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Certified interpreter enjoys challenges, experiences that come with her job | NewarkAdvocate.com | The Newark Advocate
Jill Gillespie started learning sign language more than 34 years ago to help her son learn to talk.
Now as a sign language interpreter, she strives to provide equal access to communication for those who are deaf or have hearing loss.
"I try to be a liaison, an advocate for the right to have an interpreter," she said. "It's something that is important."
A certified interpreter, Gillespie has been the owner of Jill Gillespie Interpreters for the Deaf, in Newark, since 2006.
Her company hires local interpreters as subcontractors who work with clients in Licking County and surrounding counties.
The company has about 10 interpreters on staff who provide interpreting services during medical appointments, business meetings, church services, speeches and other events.
"Our agency receives requests from the community and attempts to match interpreters with clients or consumers," Gillespie said. "We are very fortunate to live in a small area and have this many interpreters available."
SHARING A PASSION
A former banker with Park National Bank, Gillespie started signing in 1976 to help her son, who has Down syndrome, with his speech.
"We started with three basic signs, and eventually he developed a signing vocabulary," she said. "It really helped him start to talk."
Seeing her son's success, Gillespie began taking sign language classes and sharing her knowledge with other parents.
"My passions in life are behavior management and language development," she said. "Seeing how successful (my son) was in using sign language only encouraged me to share this knowledge with other parents."
It wasn't until she was invited to act as an interpreter for a meeting at her church that she realized there was a difference between knowing sign language and interpreting.
A signer is someone who knows signs and can conduct conversations; an interpreter absorbs information, breaks it down and presents it in the way a client will understand, Gillespie said.
"I knew every sign in 'The Joy of Signing' but had no idea what interpreting entailed," she said. "I realized the importance of formal training."
ACCEPTING THE CHALLENGE
Gillespie began taking classes at Ohio State University and Columbus State Community College. She graduated in 1997 with a degree in interpreting and transliterating and sign language interpreting and earned her certification from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.
That year, she began working for local interpreting agency J. Worth and Associates.
When the owner of the company, Janet Worth Weaver, retired, she asked Gillespie to take over.
"I loved being out in the field interpreting," she said. "But I accepted the challenge."
Gillespie spends most of her time overseeing the administrative side of her business, but she still does some interpreting.
She also works as an educational interpreter for Newark City Schools. Based at Cherry Valley Elementary School, she works as an interpreter for several students who are deaf or have hearing loss.
When she isn't working, Gillespie sometimes donates her services, interpreting for churches and other nonprofit organizations in the county.
TRAINING AND PREPARATION
Being an interpreter requires training in American Sign Language grammar, syntax and linguistics. Many interpreters follow a professional code of ethics and attend classes and conferences every year.
"It's a profession and should be treated as such," Gillespie said. "It's not something someone can do because they took a few classes."
As an interpreter for Jill Gillespie Interpreters for the Deaf, Sarah Gualtieri, 24, attends medical appointments and business meetings with clients.
She also has interpreted at graduations and speeches at the Newark campus of Ohio State University and Central Ohio Technical College.
"My favorite thing is being able to meet so many different people," Gualtieri said. "It's continually humbling to work with the deaf community."
As an interpreter, Gualtieri does her best to prepare for each assignment. She studies notes and PowerPoint slides before presentations and researches medical conditions before medical appointments.
"The more I know helps everything go smoothly," she said.
EQUAL ACCESS
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires entities such as hospitals, police departments and businesses to provide sign language interpreters to those who ask for them, Gillespie said.
"It's about providing equal access to communication," Gualtieri said. "An interpreter is not an extra benefit; it is their right."
Throughout the years, more Licking County businesses have started providing interpreter services, Gillespie said.
"We are seeing it more and more," she said. "And the deaf community has become more aware of their right to have an interpreter and they have been requesting them."
Gillespie said she enjoys being an advocate and an interpreter.
"If I could be anything I'd be a perpetual student, and the wonderful thing about interpreting is you are introduced to so many different subjects and people," she said. "I'm always learning something new and always being challenged."
