I’m Sarah Glendenning, a British Sign Language Interpreter who started my career as a Communication Support Worker. I’ve worked in Colleges and Further Education settings, and gained my interpreting qualifications through the University of Central Lancashire, where my status marks me out with a Post Graduate Diploma in BSL/English Interpreting and Training. Ironically, that’s a bit of a mouthful!
The industry I work in and enjoy is a tough one in many respects, so it’s essential for my own professionalism and for the good of my clients that I take part in regular Supervision and Continuous Professional Development (CPD). I can’t pretend that I don’t love the fact that this makes me look great on paper, but it’s more important to me that I live up to the profession’s good name, and deliver great service to my clients through my commitment to improving and enhancing my own skills.
Although it’s by no means expected, I like to attend any events held in the deaf community, so that I can immerse myself in part of what is a wonderful group in society – and a culture all of its own. When I socialise as well as work with deaf and hard of hearing people, I get to know their struggles and their strengths, and this puts me in a fantastic position to get the most out of any communication that may follow in my work.
My work is very varied, which I think is my favourite thing about the job I do. I get to work out in the community to make sure that people can deliver and receive important information from events such as medical appointments, public meetings and social gatherings, and I get to work with some fantastic corporate clients as part of inclusive practice, including from within the Media and the NHS. I’ve worked in corporate settings at events such as political conferences, AGMs, exhibitions, awards ceremonies and training events.
I even run my own training events, too!
Fancy a chat?