{"id":30459,"date":"2015-04-09T15:44:32","date_gmt":"2015-04-09T20:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=30459"},"modified":"2015-04-09T15:47:50","modified_gmt":"2015-04-09T20:47:50","slug":"a-tcc-alumnis-passion-for-sign-language-interpretation-fuels-her-teaching-and-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2015\/04\/09\/a-tcc-alumnis-passion-for-sign-language-interpretation-fuels-her-teaching-and-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"A TCC Alumni\u2019s Passion for Sign Language Interpretation Fuels Her Teaching and Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Destined to Make a Difference: A TCC Alumni\u2019s Passion for Sign Language Interpretation Fuels Her Teaching and Leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n

April 8, 2015<\/p>\n

By Kendra Prince<\/p>\n

\"sheppard_sammie_3229\"<\/a>It seems Sammie Sheppard was destined to work with the Deaf. The TCC alumni, who now coordinates the Sign Language Interpreting Program at the Trinity River Campus, was first introduced to the hearing impaired at an early age, when she met a boy in her community who was deaf.<\/p>\n

When Sheppard later attended Stephen F. Austin State University, it turned out that one of her roommates, Diane (Rollins) Stewart was deaf. Stewart brought Sheppard into the SFASU Deaf community, and thanks to her encouragement, Sheppard decided to became an interpreter.<\/p>\n

Once Sheppard moved to Fort Worth, where her husband could pursue work, she wanted to strengthen her interpreting skills acquired in East Texas. She was excited to learn about the TCC Sign Language Interpreting Program, then offered at the Northwest Campus. \u201cFormal interpreting educational programs were almost non-existent at the time,\u201d Sheppard said.<\/p>\n

Her Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation from the University of North Texas, completed in 1988, provided a great complement when Sheppard began to pursue her Associate in Applied Science in Interpreting for the Deaf. She earned it in 1991. Her previous minor in Orientation and Mobility, which focused on training the blind, really equipped her to work with the Deaf\/Blind community. Sheppard is continuing her formal education and anticipates completing her Master of Teaching American Sign Language from the University of Northern Colorado in December.<\/p>\n

One of Sheppard\u2019s early TCC instructors, Michael Cinatl, gave her a start in education by hiring her as an adjunct instructor in 1992. Cinatl, now assistant to Southeast Campus President Bill Coppola, recalls that Sheppard did extremely well in the program. \u201cI could not only rely on her professionalism but also her ability to deliver the curriculum and learn the art of teaching,\u201d Cinatl said. \u201cEven though she did not have an education background, she quickly learned how to teach with compassion and maintain the rigor needed so students could graduate and pass their state certification.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheppard\u2019s devotion to the success of her students is fueled by her commitment to excellence in her field. \u201cYou should be passionate about what you teach,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

It is not surprising that Sheppard\u2019s students sing her praises. \u201cSammie is dedicated to our success and works tirelessly for this program to run smoothly,\u201d said Interpreter Training Program student Holly Lackey. \u201cWe can go to her for anything. Her door is always open to us \u2013 unless she is grading. And then, we just throw chocolate at her.\u201d<\/p>\n

The quality of the TCC Sign Language Interpreting Program is what brought student James Holtry to Texas from Florida. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about learning sign language. It\u2019s about learning why and how to sign and what sign language means to the Deaf community. Because of this, the faculty and staff are willing to personally invest in each student\u2019s success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fellow student Zac Rocha agrees. \u201cEach instructor brings a reality to the classroom by sharing their experiences. At each level, students experience genuine knowledge that can only be passed down from an instructor who has personal experience with the subject.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheppard, herself, is extremely proud of what the TCC Sign Language Interpreting Program has to offer. \u201cMany of our faculty and staff are deaf and partner with hearing instructors who are certified. The Deaf culture is taught and students have a better sense of the needs of the Deaf consumer.\u201d Currently, the Sign Language Interpreting Program has 370 students and a waiting list to enter.<\/p>\n

Last fall, Sheppard and her team began the daunting task of working toward gaining accreditation for their program through the Commission on Collegiate Interpreter Education. They hope to complete that goal within two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have total buy-in with our faculty, advisory board and campus administrators,\u201d says Sheppard. \u201cI couldn\u2019t ask for better support. And needless to say, our students want to see it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The third in a year-long series celebrating TCC\u2019s 50th anniversary through the lives of its students. Follow the link below to enjoy the second feature:<\/p>\n

SOURCE:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/sites.tccd.edu\/tccbuzz\/2015\/04\/08\/destined-to-make-a-difference-a-tcc-alumnis-passion-for-sign-language-interpretation-fuels-her-teaching-and-leader\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Destined to Make a Difference: A TCC Alumni\u2019s Passion for Sign Language Interpretation Fuels Her Teaching and Leadership April 8, 2015 By Kendra Prince It seems Sammie Sheppard was destined to work with the Deaf. The TCC alumni, who now…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[23409,40,23408,1671,3633,20894,1138,1848,1139,3874,23407],"class_list":["post-30459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-bill-coppola","tag-interpreter","tag-michael-cinatl","tag-sammie-sheppard","tag-sign-language-interpreting-program","tag-stephen-f-austin-state-university","tag-tarrant-county-college","tag-tcc","tag-trinity-river-campus","tag-university-of-north-texas","tag-zac-rocha"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-7Vh","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":40390,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2020\/02\/20\/seek-the-world-at-tcc-4-2-2020-dfw\/","url_meta":{"origin":30459,"position":0},"title":"Seek the World at TCC 4\/2\/2020 – DFW","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"February 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Seek the World at TCC 4\/2\/2020 - DFW On April 2, 2020 from 6 pm \u2013 8pm, the TCC Sign Language Interpreting Program and ASL Club is proud to be hosting Seek the World! Calvin Young will be presenting on Deaf Awareness (please see flyer attachment for more info) and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/SEEK-THE-WORLD-Flyer.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":29555,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/12\/22\/4-week-introductory-course-to-legal-interpreting-fort-worth\/","url_meta":{"origin":30459,"position":1},"title":"4 week introductory course to legal interpreting – Fort Worth","author":"Chrissy Snider","date":"December 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Come join Gwendolyn Bennett at Tarrant County College for a 4 week introductory course to legal interpreting! When: February 10th - March 5th, 2015 T\/TH 6:00 pm-8:00pm Where: TCC Trinity River Campus\u00a0 Fort Worth, TX. 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