Who is Ray?
Ray is a Child Of Deaf Adults, more commonly known in the d/Deaf community as a CODA. Ray was born in 1990 and when he was of a mature enough age, he realised that he had a responsibility within the family home due to the fact his parents were deaf. These responsibilities included making phone calls, going along to interpret for his parents, back in the days when this was seen as appropriate!! Ray vividly remembers going to a Deaf family wedding at around the age of 7 and being in utter amazement at the Interpreter, he turned to his Mum and said 'I want to do that when I am older!'
Ray went on to leave school in 2006 with 11 A*-C GCSE's and then went onto College to study Sociology, Psychology, English Language and ICT. After one year Ray decided that this was not the route that he wanted to take, so therefore made the decision to leave. His reasoning for leaving his academic studies was because during his time at Secondary School he had already begun studying British Sign Language (BSL) Level 1 and Level 2 certificates at his local college in St Helens. It was this that Ray decided he wanted to continue doing, still aspiring to become an interpreter. Upon leaving college, Ray enrolled onto the BSL Introduction to NVQ 3 which he successfully passed. At this point in his studies it became apparent that the following courses were going to require self funding as during all previous courses Ray had been in full time education therefore being eligible for free evening courses. A local Merseyside based Deaf Centre quoted their price and a mere 16 year old Ray did not have the funds available at that time to pursue his dream of becoming an interpreter.
|
Whilst saving up to enable him to do eventually enroll on the required courses he continued with his part time job which he had gained whilst in college. This was working at the local Subway store. Over time, Ray's skills and experience were noted which led to him eventually being promoted to Acting Store Manager. Following this Ray was also an active member of the Training Team covering the North West region.
In 2009 an opportunity arose that Ray just couldn't turn down, it was to work as a Communication Support Worker (CSW) with Red Bee Media, a large media company based in London. He applied for the job on a whim and not long after found himself commuting to London every week! During the 12 months that Ray worked for Red Bee Media Ltd he was given the opportunity to put his skills to use trying some in-vision TV work. He was able to interpret various programmes for Channel 5, CBeebies and CBBC which can still be seen on repeat today. Whilst working for Red Bee Media Ltd Ray met a Deaf Gentleman who mentioned that Action on Hearing Loss (formerly RNID) were holding an Interpreter Training Course in Liverpool. This was the moment Ray had been waiting for, along he went and enrolled, then there was an assessment day and he was offered a place on the course beginning in October 2009. The course involved BSL Coaching, NVQ Level 4 Language Units and Interpreter Theory which was done over 9 months. As soon as this course came to an end, there was mention of the new NVQ 6 Diploma in Sign Language Interpreting which was also being provided in Liverpool, so again Ray's aspirations were being revived! This course was held over 6 months and the end result was that Ray became eligible to register with the National Register of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People (NRCPD) as an Registered Sign Language Interpreter (RSLI), a dream which Ray had since a young age!
Ray has now been working as an RSLI amongst the community in the North West and wider regions since January of 2011, he has learnt a substantial amount and has thoroughly enjoyed it, Ray is passionate about his job and loves the feeling of job satisfaction knowing that somewhere during his day he has aided in breaking down a communication barrier that a d/Deaf person has faced.
Should you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any assistance to you in any way. Ray hopes to meet you soon and thanks you for taking the time to visit our website.
In 2009 an opportunity arose that Ray just couldn't turn down, it was to work as a Communication Support Worker (CSW) with Red Bee Media, a large media company based in London. He applied for the job on a whim and not long after found himself commuting to London every week! During the 12 months that Ray worked for Red Bee Media Ltd he was given the opportunity to put his skills to use trying some in-vision TV work. He was able to interpret various programmes for Channel 5, CBeebies and CBBC which can still be seen on repeat today. Whilst working for Red Bee Media Ltd Ray met a Deaf Gentleman who mentioned that Action on Hearing Loss (formerly RNID) were holding an Interpreter Training Course in Liverpool. This was the moment Ray had been waiting for, along he went and enrolled, then there was an assessment day and he was offered a place on the course beginning in October 2009. The course involved BSL Coaching, NVQ Level 4 Language Units and Interpreter Theory which was done over 9 months. As soon as this course came to an end, there was mention of the new NVQ 6 Diploma in Sign Language Interpreting which was also being provided in Liverpool, so again Ray's aspirations were being revived! This course was held over 6 months and the end result was that Ray became eligible to register with the National Register of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People (NRCPD) as an Registered Sign Language Interpreter (RSLI), a dream which Ray had since a young age!
Ray has now been working as an RSLI amongst the community in the North West and wider regions since January of 2011, he has learnt a substantial amount and has thoroughly enjoyed it, Ray is passionate about his job and loves the feeling of job satisfaction knowing that somewhere during his day he has aided in breaking down a communication barrier that a d/Deaf person has faced.
Should you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any assistance to you in any way. Ray hopes to meet you soon and thanks you for taking the time to visit our website.