Lipscomb alumna lets the spoken word be seen
Chris Pepple |
“It’s because of you that I am where I am today.”
Professors challenge and encourage students daily at Lipscomb University, but many times they do not know the results of their efforts. Harriet Harms, however, kept in touch with Dr. Lewis Maiden, a former university professor, and wrote to him years after she left Lipscomb to tell him how the school and his classes affected her life. When she began her studies at Lipscomb in 1966, she had no idea that studying history and theater would lead to a career as a freelance sign language interpreter.
“I was in one of Lewis Maiden’s classes when he stopped and signed the alphabet as part of the lesson,” Harms states. “That was the very first time I had seen sign language used.” At that time, Harms didn’t know anything about interpreting as a profession, but she knew that Dr. Maiden had introduced her to something that she wanted to know more about.
As Harms continued her studies at Lipscomb, she took courses in speech communication as well as history and theater. She went on to study sign language at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Gallaudet University and Nashville State Technical Institute. She studied history and theater at the University of London/Berkbeck. Studying Marcel Marceau’s mime technique at the Goldstone Mime Foundation has also come in handy in her career.
Many people have now become accustomed to seeing sign language interpreters at public events such as theater performances. Harms freelances for the Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s Broadway series, the Tennessee Repertory Theatre, Humanities Outreach of Tennessee, Circle Players, Nashville Children’s Theater and Pull-Tight Players. Her theater experience has provided many interesting moments for Harms. “When Peter Pan was here, I got to fly,” Harms exclaims. “That was fun. I also enjoy meeting the big stars who come through town.”
Harms also provides educational interpreting services for a variety of schools such as Lipscomb University, Watkins Institute and Nashville State Technical Institute. She also steps in wherever needed for community interpreting. “I’ve done weddings, funerals and Sunday morning church services. I’ve done baptisms and medical appointments, employment interviews and job-training sessions. You see interpreters a lot of places you have never seen them before.”
Integrity in this field is crucial. Interpreters are often involved in confidential conversations involving privileged information between a doctor and a patient or a lawyer and a client. “Confidentiality is a must,” Harms acknowledges. “You must never divulge any information you learn through an interpreting session. Your clients have to trust you enough so that they can be totally honest with the doctor, lawyer or clergy member. Trust is crucial.”
Political rallies often need a sign language interpreter for a speech. Harms signed for President Bush, President Clinton and Vice President Gore at various events in Nashville. Harms doesn’t have a problem signing for either political party whether or not she agrees with the platform presented at an event. “You are there to access the information. You can’t add your two cents to it. To interpret for a sitting President, it doesn’t matter what your political affiliation is. It is the respect for the office that matters.”
Harms admits that signing can be a tough job. “At the end of the day, your hands are tired. Your arms are tired. If you have been standing for two to three hours for an event, your back is tired. Your legs and feet are tired. Your mind is exhausted.”
Freelance signing also means being challenged to stay current with the evolution of the language. Just as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary updates annually to include new words such as mouse potato and labelmate, “deaf people create their own signs for new words. It’s their language,” Harms states. “American sign language is a beautiful language. It has its own grammar and syntax. Deaf people are proud of it. It evolves and changes just like any spoken language. If it doesn’t, it dies.”
There’s a beauty to a career that provides much needed services while working in both public and private settings, witnessing the joys and sorrows of clients who pour out their thoughts and feelings in a language you are privileged to understand.
--Chris Pepple