Sign Language Interpreter Seminar Set
The Pierpont Community & Technical College of Fairmont State University Sign Language
Interpreter Program will host its first professional development seminar for interpreters
on campus June 18-21.
The program, the only one of its kind in the state, will bring to West Virginia both
nationally and internationally recognized practitioners and educators in the field
of sign language interpretation. Program Coordinator Ruby Losh said sign language
professionals from West Virginia and from out of state will have the opportunity to
explore new concepts and learn new techniques during the seminar. In addition to acquiring
new skills, participants will also have the opportunity to gain required continuing
education units. The 2.8 Continuing Education Units from the Registry of Interpreters
for the Deaf are necessary in order to maintain certification in the field.
Many of the interpreters who will participate in the seminar are graduates of the
program, Losh said.
"This was a good opportunity to increase their professional development opportunities
and to gain valuable new skills," Losh said.
Presenters will include Patricia "Trix" Bruce, a nationally known workshop presenter
and American Sign Language performer, and Steve Walker, a nationally and internationally
recognized practitioner and educator in the field of sign language interpretation.
Bruce has been profoundly deaf since she was 6 months old. Her education has included
oral, mainstreaming, deaf classes and online educational programs. She has been involved
in the performing arts since 1980. As an interpreter, Walker has worked in international
venues such as the World Federation of the Deaf, the National Argentina Congress of
the Deaf, the World Bank Conference on Disability and Development and the DeafWay
conferences and festivals.
The seminar is being sponsored by the West Virginia Commission for the Deaf and Hard
of Hearing, an office within the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources,
and Pierpont C&TC, a division of Fairmont State University.
