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Deaf program graduate aims to help others | Local News | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California
Zachary Johnson, 31, is setting a record at Riverside City College.
He is the first deaf graduate of the college's Interpreter Preparation Program, which has existed for decades. He will be awarded a certificate at the college's commencement on today. .
"It's a big deal to be the first deaf graduate of the program," Johnson said, his answers relayed through Diana MacDougall, program coordinator. "I am so proud because other deaf individuals are coming up to me and saying they are inspired by what I have done and now they want to go back to school. I feel like I have planted a seed for other deaf individuals in the community."
Johnson has opened doors, said MacDougall, chairwoman of the World Languages Department.
This semester, Johnson completed a 92-hour practicum for the interpreter program. He worked with hearing interpreters to communicate with deaf people at a CPR-certification conference in San Diego and at blood drives for the American Red Cross. At the conference, Johnson interpreted from the stage after receiving sign language from a hearing interpreter sitting in the audience.
Johnson said he is culturally sensitive to the needs of deaf people and can provide context or better explain concepts than hearing interpreters, who might be more literal in their translations. For example, he said he noticed that hearing interpreters would spell out the word for ibuprofen in American Sign Language when stating that ibuprofen should not be consumed immediately after giving blood. He said he could tell that some deaf people did not understand that word until he explained it.
"I know where they are coming from," Johnson said. "I can see where to embed those nuances as a deaf person."
Johnson grew up in the Bay Area. His parents were deaf and attended the California School for the Deaf in Fremont.
"The deaf community is my culture," he said. "ASL (American Sign Language) is my native language. It was all very natural for me."
Attending college in Ohio, he had to depend on a voice interpreter and note-taker for the first time in his life. He could not communicate directly with his professors or classmates and words were lost in translation.
"I had no interaction with anybody and they couldn't communicate with me," Johnson said. "I could only communicate with my interpreter for everything. It hit me that there was such dependence and I didn't want that. Deaf people can certainly be independent."
Johnson said he worked extremely hard to do well but he felt overwhelmed so he left. Remaining in Ohio, he got married, had two daughters. But after the marriage failed and a stay at Washington D.C.-based Gallaudet University, a prestigious liberal arts college for deaf people, he returned to California and eventually to Riverside City College
He ran into third-party communication problems and approached MacDougall for solutions.
"She said, 'Why don't you think about becoming a certified deaf interpreter?'" Johnson said.
He decided to interpret on a trial basis for a student who was taking a photo class on campus. Initially, the student didn't see the point of having two interpreters, he said.
"People thought it was a waste of time at first," Johnson said. "But right away, I could see that the student was participating, asking questions. It made a difference."
The experience convinced Johnson that he should give interpreting a shot.
"When you use your own language, you use your own style and approach," Johnson said. "When you are interpreting, you have to provide meaning. Plus, there is speed and not going too fast paced. When you are interpreting, you have to think about the stakeholders and you can't just use your own way of talking. It changed my way of understanding vocabulary and semantics on a deeper level."
With the certificate, Johnson said, he can work as an entry-level interpreter and several local agencies have encouraged him to apply. He said he wants to work while going to school for his associate's degree in American Sign Language. His long-term plans are to earn a bachelor's degree in linguistics, become a certified deaf interpreter and teach at a community college.
"I am a lifelong learner," Johnson said.
Zachary Johnson, 31, is setting a record at Riverside City College.
He is the first deaf graduate of the college's Interpreter Preparation Program, which has existed for decades. He will be awarded a certificate at the college's commencement on today. .
"It's a big deal to be the first deaf graduate of the program," Johnson said, his answers relayed through Diana MacDougall, program coordinator. "I am so proud because other deaf individuals are coming up to me and saying they are inspired by what I have done and now they want to go back to school. I feel like I have planted a seed for other deaf individuals in the community."
Johnson has opened doors, said MacDougall, chairwoman of the World Languages Department.
This semester, Johnson completed a 92-hour practicum for the interpreter program. He worked with hearing interpreters to communicate with deaf people at a CPR-certification conference in San Diego and at blood drives for the American Red Cross. At the conference, Johnson interpreted from the stage after receiving sign language from a hearing interpreter sitting in the audience.
Johnson said he is culturally sensitive to the needs of deaf people and can provide context or better explain concepts than hearing interpreters, who might be more literal in their translations. For example, he said he noticed that hearing interpreters would spell out the word for ibuprofen in American Sign Language when stating that ibuprofen should not be consumed immediately after giving blood. He said he could tell that some deaf people did not understand that word until he explained it.
"I know where they are coming from," Johnson said. "I can see where to embed those nuances as a deaf person."
Johnson grew up in the Bay Area. His parents were deaf and attended the California School for the Deaf in Fremont.
"The deaf community is my culture," he said. "ASL (American Sign Language) is my native language. It was all very natural for me."
Attending college in Ohio, he had to depend on a voice interpreter and note-taker for the first time in his life. He could not communicate directly with his professors or classmates and words were lost in translation.
"I had no interaction with anybody and they couldn't communicate with me," Johnson said. "I could only communicate with my interpreter for everything. It hit me that there was such dependence and I didn't want that. Deaf people can certainly be independent."
Johnson said he worked extremely hard to do well but he felt overwhelmed so he left. Remaining in Ohio, he got married, had two daughters. But after the marriage failed and a stay at Washington D.C.-based Gallaudet University, a prestigious liberal arts college for deaf people, he returned to California and eventually to Riverside City College
He ran into third-party communication problems and approached MacDougall for solutions.
"She said, 'Why don't you think about becoming a certified deaf interpreter?'" Johnson said.
He decided to interpret on a trial basis for a student who was taking a photo class on campus. Initially, the student didn't see the point of having two interpreters, he said.
"People thought it was a waste of time at first," Johnson said. "But right away, I could see that the student was participating, asking questions. It made a difference."
The experience convinced Johnson that he should give interpreting a shot.
"When you use your own language, you use your own style and approach," Johnson said. "When you are interpreting, you have to provide meaning. Plus, there is speed and not going too fast paced. When you are interpreting, you have to think about the stakeholders and you can't just use your own way of talking. It changed my way of understanding vocabulary and semantics on a deeper level."
With the certificate, Johnson said, he can work as an entry-level interpreter and several local agencies have encouraged him to apply. He said he wants to work while going to school for his associate's degree in American Sign Language. His long-term plans are to earn a bachelor's degree in linguistics, become a certified deaf interpreter and teach at a community college.
"I am a lifelong learner," Johnson said.