In 2011, the Utah Division of Services to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing reported that there are over 5,000 people in Utah who are deaf and use American Sign Language (ASL).
Salt Lake Community College is the only college in the state to offer a degree in ASL/English Interpreting.
“SLCC created an opportunity for me in ASL that I didn’t know existed,” said Emily Beech, adjunct faculty member at SLCC and executive staff interpreter at Sorenson Communications. “It gave me a foundation in a career that has unlimited opportunities.”
SLCC offers two types of ASL degrees. The first is the American Sign Language Associate of Arts and the second is the ASL/English Interpreting Associate of Applied Science. The latter prepares students for state and national certification testing.
SLCC helps students prepare to work effectively with deaf people using ASL while gaining an understanding and appreciation of the ideals and values within the deaf community.
The program focuses heavily on providing students with direct experience and internships in the field of interpreting
“I always thought that being an interpreter would be a great idea,” said Beech, “but learning ASL is a lot harder than it looks.”
One of the ways SLCC helps its students prepare to make the transition into the field of interpreting is by teaching them how to apply and pass the state or national interpreting certification exams. SLCC allows students who pass the state certification to also count it as their final exam.
“What I liked best about the SLCC program was that I felt the teachers were really qualified and had experience in the field,” said Rhonda Amicone, a former SLCC student and full time Video Relay Service (VRS) Interpreter at Sorenson Communications. “I was able to get a job in VRS because SLCC helped prepare me for the professional certification test.”
SLCC has a long standing partnership with Sorenson Communications, a company that is one of the leading VRS providers in the country. SLCC students are able to gain valuable experience in the field as interns at Sorenson where they are able to observe while interpreters take video relay calls for the deaf.
Interpreters need to be trained to interpret in everything from intimate conversations to emergencies
VRS is part of an expanding need for interpreters to relay messages between hearing people and deaf people.
“The interpreter has to remain neutral when interpreting phone calls and still remain faithful to the emotions on the call,” said Beech. “SLCC helps prepare students to make that quick nano second decision in how to interpret the conversation and properly convey it to the recipient.”
Sorenson Communications does more than just provide students with internships; it also donates money to help students pay the fee to take the state certification test and has a scholarship fund available for qualified students. Additionally, Sorenson has hired over two dozen SLCC graduates that work in call centers here in Utah and other locations around the country.
“Sorenson has a great relationship with SLCC because SLCC is willing to give their students opportunities to participate in internship opportunities,” said Chris Wakeland, Sorenson Communications vice president of interpreting. “Sorenson allows SLCC students to come and mingle with current, working interpreters in a mentoring-type relationship. These relationships make it possible for students to look forward to the possibility of work in VRS.”
