SIGNIN G UP

Alumnus Forges Unique Path that Betters Justice System for the Deaf

BY KIKO MARTINEZ

After training to become a Deaf Support Specialist (DSS) at San Antonio College (SAC), Robert C. Cardoza Jr. ’16 began providing services to the local Deaf community by working at nonprofit organizations and interpreting agencies.

Cardoza graduated from Southside High School in 1995 and studied music at SAC. He transferred to Palo Alto College (PAC) to play in the school’s first-ever mariachi group. At PAC, his music classes were in the same building as American Sign Language (ASL) courses. Cardoza was intrigued immediately.

“One day, I saw one of the professors signing and thought it was cool to communicate with your hands,” he said. “I told myself, ‘I want to try it.’ So, I took my first ASL class, and I liked it. And then one class turned into two, and I kept going.”

Cardoza took ASL classes at PAC and then transferred back to SAC, where he earned his degree in 2000 to work as a DSS, which, he said, is different from a degree in interpreting for the Deaf.

“As a Deaf Support Specialist, you’re more of an advocate for the Deaf,” he said. “You can go with them to a doctor’s appointment and explain to them more than just an interpreter who is strictly there just to pass messages.”

Recognizing a Need

Working as a DSS for a few years, Cardoza found himself at the Bexar County Community Supervision and Corrections Department (CSCD), providing interpreting services between an adult probation officer and a group of Deaf probationers. Something, however, wasn’t sitting well with Cardoza and the system the Bexar County had in place for the Deaf.

At the time, there were about 12 Deaf probationers in the office, with one probation officer reviewing all their cases. As Cardoza interpreted the instructions the probation officer wanted individual probationers to follow, it was evident to him that there was no privacy in the process. With a single day scheduled for Deaf probationers to report to the probation office, they could see what the interpreter signed about each other’s cases.

“All of them are in the same room with the probation officer and the interpreter,” Cardoza said. “The probation officer would be like, ‘Well, you took a urinalysis last week, and it was positive for marijuana,’ and I’m interpreting all this, so all the Deaf people in the room are getting the whole story.”

Cardoza knew there had to be a better way to handle cases with Deaf probationers. He thought that if he became an adult probation officer himself, he could meet with them on a one-onone basis and have a more flexible schedule. With an in-house probation officer who was also a certified interpreter for the Deaf, they wouldn’t all have to show up to the probation office on the one day of the month Bexar County hired an interpreter to review their cases.

“I could work with them in their language, and we wouldn’t need that intermediary there,” Cardoza said. “They can report whenever they want. If they have something private that they have to say, they can say it to me and don’t have to say it in front of anyone else. It made so much more sense.”

Starting a New Path

In the fall of 2014, Cardoza enrolled in the Criminology and Criminal Justice program at Texas A&M-San Antonio to become a probation officer. During his two years at A&M-San Antonio, Cardoza said he enjoyed taking classes with professors who had real-world experience. One of his favorite professors, Dr. Michael Proctor, now a senior lecturer in the College of Arts and Sciences, worked as an assistant prison warden for 16 years. One of his classes was Victimology.

“[Proctor] came with all these interesting stories, and his teaching style and interaction with his students left a big impact on me,” Cardoza said. “I liked his Victimology class because it taught us how the law affects victims and how they are protected, and it focused on them and their rights.”

Another professor Cardoza remembers fondly is Monica MolinaRodriguez, now an adjunct faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences. Cardoza took her Community Supervision and Corrections course, which he said gave him “more insight and inspiration to become a probation officer.” Currently, he and Molina-Rodriguez work together for Bexar County.

Dr. Durant Frantzen, professor and chair of the College of Arts and Sciences at A&M-San Antonio, remembers Cardoza as a student with a lot of ambition. By earning his bachelor’s in criminology and with a background in interpreting, Cardoza found a niche in the probation system that needed to be filled. A&M-San Antonio recently began its Master of Science degree program in criminology and criminal justice. It’s a program Cardoza was accepted into last fall but had to cut short because of a bout with COVID-19.

“There are not too many people that do what he does — interpreting for the probation department,” Frantzen said. “He was a very sharp student with a lot of insight. For those students who want to get a master’s degree in the program, most of them are hoping to achieve a higher level with their current organization. They want that additional level of education.”

Being an Advocate

During his final year at A&M-San Antonio, Cardoza interned with Bexar County, where he got an even closer look at their processes. He knew he could make a difference if given the opportunity. When he earned his bachelor’s degree in criminology in 2016, Cardoza applied at Bexar County to become an adult probation officer and landed the position that fall. His current caseload is 160 probationers, four of which are Deaf. In the last six years, that number has been as high as 11.

With his Deaf probationers, Cardoza’s primary goal is to show them how to advocate for themselves, and he also is there to ensure good outcomes. For example, if a judge orders one of them to take a domestic violence course while on probation, Cardoza wants his probationers to do the legwork to enroll in the class themselves and explain they would need an interpreter.

“Being an advocate for the Deaf also means helping them learn how to self-advocate,” Cardoza said. “I want them to fight for themselves and their rights. But I’ll always be there to make calls for them and help them when needed. I enjoy being face to face with the probationers and getting to the root of what happened and why it happened.”

Cardoza loves what he does as an adult probation officer. That, however, doesn’t mean there aren’t some things he would like to change in the probation system, including having a smaller caseload and seeing an increase in the number of probation officers available. That would allow the probation officers to meet with probationers more consistently and create rapport with each of them.

“Sometimes we don’t get to cover everything we’d like to cover with all our probationers because there just isn’t enough time,” Cardoza said. “Having a lower caseload would give us more time to meet with them and build more trust.”

Expanding his Reach

Along with his work with the Deaf community as a Bexar County probation officer (he will be transferring to the Felony Drug Court soon), Cardoza also teaches a visual gestures communication class as an adjunct faculty member at SAC.

In 2018, Cardoza started his own company, Stage Hands, which provides ASL services for local stage productions. It was another field where he saw a need for interpreters. During a performance, Cardoza and at least one other colleague sign all the dialogue — including songs for musicals — performed on the stage by the actors. Currently, Cardoza has six interpreters on his payroll.

“When you’re interpreting for the stage, you have to show all the emotions — from when [performers] are speaking to how they’re singing,” he explained. “We always want the Deaf person to get exactly the same experience that the hearing person is getting from the show, and that’s our main goal."

Cardoza sees a need for interpretation services in countless industries across the city. He is considering working toward a license to become a chemical dependency counselor or work in the mental health field.

“Whatever I choose to do later in my career, it will always be for the benefit of the Deaf community,” he said. “I love being a probation officer, but I also see the need for what I do in so many other places. I think I can fit in there, too, and continue to serve and have an impact.”