ASL
November 24, 2024
Working on stage with ASL interpreters
Goshen College’s fall play “She Kills Monsters” was performed the last two weekends by a cast determined to bring the story to life. The presence of American Sign Language interpreters on Sunday Nov. 10 was also a part of the efforts to ensure that deaf and hard of hearing individuals could enjoy the performance just as much as their hearing peers. “Every play in GC had ASL interpreting which I think is very unique to GC, but it shouldn’t be. More actors should be able to work with interpreting,” said Fatima Zahara, senior theater and music major who played Agnes...
February 22, 2024
Representation in ASL interpretation
Yalanda Allgood’s journey unfolds from a moment on a porch when she was 10 years old. Her neighbor, a young Black man from the south, found himself in a unique position — his mother was Deaf. He was the only one out of three children that signed to her. “One day, I saw her sitting there on the porch, and I’m like, ‘Wow, she’s there by herself,’” Allgood said. “I went up to her, and we went back and forth, pointing and learning signs out of a signing dictionary.” This silent exchange is one of many reasons that American Sign...
March 25, 2022
ASL panel highlights Black interpreters
90% of American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters are white, according to a 2018 report from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Last Saturday, a panel hosted by the Black Student Union (BSU) sought to raise awareness about the lack of interpreters of color and the challenges that they face. Karen Horvath, an interpreting instructor at GC, said, “As a profession, there is a struggle to recruit and to grow the diversity of the interpreters who serve the Deaf community. There is simply a lack of numbers.” The panel, titled “Through Our Eyes,” included six Black interpreters, all of whom...
January 28, 2021
New ASL opportunities arise
Last week, Goshen College faculty voted to introduce a Transition to Interpreting program for those with a background in American Sign Language (ASL) and a bachelor’s degree, but who may not be licensed to interpret. The program is set to be implemented in the fall. This new program is a direct response to the lack of licensed ASL interpreters. “There’s a national shortage of interpreters,” Colleen Geier, ASL program director and professor of ASL interpreting said. “Hopefully, people are going to be able to do it, and … people can make the change to the career that they want to...
January 24, 2020
Interpreting majors venture far and wide for internships
This semester, the sign language interpreting department saw a record 12 students venture to 10 different states across the country to grow their interpreting skills in semester-long internships. This year, two students figured northern Indiana wasn’t cold enough during the winter and made their way to Anchorage, Alaska, where they are stationed to spend three months at the Alaska School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Emma Henderson, a senior, explained her decision to venture 4,000 miles away for the internship. “There is a shortage of interpreters here,” Henderson said, “and I specifically wanted a full time setting in...
October 31, 2018
A sign of success
It’s not every day that a Goshen College student’s internship has them opening for a pop music icon in front of thousands of people. For Mary O’Connell, a senior sign language interpreting and social work double major, this sort of event was just another day at the office. O’Connell finished her sign language interpreting major last summer in Minnesota’s Twin Cities — St. Paul and Minneapolis. Most sign language interpreting majors don’t complete the 200-hour internship until right before they graduate from college, but O’Connell, who is working on her social work major this year, had to get her internship...
October 3, 2018
Cross-country journey leads Cole family to the right community
When Hannah Cole, a junior, decided to attend Goshen College to finish her degree in American Sign Language education, she didn’t expect the rest of her family to follow her to Indiana. But the Cole family — Cole, her two parents, Jeramy and Christina, and two younger brothers — needed a change from their life in Huntington Beach, California. According to Cole, the family wanted to live within a tight-knit community — something they hadn’t found in Huntington Beach. And so in July, the family of five packed up all of their belongings and drove for 10 days from Northern...
November 16, 2017
Nouri Marrakchi: A “hodgepodge” of cultures
Nouri Marrakchi is a cheerful, easy-going teacher at Elkhart Memorial High School with Moroccan roots and a background in professional theater. He also happens to be deaf. Marrackchi is currently assisting the GC theater program in its portrayal of a deaf character for the show “Mother Hicks.” He grew up in Denver in an all-hearing family. “I’m lucky. Not everyone has parents that learn how to sign,” he said. “There’s a program to teach parents of deaf children, so that’s how they learned.” Even though Marrackchi signs fluently, he doesn’t necessarily have to rely on ASL to communicate. “I can...
