Rea and Barbara Hinrichs

SCHOLARSHIP

History

The American Sign Language/Interpreter Training Department had aspired for many years to establish a scholarship fund to benefit outstanding Interpreting and Deaf support Specialist Students. In 2004, as the department was preparing to celebrate it’s 10 th Anniversary, the timing seemed right.

Monies raised from the 10 year Gala and Silent Auction enabled the dream to become a reality. Working with the Alamo Community College Foundation, the Rea and Barbara Hinrichs Scholarship Fund was established.

The scholarship is named in honor of Rea and Barbara Hinrichs of Denver, Colorado. Rea and Barbara have been a cornerstone of the deaf community in Denver for many years and have served as role models and advocates. Their oldest daughter, Lauri Metcalf, was the first program coordinator of the Department of ASL and IT at San Antonio College and has been the department chairperson since its inception. Lauri’s leadership and vision has contributed to the phenomenal success of the ASL/IT program at San Antonio College. By naming the scholarship for Lauri’s parents, Rea and Barbara, the department of ASL/ IT officially acknowledges the lasting impact of their love and parenting.

The department then established a scholarship committee which consists of Faculty, Advisory Board members, and Graduates. Guidelines for the scholarship were established and the first group of applicants went through the application process. It was decided that two five hundred dollar scholarships would be awarded each academic year to outstanding students in the department. In July of 2007 the first two scholarships were awarded

Scholarship Qualifications,Requirements and Application form:

Scholarship Recipients 2009-2010

Ariel Johnson

When Ariel Johnson was a little girl, she would sit on the edge of her seat in church mesmerized by the silent movements taking place on stage. At the time she was not sure what those “movements” were, but she knew she wanted to learn how to do it. She later learned that it was called American Sign Language, and shortly after, she began taking beginner classes and later took classes in her home-school high school co-op. In her junior year of high school, she enrolled into San Antonio College as a Dual Credit student and began taking American Sign Language classes. It was at this point that she fell completely in love with the language and decided this was a profession she definitely wanted to pursue when she “grew up”. Since then she has enjoyed learning the language and being a part of the community. She is a recent graduate of the Deaf Support Specialist Program and is now looking forward to completing the Interpreting program within the year.

Cassandra Ramirez

Cassandra, the youngest of three siblings, was born and raised in Seguin, Texas. Her fascination with ASL began at a young age. She soon saved her allowance and purchased Signing for Kids by Mickey Flodin. She managed to teach herself a few signs but they were soon forgotten because she wasn't quite sure how to put them together. Upon registering for senior classes, her counselor informed her that ASL classes were being offered and she jumped on the opportunity. Cassandra took her first ASL class during her senior year at Seguin High School. Because she showed such a desire to continue learning the language and culture, her ASL teacher, Kevin Graves who teaches at the Texas School for the Deaf, recommended attending the interpreting program at San Antonio College. She began her interpreting journey in the fall of 2005 and has since completed the Deaf Support Specialist program. She began her career at Methodist Mission Home as the Employment Specialist and Job Coach. Meanwhile she continued her interpreting courses and will complete her internship in the spring of 2010. "I will forever Cherish the experiences of my training at SAC. I am so fortunate to receive training from such outstanding interpreters and I can't wait to work with them in the future. When I first entered the program I knew that I would make new friends, but in reality, I gained family members. TRU-BIZ!" 

Scholarship Recipients 2008-2009

DANIELLE RODRIGUEZ

Upon graduation from Judson High School and having been a participant in the American Sign Language Dual Credit Program, Danielle Rodriguez enrolled in San Antonio College and declared American Sign Language/English Interpreter as her major.
Danielle’s fascination with sign language and desire to communicate with Deaf people was inspired at a very early age when she would observe her mother and aunt communicate through the use of fingerspelling. Her perseverance and hard work in her new study of ASL not only gained her a seat on the Department’s Advisory Committee Board but also earned her the prestigious Rea & Barbara Hinrichs Scholarship Award.
Danielle has been named to the President’s Honors List several times, maintained an impressive GPA and is a member of Phi Theta Kappa.

CHRISTINA DURDEN

Houston born and reared in San Antonio, Christina Durden, the eldest of three siblings, graduated eighth in her class from Southwest High School. Perplexed by which direction she should pursue in her academic and career goals, Christina left home and matriculated for a brief period at the University of North Texas at Denton. She returned home after one semester and enrolled in Journalism classes at San Antonio College. After some deliberation, she relocated to Austin where she enrolled in American Sign Language classes at the University of Texas, for the most part, to satisfy her curiosity about the language and culture of the Deaf. She discovered that in addition to the fun and benefits of learning ASL she began to develop great respect for the language and Deaf culture. Recommendation from her ASL professor at UT to research the ASL program at SAC was the impetus behind Christina’s return to SAC and majoring in ASL/IT. She is currently an Interpreting II student and feels she’s “having the time of her life.” With support from faculty and staff, Christina says, “Each day presents a challenge that I look forward to and I feel confident that someday I will not only be a successful interpreter but also someone who is fortunate to be doing what I love to do”.