May 26 - Valedictorian vows to be ally to deaf community

In 2001 Barbie Murphy left her hometown of Kingsville, Ont., for Vancouver to pursue her dream of becoming a make-up artist in fashion and film.

Ten years later Murphy is working with her hands - though not in the way she'd planned.

"After seven years in the field I found I was not satisfied with my chosen career path, and began to re-evaluate," she says.

A student in the Sign Language and Interpretation program at Douglas College, Murphy graduates next week as valedictorian of her class.

She says learning American Sign Language was challenging, but hard work and a strong focus saw her through. She had a private tutor, a school tutor and did as much volunteer interpreting as she could during her summers.

"I have known since starting at Douglas that this was the career I wanted, so it was going to take a lot of dedication to achieve this goal."

In her new role as a professional interpreter, Murphy says she wants "to be an ally to the deaf community, a mentor to interpreting students and a supportive, valued asset to my colleagues."

Next month Murphy begins her tenure as Public Relations Chair for the Westcoast Association of Visual Language Interpreters' board of directors. 

Murphy's instructors say her work ethic, sense of integrity and genuine care for her clients will take her far in her career.

"En route to one of her practicums she got off a SkyTrain that was experiencing a lengthy delay and paid $25 to take a taxi to her assignment so she wouldn't be late," says Rhys McCormick, Program Instructor. "Her mentors thought she was crazy, but she told them she needed to be professional, and that meant showing up promptly for assignments."

"Barbie has awesome interpersonal skills," says Cheryl Palmer, Program Coordinator. "She is humble, and gets along well with clients, classmates, colleagues and instructors, which is so much what this career is about."

The Sign Language Interpretation program at Douglas College is unique in BC and is the oldest program of its kind in Canada.