I was born and raised in Florida where I was an active performer in both theater and dance. I was mainly a dance driven performer and this is where my ASL journey began. I stumbled upon interpreters at Walt Disney World where I dreamed of dancing on stage. While a show in the parks, I saw interpreters not only interpreting the show, but "performing" the show. I was so impressed with how well they knew all the lines and how they we're basically dancing to every count and word said in the show. This made me think if I can't be on stage, "why don't I try that job?" And so....I did.

After I was exposed to interpreters for the first time in my life, I started to look into learning ASL but couldn't find anything that helped me BEFORE I started talking to a deaf person. All I was told was, "go talk to deaf people" and although this is very much encouraged. I didn't know enough where I felt confident and wanted to ask so many questions before signing a conversation. I was limited in my vocabulary. With that being said, my high school teacher was the first Deaf person I had ever met in the deaf community. This was where I was able to use the teachers aide to interpret for me. I took his classes for my final 2 years of high school, pursued more ASL classes in college, went off to study in an interpreter training program at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fl. and the rest is history.

I stayed involved with the deaf community all throughout my college years. I attended deaf events for class credit, I was a member of my ASL club and later earned a position as the event coordinator, I constantly offered to interpret for deaf friends and my teachers always encouraged me to attend workshops too. In doing all of these things, I thrived and I didn't want to stop learning. As a visual learner, learning ASL was easy for me to pick up and as I learned more I went to practice at deaf events but I still had the guidance of English speaking friends and mentors to assist me along the way. Not only did I feel more comfortable using my own language, but I was also able to ask questions that I wasn't sure was appropriate or acceptable to ask in a community I knew nothing about. Overtime I learned the cultural differences especially realizing that English and ASL are NOT the same. Remembering this really helped me in my career and when I graduated, I only kept learning more in the field of interpreting and how to respect a culture that very few know about.

I am now currently nationally certified and work in a variety of settings. I interpret for deaf individuals at medical appointments, job trainings, interviews, corporate settings, video relay services (what we remember as TTY), and also onboard the Disney Cruise Line fleet. We interpreters work in any setting that we in the hearing world would experience on a daily basis. 

Now in creating this course series, I look forward to seeing you learn and grow here with the tools I wish I had before meeting my first deaf friend. I will gladly support you in any challenge you face along the way. This is a safe space for you to ask questions in your language before you learn to use another that is far more challenging but rewarding to learn. You will gain so much knowledge here where I hope after you complete these courses, you will want to share your experience with the world. Without us educating one another, the deaf community will continue to face more challenges that we in the hearing world will never experience. I hope you join the allyship and that you continue learning within the deaf community. They are looking forward to meeting you along with a few of my deaf friends that will join on you on your journey here too!