communicate only in American Sign Language (ASL) so the Deaf Community can have full and equal access to all my videos. All my videos are in ASL from beginning to end with a spoken English voice-over added. Are you hearing, Deaf, or Hard of Hearing? Welcome! Everyone can learn and play along with me! When we learn together, we understand better.

Who is Linsey Pickup?

Hello! I’m Linsey Pickup, the creator of Penny. I was born and raised in Murray, UT. My early childhood was the 90’s which was before YouTube. The kids shows I liked watching were Saturday morning cartoons with the Animaniacs. Now I am a mother of three and some of my kids favorite shows are on YouTube. As I watched them dancing and laughing along to a kids YouTube show, I realized that this is more than entertainment, this is education. My next thought was, kids in the Deaf Community need entertaining education in their language, American Sign Language (ASL). In 2023 I started developing this idea and it eventually grew into what we now know as -----Penny----!

My Journey to Learn American Sign Language (ASL)

I am hearing and I grew up in a hearing family. The summer before my first year of college I got the feeling I should take an ASL class. So I did. I walked into class on the first day and my teacher was Deaf. First Deaf person I had ever met. This teacher was amazing. I don't know how, but I remember understanding everything she signed and she was so patient with us hearing students with our baby signs and fingerspelled ABCs. I don’t recall how that class was so effortless and comfortable, but it was for me. I was able to pick up some basic vocabulary words and became proficient in simple conversation pretty fast. I remember asking my teacher what you can do with sign language, career-wise. She told me the university offers a track to become a teacher or an interpreter. Interpreter sounded more interesting so I got on track to get my Bachelor’s Degree in Interpreting. During my college years I became involved with the Deaf Community, made some friends and quickly humbled myself as I realized just how little I knew. Between learning from the Deaf Community and getting interpreting opportunities at church, I became skilled enough to pass the Utah Interpreting Certification test. I quit my job as a waitress and started my career as an interpreter. That was back in 2013. The same year I married my sweetheart. We have since moved to Texas and had three kids. I still work as an interpreter to this day.

Hi! I'm Linsey