Starting in 2001 I worked for a charity that specialises in services for those who are D/deaf or deafblind as well as their families. I started as a Personal Communication Assistant (PCA), which was a new Access to Work initiative to provide office based BSL/English support to D/deaf members of staff. Prior to taking this post I had been office based working for a variety of companies and call centres. The post of PCA gave me the opportunity to develop my skills in interpreting in office settings, such as face-to-face interpreting and on-the-phone interpreting. As I have proficient office skills I also did note taking (electronic) for meetings and training sessions although I have not undergone any formal training in this.
I became a community interpreter in 2004 whilst undergoing my interpreter training at UCLAn. Since then I have gained experience in a wide variety of domains:
· Medical – GP / Hospital / Day Surgeries
· Court
· Education – to under-graduate & post-graduate degree level for D/deaf students & lecturers and international D/deaf students
· Office – staff meetings, interviews, supervision, phone call interpreting, disciplinary meetings
· Mental Health – CPA, Tribunals, Clinical Supervision, Counselling sessions
· Religious Ceremonies and Festivals
· TV – off camera for BBC See Hear
· Conferences – for a variety of international, national and governmental organisations; both in the medium of BSL and International Sign
· Disability Arts – live performances and short plays
· Large scale live outdoor events that include spoken word, comedy and song
