PIE à la mode
Spring, 2004
Volume 5, Issue 4
PIE's Finest News Source
Ingredients
When we left our certified-interpreter-to-be in the last edition of the à la Mode, she had just accepted a full-time Interpreter Coordinator position at PIE, under the charge of then-Owners, Stephanie Kerkvliet and Debra Gorra.
A Road to Certification, Part two of a two part series
by Amy Free
(Part two is dedicated to Erica Schommer, Esq. She's a new lawyer and along-time friend. Hugs to her all the way in Texas!)
June 1998. My first day working at PIE... in Debra's basement... with Linda Ford as my part-time Interpreter Coordinator sidekick... with a staff of 5 interpreters and photocopied pages of contract interpreters who worked in Wisconsin... with signing skills as an ASL II student... and with almost zero knowledge of how this whole community-based interpreting business worked. Those were the days when most requests were called/ TTYed to us, interpreters phoned us to accept jobs and get their schedules, and there wasn't a Business Manager to yell to when a spider creeped-up (instead, Lisa Perry and I would scream and literally jump away from our desks!)
Stephanie, Debra and Sandy Peplinski became my interpreting Moms, Lisa became my language mentor, and Theresa (Hedges) Schmechel became my resource for coordinating tips. I remember the excitement of Theresa calling Linda Ford and me at the PIE office to let us know she received her RID certification. Debra and Steph were out of the office and didn't know the news yet, so we decided to play a little trick on them! We gave them a call, asking to fill a job that required a certified terp with Theresa. At first, they were puzzled, and then they were happily surprised with the news! Being privy to Theresa's experience was my first glimpse of how PIE truly guides and supports interpreters to growth.
By the end of the summer of 1998, I had completed my ASL II class at MATC and was registered for ASL III at UWM. I was learning so much about the profession of interpreting and language and the variety of deaf consumers in the world. Lisa would demonstrate a "sign of the day" to me, and my ASL vocabulary and receptive skills grew by leaps and bounds. I was, however, still terrified to sign at all in front of Debra or Steph! They were just too cool and I was just too chicken.
I spent the year with PIE, thought the interpreting biz was quite groovy, and decided to enter the UWM ITP. By the fall of 1999, PIE had moved from Debra's basement to the building they are now. (And I had moved back to my parents' house in order to conserve money during ITP!) I maintained my connection with PIE throughout ITP, creating the à la mode *, doing office projects, and womaning the office during staff meetings. PIE grew a lot during those two years while I was in the program, and so did I.
After completing the ITP in May 2001, I was lucky to have one of my dreams realized... I was hired by the UW in Madison as a part-time interpreter. I had a great internship there under the supervision of Rick Postl, and was thrilled to be back at my alma mater. I worked at the UW 2-3 days a week, and worked at PIE as a part-time Coordinator the others. I lived in Milwaukee, so you can imagine the travel!
Zoom ahead to January 2002: a bigger office, a training room, emailed requests, 3 full-time Coordinators, a Business Manager, a Training and Development Coordinator, and.... Apprentices! Amy Fryman and me, aka "Free and Fry" :) Let the learning soar! Teamed jobs, observations, video analysis, discussions, interpreting mentors, ASL mentors, staff meetings, written journals, video journals, and test prep. Linda Lonning agreed to be my Lead Mentor and was a major cheerleader throughout my apprenticeship.
In June 2003, I found out I passed the RID CT. At the end of August 2003 - upon returning from my Labor Day weekend in NYC - I opened my mailbox to find a letter from RID saying that I passed the CI. It took a while for it all to sink in!
I am so grateful to have joined such a talented, dedicated, inspirational staff. A pie of only one slice would be merely a serving. A pie like the kind we have is so much more fulfilling!
*(Hey, Tim Mumm! Thanks for making the à la mode the beauty that it is today!)
Did you every wonder why? Good! Hopefully, today you will be able to answer that question, and answer it, and answer it, and… well, you’ll see what I mean.
We’ve all been in close calls or worse. But for today, let’s focus on close calls: You pull into an intersection and brake because someone else pulled in at the same time, you thought you were at the end of the stairs but there was one more step down, or you light that grill and instead of a small flame that grows you get a small explosion that singes your eyebrows. Feel free to fill in your own personal example.
Those close calls are not just lucky breaks; they are opportunities to learn. One way you can do this is to look for the root cause (or causes) of the close call by asking yourself why. In fact, by asking yourself why five (5) times! Here’s how.
Suppose you brake just in time and avoid hitting another car. You can wipe your brow, re-group, and go merrily on your way, OR you can take time to look for the root of the problem. You could ask:
You now have a clearer concept of the events that led up to the near miss, and can decide how to handle things better in the future. For example, you could decide that you will take overtime only if it is on the weekend or ends before 7:30 pm. Or, you could decide to find ways to save money instead of taking overtime.
