Melanie Page

What is your name?

Kat Dunams

What did you want to be when you grew up?

A teacher.

Does your childhood career goal now affect your interpreting in any way? Do they overlap, “speak” to each other, or are they completely separate?

I’ve wanted to work with people – children – to share information. I’ve had to learn several languages, so languages were an interest of mine as well, so my career is related.

In what ways do you mindfully and intentionally give back to your interpreting colleagues?

I regularly offer feedback and mentorship, I run a homeopathic support group in ASL and interpreters are a part of it, I offer holistic health retreats to interpreters, and I plan to create homeopathic kits for physical and emotional stress.

Give an example of a time another interpreter mindfully and intentionally gave back to you.

I have been fortunate to have been offered work by my colleagues because they respect my product/output.

Because interpreters are life-long learners, it can be hard to say, “Yes, I am an interpreter.” Do you remember when you were able to confidently use that label for yourself?

As soon as I graduated from the IEP. I felt successful in interpreting a class and it made me realize that no matter how basic a level, I understood the original message and I was able to produce an equivalent in a different language, and I was understood.

Please give a shout out to the interpreters you are grateful you know, have worked with, learned from, become friends with, etc.

So many of my colleagues have been incredibly supportive of and enriched me, I couldn’t do justice to them here.