[VIDEO DESC & TRANSCRIPT: Ritchie is seated. The NAD logo is transparent in the bottom right corner.
RITCHIE: I’m known for having different jobs! It’s not wrong. Our lives have a journey, eventually you will discover what your niche is. That’s when you’ll realize, “Yes, that’s it!” That was me when I started interpreting full time and I realized that interpreting was my niche. This didn’t happen until I turned 50 years old and had a career change. Don’t be afraid of change because it is a beautiful process — it’s okay to change! Changes will lead to a happier life. People are usually confused when there’s a Deaf Interpreter because they’re thinking, “There’s already two interpreters — why do we need another one?” I offer people a different way to look at it, it’s like having a heart specialist, doctors in general don’t specialize in everything A to Z, they have their specialties. Deaf interpreters specialize in a language that is our own. I admit, I never expected to be an interpreter growing up, much less realize interpreting could be a paying job! I always assumed it was more like volunteering to interpret for DeafBlind people or even telling someone who can’t see something far away. I thought it wasn’t much, but once I realized interpreting was an actual career — it changed my life! I’ve been working for almost 13 years as an interpreter.
Black and white clip of Ritchie interpreting to a client. In the center, a white border surrounds white text “RITCHIE” underneath, appears in white text “CERTIFIED DEAF INTERPRETER.”
RITCHIE: Hello, I’m Ritchie Bryant and I’m a Certified Deaf Interpreter.
Black and white close up clip of Ritchie signing with an iPad document on the table.
RITCHIE: I grew up in a program that was similar to a deaf school. My program happened to have a large program for Deaf students. My school had a Jr. NAD chapter, Deaf cheerleaders, a Deaf newspaper club, and a Deaf football booster club. So to me, it felt like a deaf school. After I graduated from high school, I studied at Gallaudet University and graduated with a BA in American Sign Language (ASL).
Black and white clip of Ritchie reading the iPad document and beginning to sign to someone off screen.
RITCHIE: I didn’t expect to become an interpreter but looking back, I’ve had situations that led me to become one after all. I remember being in the classroom and every time the teacher turned around with their back to us to write something on the board, students would ask me if I understood anything. I’d explain what the teacher said, this was interpreting but at the time, I didn’t realize it. Another time was when I was in high school, I was at church and a DeafBlind person needed access so I interpreted in Tactile interpreting for them — this was my first time working with Tactile interpreting. These are just a few examples of my experiences over time. Later, when I worked at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf as an ASL specialist, I saw a flyer promoting deaf interpreting training. I considered it because while living in Philadelphia I noticed that people here strongly advocated for hearing and deaf interpreter teams. So, I thought why not grab the opportunity. I continued to take more training over time, I interpreted several times in Philadelphia occasionally. Then when I moved to Rochester – I took the performance test and got certified. I’ve been interpreting since 2007!
Black and white clip of Ritchie copy-signing someone off screen.
RITCHIE: Deaf interpreters have a variety of jobs to take: mirror interpreting which is when you’re in front of an audience and instead of having each person come up on stage, you can mirror the signer from the stage. DeafBlind interpreting is another one, using PTASL and backchanneling. Reading documents, some of which may include legal information — I read then translate for the client. Support oral students who are just learning how to sign and may feel overwhelmed or get lost in a conversation, I provide support for that student to keep up with the conversation. News broadcasts, I interpret what’s being announced or perhaps translate a written press release. These are just a few examples, there are more jobs people can take as a Deaf interpreter! As a CDI, my work schedule varies every day. It depends on which capacity we work in, for example: the school system, in the community, or if it’s medical.
Black and white clip of Ritchie interpreting.
RITCHIE: Oftentimes, when the deaf community sees a CDI – they think it’s for a specific group of deaf people who don’t really understand and not for themselves. They don’t realize that one of the things that make a CDI great is that CDIs control the communication flow. What that means is, often hearing interpreters will interpret a doctor who is rushing through and if a Deaf person wants to ask a question, the hearing interpreter may not always stop the conversation and interrupt the doctor. Whereas the CDI can interrupt the hearing interpreter and the doctor to let the Deaf person ask a question — this makes the Deaf person feel they’re a part of the process. For example, many IEP meetings use a CDI because oftentimes the conversation is faster paced and for a Deaf child, it is incredibly difficult to keep up and understand what’s being discussed. This is when a CDI can pause the conversation and make it slow paced for the child. CDIs have the power to pause the meeting.
Black and white clip of Ritchie and a client going over a document on the iPad. White text appears at the bottom center, “The fact is, there are not enough deaf people of color in the interpreting field.” Light blue text “- Ritchie” and a light blue line outlines the left side of the text.
RITCHIE: Perhaps you don’t care about your future job — just keep in mind, your journey begins from birth and ends when you die, there will be many paths to take. When you don’t care about your future, these paths become more limited. Be more daring, try new things, and take different paths!
Black and white clip of Ritchie copy-signing someone off screen. Video cuts to a dark blue background. Red alphabet letters of “N-A-D” in American Sign Language appears one by one in the center of the video. The copyright text appears in white underneath, “National Association of the Deaf, Copyright 2020, All Rights Reserved”.]