Bevalee Tshudy – American Sign Language Interpreter Internship

Hello! My name is Bevalee Tshudy, and I am a senior at Garden Spot High School. To finish off my high school career, I have been blessed with the opportunity to intern at John Beck Elementary School with one of their American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters. John Beck Elementary School is located at 418 E. Lexington Rd, Lititz, PA 17543, and is one of four elementary schools in the Warwick school district: the others being John R. Bonfield, Kissle Hill, and Lititz Elementary schools. Currently, I am interning with my mentor Ms. Erika Swigart who interpreters for two fourth graders. Through this internship, I have been able to grow my skills in ASL and in the interpreting side of things. Even though my internship is only observations, I have been able to take notes during the class while observing and then afterward I go over any questions/comments from that day with Ms. Swigart, and then we normally end up talking about other ASL related topics until its time to leave for the day at 3:00 pm. I am extremely grateful to be part of the internship program here at Garden Spot High School and to gain such amazing experiences with such an awesome mentor! My interest in American Sign Language started when I was about nine or ten years old as I watched my mother sign for church services at Christian Fellowship Church for a deaf family that went there. As soon as I was old enough to start learning and understanding the concept of ASL my mom started to teach me some sign language, we started with the alphabet. As I got older I started to realize the need for interpreters so that the deaf community can have equal access to everything that those who are hearing have access to.   

I am extremely grateful for all of the insights that not only my mentor, Ms. Swigart, has given but also the other interpreters and teachers for the deaf classrooms as well! She has been such a help when it comes to getting me the opportunities to not only observe her but also observe the other interpreters which have been helpful because I then get to see the different ways and styles of interpreting that others use. I have also been able to see how a deaf and hard-of-hearing class-specific room works and how to teach lessons that they are able to understand. I have also had the opportunity to observe their specials, art, music, gym, and library. It is interesting to see how classes such as art and music are interpreted due to there not being many “traditional” signs for what the teacher is trying to explain. For art when a certain shape is being talked about you use your hands to make the shape so that the students understand what the teacher is exactly talking about. For music, you take your hand and turn it sideways with all of your fingers separated and that is what you use to represent the lines and spaces when talking about note letter names. 

I go to John Beck on Wednesdays and Fridays since it is quite a long drive. I arrive around 11:07 and after checking in with the front office I go straight to the interpreters’ office where I meet up with Ms. Swigart and eat my lunch while she tells me the plan for the day and is also working on some of her own work that she needs to do. We arrive at their special for that day around 11:24 and the students arrive there at 11:25 for class. After special, we go to their class with the students and they have content. After content one of the deaf students leave and then they have math time until the end of the day unless they have something else planned for the end of the day. At the end of the day on Fridays, they have their class meeting, this is a time where they all sit in a circle around the room with their chairs and they go around telling about their plans for the upcoming weekend. Once math is over the other deaf student leaves to go back to their homeroom to pack up for the end of the day and get ready to go home. As soon as the deaf student leaves, Ms. Swigart and I leave as well and go back to the interpreters’ office to discuss how the day went/I as any questions that I have from that day. We then stay there until it’s time to leave at 3:00.

Overall, I have been beyond blessed with this opportunity to get so actual field experience while still in high school. This internship has reassured me that I made the correct decision regarding what I want to do as a career for the rest of my life. I want to thank Mrs. Hackman and all of the staff members at John Beck Elementary that I get the privilege to work with for being so helpful and always being there if I have any questions about anything. For students, who are not positive if they want to do an internship or not I encourage you to take the step and do an internship. They may be hard work or challenging at times, but all of your hard work will pay off and you will have such an amazing experience and it will also get you a step above when you go to apply for a job in that field when they see you had an internship in your future career in high school. Not everyone is made for the field of American Sign Language Interpretation, but there are so many other job options out there for you to find one that you will enjoy and love. The experiences that I have gained while at my internship will have a lifelong impact on me, I can’t wait to see what the rest of my time at John Beck Elementary School has in store for me.