EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — An El Paso Community College (EPCC) sign interpreter will retire after 35 years of service to her community and reflects on her journey of sign language interpreting with her daughter.
Adriana Garcia, a sign language interpreter at EPPC, announced that she will retire from the college on July 31, after 35 years of service, according to the news release.
She began working with EPCC in 1990, initially pursuing automotive studies, according to EPCC.
When Garcia saw an interpreter in one of her classes for the first time, it changed the course of her education, EPCC said.
“I was taking a math class and saw a deaf student with a sign language interpreter. I was so fascinated, I asked the interpreter where she learned sign language. She told me, ‘Right here at EPCC,’” Garcia said.
EPCC said Garcia began interpreting commencement ceremonies as early as 1995 and continued through 2007, with a return in 2011 when two of her daughters graduated from the interpreter program.
Victoria Garcia, Adriana Garcia’s daughter, grew up fascinated by her mother’s work and learned that interpreting sign language was her calling when she began her first internship, EPCC said.
“Growing up, I was always curious about what my mom was saying when she communicated in sign language,” Victoria Garcia said. “I learned how much I enjoyed it and discovered the rich culture of the deaf community.”
According to EPCC, Victoria Garcia began interpreting commencements for the college in 2016 and has since become a mentor to fellow interpreters.
In recent years, both Adriana and Victoria Garcia began interpreting events together, EPCC said.
“It was a great and beautiful experience,” Adriana Garcia said. “I told Valle Verde Dean Dr. Myshie Pagel that this was positive for the community. This is what it’s all about – staying in El Paso and representing our community.”
“It has been rewarding to share our work as mother and daughter. I’ve learned a lot from her, and I like to think I’ve taught her a few things too,” Victoria Garcia said.
EPCC said the mother-daughter duo’s first major assignment together was in Guatemala at a trilingual interpreter seminar, where the ladies had to translate from spoken Spanish to English and then to American Sign Language.
Adriana Garcia said that after retiring from EPCC, she plans to volunteer with hospice and help support deaf individuals.
“That calling gets stronger as each day passes by,” Adriana Garcia said.
For more information on the EPCC Sign Language Program, you can visit their website here.
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