Drake Political Review | Let's Talk Politics

Author: Sarah Bogaards

<h1>Missing: Iowa’s Sign Language Interpreters</h1><h6><i>Communication access for deaf Iowans suffers under decline of interpreters and training programs.</i></h6>
Iowa

Missing: Iowa’s Sign Language Interpreters

Communication access for deaf Iowans suffers under decline of interpreters and training programs.

Art by Amanda O'Brien The interpreter training program at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs began and ended with Carolyn Cool. She was a graduate of the program’s first class of young sign language interpreters in 1980. Cool immediately started her career interpreting in the legal and medical fields across central Iowa.  Then, 12 years later, she returned. To live in her hometown. To work at Iowa Western. To teach new interpreters everything she knew in the same place she learned it. “It just was like the ideal job,” Cool said. “I remember saying to my husband one time, I don't know when I get paid and I don't know how much money I make because that was so irrelevant to me and I had so much fun going to Iowa Western every day.” Much of that fun was building...
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