Jill Gillespie started learning sign language more than 34 years ago to help her son learn to talk.
Now as a sign language interpreter, she strives to provide equal access to communication for those who are deaf or have hearing loss.
"I try to be a liaison, an advocate for the right to have an interpreter," she said. "It's something that is important."
A certified interpreter, Gillespie has been the owner of Jill Gillespie Interpreters for the Deaf, in Newark, since 2006.
Her company hires local interpreters as subcontractors who work with clients in Licking County and surrounding counties.
The company has about 10 interpreters on staff who provide interpreting services during medical appointments, business meetings, church services, speeches and other events.
"Our agency receives requests from the community and attempts to match interpreters with clients or consumers," Gillespie said. "We are very fortunate to live in a small area and have this many interpreters available."
SHARING A PASSION
A former banker with Park National Bank, Gillespie started signing in 1976 to help her son, who has Down syndrome, with his speech.
"We started with three basic signs, and eventually he developed a signing vocabulary," she said. "It really helped him start to talk."
Seeing her son's success, Gillespie began taking sign language classes and sharing her knowledge with other parents.
"My passions in life are behavior management and language development," she said. "Seeing how successful (my son) was in using sign language only encouraged me to share this knowledge with other parents."
It wasn't until she was invited to act as an interpreter for a meeting at her church that she realized there was a difference between knowing sign language and interpreting.
A signer is someone who knows signs and can conduct conversations; an interpreter absorbs information, breaks it down and presents it in the way a client will understand, Gillespie said.
"I knew every sign in 'The Joy of Signing' but had no idea what interpreting entailed," she said. "I realized the importance of formal training."
ACCEPTING THE CHALLENGE
Gillespie began taking classes at Ohio State University and Columbus State Community College. She graduated in 1997 with a degree in interpreting and transliterating and sign language interpreting and earned her certification from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.
That year, she began working for local interpreting agency J. Worth and Associates.
When the owner of the company, Janet Worth Weaver, retired, she asked Gillespie to take over.
"I loved being out in the field interpreting," she said. "But I accepted the challenge."
Gillespie spends most of her time overseeing the administrative side of her business, but she still does some interpreting.
She also works as an educational interpreter for Newark City Schools. Based at Cherry Valley Elementary School, she works as an interpreter for several students who are deaf or have hearing loss.
When she isn't working, Gillespie sometimes donates her services, interpreting for churches and other nonprofit organizations in the county.
TRAINING AND PREPARATION
Being an interpreter requires training in American Sign Language grammar, syntax and linguistics. Many interpreters follow a professional code of ethics and attend classes and conferences every year.
"It's a profession and should be treated as such," Gillespie said. "It's not something someone can do because they took a few classes."
As an interpreter for Jill Gillespie Interpreters for the Deaf, Sarah Gualtieri, 24, attends medical appointments and business meetings with clients.
She also has interpreted at graduations and speeches at the Newark campus of Ohio State University and Central Ohio Technical College.
"My favorite thing is being able to meet so many different people," Gualtieri said. "It's continually humbling to work with the deaf community."
As an interpreter, Gualtieri does her best to prepare for each assignment. She studies notes and PowerPoint slides before presentations and researches medical conditions before medical appointments.
"The more I know helps everything go smoothly," she said.
EQUAL ACCESS
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires entities such as hospitals, police departments and businesses to provide sign language interpreters to those who ask for them, Gillespie said.
"It's about providing equal access to communication," Gualtieri said. "An interpreter is not an extra benefit; it is their right."
Throughout the years, more Licking County businesses have started providing interpreter services, Gillespie said.
"We are seeing it more and more," she said. "And the deaf community has become more aware of their right to have an interpreter and they have been requesting them."
Gillespie said she enjoys being an advocate and an interpreter.
"If I could be anything I'd be a perpetual student, and the wonderful thing about interpreting is you are introduced to so many different subjects and people," she said. "I'm always learning something new and always being challenged."