Looking for the root cause can be very helpful in a lot of situations, not only safety related situations. If you’re often late to jobs, or running out of money, or struggling with a team member, you can use this. Just remember, it’s about you and your peresonal accountability. While you might benefit from looking outside yourself to find the root cause, we often can’t do anything to change those issues. The goal is to learn and change.
Let us know if you try it and if it works. It’d be great to print up some stories of people who used the “5 Why’s” to make changes. Send your story to Tim Mumm at piealamode@tds.net.
Don't forget that when you are interpreting on a medical job and you happen to run into a neighbor, friend or family member, their visit to the doctor, emergency room, etc. is also confidential. It's the HIPAA thing to do!
PIE's Kat Arn, Tracy Vetter & Mike Drissel attended Betty Colonomos's recent workshop, Foundations of the Interpreting Process Part I, in Madison, Wisconsin. Here's a little bit of what each of them had to say about it.
kat arn
I was strongly encouraged to go to this workshop by my mentors. I didn’t realize how integral her model was to the philosophy of PIE until I saw it first hand. I was blown away. Her two commandments have stuck with me. 1. to interpret one must BREATH. and 2. To interpret one must understand. To quote the woman herself, “The best way to hold something in your memory is to hold it non-linguistically.” Did you ever realize that 70% of one’s message is carried through in their affect? Think about it and watch for it you’ll find it to be true. This workshop is a goldmine. I have found many valuable tools through her workshop and I recommend any interpreter of any skill level GO!!!tracy vetter
Betty invites you into her "Sand Box". The concept: Come play with/explore the Interpreting Process. Part I focuses on Sign to Voice. Numerous activities are built into this three-day workshop. We drew pictures to practice visualization techniques, rated text affect as low/ moderate/high, practiced giving non-evaluative/non-judgmental feedback, and much, much more. Some participants were there for their second time, and I can see why. The weekend just flies by. You leave wanting MORE! This is a "must attend" workshop. If you ever have the opportunity, I highly recommend that you go.mike drissel
I was somewhat apprehensive going into this workshop, knowing that my signing skills are still limited, however I had been so strongly encouraged to go, I felt I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Wow, I'm glad I chose to go. Betty has so many wonderful techniques and words of wisdom to share. I particularly enjoyed the exercises focusing on rating and matching affect. I look forward to attending Foundations II in the fall, and I also hope to attend Foundations I once again in the future. I highly recommend that anyone, from current ITP students to seasoned interpreters, attend this workshop. I believe all of us could benefit.
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On the way to the office in the morning (if my first stop of the day is PIE), I generally glance at my schedule book to see what the day holds for me. Recently in doing this I noticed that I would be interpreting for a staff meeting later in the afternoon. I quickly sent off a page to Laura, PIE coordinator and first one to arrive at PIE in the morning (thanks LC!), asking if we had received an agenda for the meeting. We had not but, thanks to Laura’s quick work, she was able to get a short synopsis from the chair of the meeting. It wasn’t a formal agenda, but it was better than nothing. It called to my mind several conversations I have had with interpreters and Deaf people regarding interpreters and their “preparation” for interpreting jobs. A Deaf person (I will call Jane), mentioned to me that she noticed more and more interpreters NOT preparing for jobs. Jane’s employer had provided materials to interpreters in the past as well as paid time occasionally for interpreters to prep for the job. Jane stated that she saw no evidence that the interpreters had used either the prep materials or time. Additionally, an interpreter who witnessed colleagues interpreting in a public forum for a large audience noted that the team of interpreters repeatedly misspelled the name of the presenter as well as other proper nouns that appeared prominently in the program book. Deaf people have noted that video relay interpreters interpret for calls from complete strangers with no advanced preparation. Interpreting without preparation is starting to be viewed as an inevitable wave of the future. This idea saddens and scares me.
I recall a period of time when many Deaf presenters did not think preparation was really necessary. The thought was that interpreters should just be able to read the signs and follow along with the presentation. I wonder how many presentations it might take for someone to realize that this will always compromise the presentation in some way. It is like giving a presentation written by someone else that you just show up and present to a group without even reading first. You might be able to do it, but it will be inferior to a presentation that you have put time into, understand the goal of as well as the supporting points and the overall effect you want the audience to leave with.
Since I have decided to write on this topic, I have been impressed daily by situations interpreters have found themselves in where either they were relieved to have been able to adequately prepare, or they suffered the consequence of inadequate preparation. It has made me think more critically about preparation and what we, as practitioners can and should do about it. I present you with the fruits of my investigation and ask you to use this information as a place to start your own investigation and evaluation. Decide for yourself if your approach to preparation could benefit from any alteration.
