Though successful in her first semester in Dental Lab Technology, Amanda Martin says, “I had a nagging doubt that it was the right career path for me over the long haul.” Knowing a reboot was in order, the American Sign Language (ASL) program piqued her interest.
“The first class reviewed and
covered rights and laws that personally affected the struggles of the deaf and hard
of hearing population. I was learning the language and being introduced to a
culture I never knew existed. I knew I had to do this for the rest of my life.”
Her next step was bold. Finishing up her ASL degree at
Reynolds, she applied as a hearing person to Gallaudet University in
Washington, D.C. “One of the questions that nagged at me was, would I be
accepted? Not just academically, but socially? The other major question was money.”
Fortunately, Amanda received an ASIST scholarship award
from the Richmond Chapter of Executive Women International. Members of EWI were recently on hand to hear Amanda share her story at Reynolds’ 18th
Annual Scholarship Luncheon.
Grateful – and graduating from Gallaudet this December –
Amanda is a freelance interpreter through the Virginia Department for the Deaf
and Hard of Hearing. She’s working to establish her own interpreting company and
website.
“I’m at this amazing university
because of my scholarship, I’ve had the wonderful experience of attending
Reynolds, where outstanding INTERPRETERS get started!”