September 21, 2017
Theater and ASL collaboration
For the first time in its history, the Goshen College theater department will be producing a show with a lead who speaks only in sign language. Tuc, a young man who is deaf and mute, is one of three main characters in the Depression-era play “Mother Hicks,” written by Susan Zeder. Tuc will be portrayed by Kailey Rice, a freshman American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreting major. The cast will be consulting with Nourie Marrakchi, an ASL teacher at Elkhart Memorial High School Marrakchi has a background in professional theater at The Rocky Mountain Deaf Theater in Aurora, Colorado. Marrakchi said...
March 17, 2016
ASL seniors complete their internships across the country
For most ASL students, the spring semester of their senior year is spent at an internship somewhere across the country. This semester, five students, Adriene Hendricks, Bryan Palmer, Danielle Kerschhackl, Jessica Morrin and Lydia King, have placements in a state other than Indiana. Hendricks is in Detroit, Michigan; Palmer is in Boston, Massachusetts; Kerschhackl is in Miami, Florida; Morrin is in Greensboro, North Carolina; and King is in Knoxville, Tennessee. While the students are at their internships interpreting for a number of Deaf clients, they keep in contact with Colleen Geier, program director and a professor of ASL interpreting. “I’m...
March 12, 2015
Deaf and hearing alike gather at Goshen College
The Goshen College American Sign Language (ASL) Department hosted the Annual Silent Retreat this past weekend. This retreat is put on by the Indiana Chapter of Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (ICRID) and happens annually at different institutions across Indiana. Colleen Geier, professor of ASL, said that silent retreats are a common way for people to practice and learn ASL. She added that “A silent event is a wonderful opportunity for people to work on their ASL skills and break away from their dependence on others to help them understand.” Over 100 participants were involved in this past...
January 22, 2015
ASL students intern across the country
In the last few weeks, senior American Sign Language (ASL) majors have dispersed throughout the country to complete their internship requirements. According to ASL professor Colleen Geier, these internships are the capstone of Goshen’s ASL program. Finding an internship is an intense process. Students must develop resumes, make videos of themselves interpreting and apply to several agencies at once. Agencies can be as choosy as they want, so students need to be prepared for not necessarily getting their top choice. But once the students start their internships, the hard work begins to pay off. According to Mia Engle, one of...
January 29, 2014
ASL Internships Open Doors for Students
This semester, five senior ASL majors left campus to go on internships around the country. They were Anna Latsha, working in Dallas, Texas; Stacy Wyse in Philadelphia, Penn.; Rosa Wyse in Nashville, Tenn.; Christine Stubblefield in Baton Rouge, La.; and Keyonna McCain in Greensboro, N.C. According to Colleen Geier, director of American Sign Language Interpreting at Goshen College, each of these internships involves working within an interpreting agency. Every day, these students go to different assignments given to them by their agencies. “These assignments might be for medical appointments, same day surgery, medical tests, physical therapy, college classes, business meetings,...
November 22, 2013
Deaf performing artist to share weekend of talents
In a collaborative event featuring Goshen College Choirs, the GHS Advanced Crimson choir, guest soloists, Rejoice children’s choir, GC percussionists and ASL interpreting majors among others, “Carmina Burana,” a collection of medieval poems set to music, was performed on Saturday, Nov. 9 in Sauder Concert Hall. Although the performance showcased the choirs, soloists and musicians, the event also illustrated the unique intersection between spoken and unspoken art. Interpreted by Goshen ASL students, it revealed both the unique heritage and the rich cultural significance of deaf performing art. This weekend, Goshen will host a similar event, featuring another deaf performing artist:...
April 18, 2013
Cruising through the work day
Colleen Geier has swum with the dolphins, and she’s gotten paid for it. Geier is neither a dolphin trainer nor a marine biologist, but she is certified as an American Sign Language interpreter. One of the places she’s worked is on cruise ships, which means she gets to interpret and participate in any activity her Deaf client wants to try — including swimming with dolphins. Geier, who is head of the ASL department at Goshen College, is a nationally certified interpreter. Before coming to Goshen in the summer of 2010, she worked full time in Chicago, where she interpreted in...