There are two kinds of preparation: what I call the “show-me” prep and the “mental” prep. “Show-me” prep, is anything tangible…if I were to ask you to “show me” how you prepared You could pull out the agenda or outline, you could pull up the web site, show me the pages of the text book, or introduce me to the authority you spoke with. It might include familiarizing yourself with acronyms, phrases, proper nouns, jargon, and potentially appropriate slang. The “mental” prep is anything you do in your head: consciously thinking about what you know about the topic, the people involved, any colleague(s) you will work with, the setting, prior experience, etc.
Definitions of preparation or prepare:
Oxford dictionary: make or get ready for use, consideration, etc. 2. make ready or assemble (food, a meal, etc) 3. make (a person or oneself) ready or disposed in some way. B get ready (prepare to jump).
American Century Thesaurus: (get or make) ready, prime, arrange, (put in) order, organize, provide for, make provision(s) for, lay the ground work (for), (make) fit, equip, outfit, adapt 2. train, study, practice, cram, 3. educate, teach, groom, brief, develop, build, construct, assemble, put together, turn out, fashion, forge, mold, brace, strengthen, steel, fortify, ready, process, produce, make, treat, change, modify, transform.
Here are some questions to ask yourself regarding an upcoming (or potential) assignment:
- What previous experience do I have with this: Deaf consumer, hearing consumer, team interpreter(s), setting, topic, level of register, etc?
- What do I need to know to help me do my best work?
- How can I go about getting the information I need?
- If I do not get the information I feel I need to do my best work, what will be the consequence?
- Is the consequence acceptable?
Having determined your answers to these questions, if doing the job is still your option, be diligent on pursuing the information. It may or may not be an easy task. You may need to explain and re-explain why you need this information. You may need to ask for it several times, several different ways, from several people. But hopefully you will be successful in obtaining the information you need to do some advance preparation.
If you are successful, by all means do use the information to prepare for the job. You've taken the time to get it, possibly others have taken the time to get it to you. Resources are only worthwhile if they are utilized. It seems obvious…but in my experience, I know I have been guilty in the past of getting prep info but not using it (true confession).
Having interacted with the prep materials (read them, talked to them, signed them, discussed with your team – what ever is appropriate) – be prepared to demonstrate what you have prepared actively. When you arrive on the site and at an appropriate time and opportunity, thank the customer for providing the prep material. This is a good time to also ask meaningful questions regarding the materials (if you have any) or discuss other relevant aspects of the material.
After your work is completed and you are still on site, you have another opportunity to reinforce for all parties how valuable the prep material was to your work. If you can, be specific about how the materials were helpful (ie: “it was invaluable to be able to see the printed names for clarification” or “I would not have understood that acronym without the agenda”, etc). This also demonstrates a return investment for anyone who has put time into collecting, sending or receiving the materials. It will make it that much more likely that the next request for prep will be received favorably. I feel strongly that mentioning the fact that you did engage in some amount of preparation is important. Even a brief comment can have a positive influence.
Finally, after the assignment, do your own evaluation: was the prep that you did helpful and or necessary? Why or why not? What could be improved?
The answers to these questions may be different for every assignment. If you find yourself believing that preparation is not necessary or has no effect, it’s probably a good time to seek some updated training as inspiration. Preparation is always a good idea, and always worthwhile. Let’s help keep each other motivated.
Congratulations to Amy Fryman, full-time staff interpreter, and Jenn Lindsay, part-time interpreter, both of whom recently received her CT. Amy and Jenn both now have their CI and CT!
PIE welcomes Sherry Schwannecke, our new business manager. Congratulations to Mike Drissel who recently moved into a full-time coordinator position. Watch for more info about Sherry and Mike in the future.
ASL MENTORING PROGRAM OFFERED BY PIE
AMPSIGNING SKILLS FIZZLED OUT?
NEED TO ENERGIZE YOUR INTERPRETING?
PLUG INTO AMP!!WHO is the mentor? Lisa Perry Burckhardt, CDI-P, Deaf Mentor, Mentor Interpreter Coordinator, ASLTA Instructor and 5th Generation ASL user.
WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM BEING A MENTOR PROTÉGÉ?
- Current students or recent graduates of interpreting programs
- Working interpreters
- Certified interpreters who want to be more native-like in their signing
- Certified or experienced interpreters who need to enhance their skills in specialized or complex settings, such as medical or legal
- Parents of children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
- Teachers or other school staff that work with children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
- Social workers, police officers, or anyone who has contact with Deaf or Hard of Hearing people and wants to communicate more clearly in ASL
- Deaf or Hard of Hearing people who want to learn ASL or improve their skills. Example: Late-deafened adults, Deaf people who had an educational background that emphasized oral communications or language systems other than ASL
CONTACT MENTOR COORDINATOR LISA PERRY BURCKHARDT OR SCHEDULER LAURA COOK AT PIEINC@TDS.NET OR CALL 414-282-8115
DEADLINE FOR THE NEXT PIE A LA MODE: August 31st, 2004 or earlier!