ASL Student signs the praises of program
By: SAC PR
Monday, March 11, 2013
Tag: Archived
ASL/IT student signs the praises of program
Tabitha Teeples can really sing the praises of the American Sign Language/ Interpreter Program and she can sign them too. She recently signed the song “Popular” (from the show “Wicked”) for the ASL Talent Show. If you stop and think about it the ASL/IT program at SAC is very popular.
“It really is an amazing program,” she said. “We’re a program that the entire nation looks at to build their programs around.” The SAC ASL/IT program is rated Exemplary by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Teeples said she had always wanted to study ASL. Following her graduation from Churchill High School, she enrolled at UTSA. While the university does offer some ASL courses, it does not offer an ASL degree.
Teeples became a SAC student in 2010. This semester the 23-year-old is working fulltime and taking two ASL/IT classes. In the fall, she will complete the program with an unpaid internship and receive her associate’s degree.
While she would like to get a bachelor’s degree in ASL, there is only one program in Texas – at the University of Houston.
Teeples enjoys yoga, gardening and hanging out with her friends. On Thursdays she heads to the Broadway 50- 50 to compete in the trivia contests with her friends in ASL and there they only sign. She admits that can be pretty handy in a loud nightspot. “Socializing (using ASL) is the best way to improve your skills.”
She enjoys fashion and she works as a stylist for the J Crew call center. So the next question is why do the folks in ASL/IT only wear black? “We wear dark, solid colors so it can contrast with our signing,” she explains, adding: “I’m building up my professional wardrobe.”
Teeples has a twin sister, Tracy, who teaches third grade at Harmony Hills Elementary – the school that the twins attended.
There are many options for her after graduation: working for an agency, free-lancing, working for a school district, at a video relay station, and more.
“In the interpreting world that are so many situations that you can be in,” she said. “After I graduate I want to try a lot of different settings. That’s the exciting part, learning new topics, it‘s different every day.”
--SAC--