About Me
Why Interpreting?
Everyone deserves a place at the table. This means that the Deaf community has a right to full and equal access, communication, and participation in society.
I want to be the kind of interpreter that delivers the high quality service that the Deaf community deserves.
I have always been fascinated by other languages and cultures, possibly because of living overseas when I was younger. I started learning American Sign Language many years ago, first as a student at BYU and later as an LDS missionary with a Deaf companion. After graduating with a BA in Linguistics and an MA in ESL/EFL Teaching, I spent several years teaching English to adults in a variety of schools and programs. While teaching briefly in Beijing, a chance encounter with a Deaf man there reminded me how much I treasured the experiences and friendships that had come into my life from learning ASL.
Over the years, a desire to stay connected to the Deaf community never left me. I decided to take classes again to refresh my ASL skills, and eventually joined the Interpreter Training Program at Salt Lake Community College. As part of the program we have the opportunity to volunteer with several community partners in the Salt Lake area that serve the Deaf Community and their families. I loved volunteering with the Sego Lily Center for the Abused Deaf, the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB) Parent Infant Program (PIP), and at several events at the Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. This has been my favorite thing about being an interpreting student, and I plan to continue volunteering with these organizations after I graduate.
Outside of Class
I grew up in Los Angeles but moved around a bit as I got older. I spent several years in Provo and a few more in the Midwest before moving back to L.A. where I met my husband. We came to the Salt Lake area with our son about four years ago. I wasn't sure about moving back to Utah, but we have been really happy here.
When I'm not in school I love to get out and explore the local parks, gardens, and libraries with my son. He loves all plants and animals, and we always have a fun time getting out in nature together.
My husband and I are both theater nerds and actually met doing a play together in a small theater in Los Angeles. We take any chance we can to get out and see a play or a show. We saw several Deaf West productions together when we still lived in L.A. (American Buffalo, starring Troy Kotsur, Flowers for Algernon, starring Daniel Durant, and Spring Awakening, featuring Daniel Durant and Sandra Mae Frank.) Seeing these amazing Deaf performers is part of what inspired me to get back into ASL and look into taking classes again.
Here in Utah, I have also had the chance to watch interpreted and ASL productions of plays and musicals, like a production of Eurydice that was done at Salt Lake Community College or The Hunchback of Notre Dame in ASL at the Egyptian Theater. This has been a great combination of my two passions and sometimes gives me school credit for something I would be doing anyway.
I see myself working in a variety of settings. I have broad and extensive life experience, education, and work experience that I believe can serve me well in a variety of interpreting assignments. While I see myself wanting to work in several kinds of settings, I know that I would especially look forward to those times when opportunities come up to interpret in the performing arts.