It Takes a Village: Partnering with the Local Deaf Community and Working Interpreters for ITP Assessments

Niki Hill, M.Ed, NIC; Lexington, KY

Niki joined Eastern Kentucky University’s American Sign Language and English Interpretation department as a tenure-track professor in August of 2023 after completing a visiting professorship within the department the prior academic year. Niki came into academia as a practitioner of sign language interpreting with over 14 years of experience in the field. She has worked full-time as an interpreter in various settings including: Video Relay Interpreting, community interpreting, K-12 interpreting, and most recently, post-secondary interpreting as a staff interpreter at EKU. Niki earned her bachelor’s degree in sign language interpreting and her M.Ed with an emphasis in interpreter education from Tennessee Temple University. She is currently a first year student in the Educational Leadership and Policy studies doctoral program at EKU. She is interested in studying interpreter burnout and attrition rates.

Rebecca “Reb” Kreutzer, DI; Lexington, KY

Rebecca “Reb” Kreutzer is a proficient ASL user who was raised in a Deaf family and immersed in Deaf culture. She currently holds the position of ASL Specialist III & Interpreter Outreach Team Coordinator at Eastern Kentucky University American Sign Language & Interpreter Education. A resident of Lexington, KY, Rebecca comes from a multi-generational Deaf family and graduated Cum Laude from EKU’s Interpreter Training Program. She provides interpreting services for conferences, workshops, and the Deaf community as a Deaf Interpreter. With 15 years of experience as a KY Sign Language Proficiency Interview (SLPI) rater and as a member of the Kentucky Board of Interpreters, Rebecca is currently pursuing a Master ’s Degree in Teaching American Sign Language at the University of Northern Colorado.

It Takes a Village: Partnering with the Local Deaf Community and Working Interpreters for ITP Assessments

ASL Video: https://youtu.be/Ta-0hQtuFPA?si=xGdMcFQrvlC61MEf

Now that universities are often acting as the gatekeepers into the interpreting profession, as opposed to the Deaf community, it has become vitally important for interpreter education programs (IEPs) to intentionally seek out partnerships among the Deaf community and professional interpreters in order to mentor, support, and grow new interpreters. Likewise, it is important for those of us who are professional interpreters and community members to be willing to partner with IEPs in developing new interpreters. At Eastern Kentucky University most of the faculty and staff within the IEP are both educators and interpreters, Deaf and hearing alike. Rebecca, a DI, and Niki, a hearing interpreter, often got feedback from team interpreters in the field mentioning how they would like to be more involved in helping to develop new interpreters. There was a clear desire to give back to the next generation of interpreters and we were in a perfect position to facilitate that connection by partnering with interpreters in assessing our interpreting students.

Historical Context

For the final semester of classes before departing on their semester-long internship in the Spring students are required to take Interactive Interpreting II. This class traditionally employs Deaf community members to act as consumers for our interpreting students during simulated interpreting interactions. Each week we focus on a certain setting and students prepare the week prior for the upcoming interpreting assignment. We partnered with various campus resources so that students could practice interpreting a wide range of appointment types from medical appointments, psychological intake appointments, community services, VRS/VRI, and others. While this was useful during the semester we knew we wanted a more authentic experience for our students for their final exam.

We invited Deaf community members and professional interpreters to partner with us and act as consumers for the final exam. The goal of this partnership was three-fold. First, we wanted students to meet members of the Deaf and interpreting communities that they had not previously met. Secondly, we wanted the students to receive feedback from the Deaf and hearing consumers on the effectiveness of their interpretations. While these volunteers were not trained in formal assessments, they are very attuned to what makes for an effective interpretation and thus well qualified in aiding our final assessment. Finally, we wanted this experience to facilitate networking between the students and professional interpreters, and allow for greater connection to the Deaf community, the original gatekeepers of the profession.

The Event

We reached out to friends and colleagues in the area asking if they would be willing to volunteer for an evening. We had many who were supportive of the idea and wanted to help in any capacity that they could. Seven Deaf participants and nine professional interpreters volunteered to work with our class for the evening. Due to some last minute cancellations, clients were changed the night of the event. This provided a unique glimpse into the life of an interpreter and the ever-changing demands that can happen in a given day.

We structured the final exam evening to support our goals for the event. Before the exam began, we invited participants to arrive early to have dinner and network with the students. This provided an icebreaker for the students to interact with the Deaf consumers to determine their preferred language modality and gave them time to network with the professional interpreters. Once everyone had time to eat dinner and socialize we began the assessment. In each scenario, the Deaf consumer had applied for a seasonal position with a local retailer and was interviewed by the hearing consumer. When the assessments began students introduced themselves to the consumers, arranged the physical logistics of the room, and interpreted the interaction.

Afterwards the clients completed a short assessment about the student and their interpretation. The three also debriefed together, and the consumers provided feedback to the student directly.

Results

Based on student and volunteer feedback this assessment was very well received. The Deaf community appreciated being invited to the table to assess these new interpreters, working interpreters appreciated the ability to get to know their future colleagues, and students appreciated getting extensive feedback from the community.

This activity provided students with a glimpse of their upcoming internships and an opportunity to make a deeper connection with their future peers and clients.

The Deaf community was able to be directly involved in growing and nurturing future interpreters. This event allowed trust to be built between this IEP and the Deaf and interpreter communities in central Kentucky. We were able to “pull back the curtain” to show the community how we train and educate students. By partnering with them we showed that we value, trust, and need their expertise and support in developing new interpreters. Mentoring new interpreters is a labor of love and if we, as interpreter educators, can better partner with our communities in this labor we believe the students will be better equipped prior to going into the field, and the communities they serve will once again have a say in who becomes an interpreter. It takes a village, and we are so grateful for that village! Let’s partner together to raise up the next generation of interpreters.