ASL Club hosts panel of alumni

Raena Hunter Doty / THE GATEPOST

By Raena Hunter Doty Staff Writer The American Sign Language (ASL) Club hosted a panel of alumni who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in ASL to speak on their experiences as professionals Feb. 25. The event was held entirely in ASL with interpreters available to ensure the event was accessible to people who didn’t know ASL. Mark Foley, ASL Club vice president, and Meriam Boutissant, secretary, hosted the panel discussion with four alumni - Kayla Barboza, ’24, Mackenzie Lloyd, ’22, Julia Cohen, ’21, and Hunter Robinson, ’24. Robinson said the ASL Club at FSU was extremely important to him because he began college in 2020, and at the time, he lived in New Hampshire and did all of his classes over Zoom. Barboza said one challenge she faced as an ASL major was when she decided to switch from a concentration in interpreting to Deaf studies. She said she decided to change her concentration after realizing she felt more passionate about other aspects of ASL than interpreting. She added, “I didn’t want other people to think, ‘You can’t become an interpreter,’ but that’s not why. “Now, I’m in my master’s for Deaf education, and I really feel it has a good impact on me,” she said. “A good change, but a difficult change.” Cohen recommended students who are looking to work as an interpreter should integrate themselves in the Deaf community. “Don’t only go to class,” she said, and added she rarely spent time in the Deaf community until she started an internship during her senior year. She said she didn’t feel fully prepared to enter the field as an interpreter because she waited so long. “You should do everything you possibly can,” she said. “You have to be ready and motivated to just jump in.” Lloyd said the biggest challenge she faced when going out into the field as a professional was that she had to put herself out there and communicate her needs in order to grow. “Supporting one another is very important, and if you’re struggling with something, you need to ask instead of just sitting in the back and doing a nice smile or just sitting there clueless,” she said. An attendee asked the panelists about maintaining work-life balance in their career, and Robinson said this can be a challenge because he works from home and his bedroom is his office. He recommended students have a plan for their career growth to keep them on track, but most importantly, “Remember why you’re doing it. “Every time I get the opportunity to interpret and use my skills at work, it’s so inspiring, and it makes me remember why I’m here all over again,” he said. One attendee asked the panel about how to gain confidence in signing, and Barboza said she was in their shoes exactly when she was at FSU, as she didn’t have a lot of confidence in her signing. “But now, to be in the Deaf education field, I need to stand up and teach in front of other people,” she said. “It’s crazy, and it’s hard. But you have to force yourself to work on it and be honest with yourself.” Lloyd said, “For me, [confidence] comes from making mistakes and then learning from them.” She added that as an interpreter she does a lot of work where confidence is necessary. “If I go to a doctor’s appointment and there’s a doctor there and there’s another interpreter there and there’s [the patient] - if I’m nervous and I don’t have any confidence, what’s going to happen?” Cohen said, “The classroom is a safe space for you to learn, so you’re free to practice - you shouldn’t feel afraid.” She said Lloyd’s story about going to a doctor’s appointment is a high-stakes situation, unlike the classroom, where “it’s important, definitely, but not like a doctor’s appointment. “Make mistakes, accept them, and move on. Learn from them. And again and again, it happens. That’s normal. That’s life. But accept it and want to learn from it,” she added.