Main  |  FAQ  |  Registration form  |  Payment  |  Staff  |  Schedule  |  Maps  |  Menu

Lynda Park

My name is Lynda Park and I'm a certified ASL interpreter and hearing wife of a terrific Deaf man.

I began learning Korean Sign Language at age 26 while serving as a missionary for 18 months in that exceptional country. Upon arriving home at the conclusion of missionary service, I soon returned to Korea to teach conversational English in educational and corporate settings. My future husband was an acquaintance who knew the complex travel system of the country and had offered to escort me to various teaching appointments. We often "dated", using free time together between appointments to take in events and visit cultural exhibits around the city of Seoul, Korea. We were married in Seoul in 1991 and moved to California shortly before the birth of our first child.

Upon moving to America, my husband and I began learning ASL through college classes and community events while keeping Korean Sign Language as our familiar mode of communication when conversing with one another. We had a "crossover" period in which we used the first sign to come to mind and had a blend of ASL/KSL which was only understood by the two of us. These days (15 years later) nearly all our communication is with ASL unless we intentionally wish to have private dialogue or when signing with Korean Deaf friends (web cams and the internet have been a great tool for keeping in touch with them).

I have worked in various Deaf/Hard of Hearing educational programs during the years, and currently work as an Educational Interpreter for Solano County Office of Education, Deaf/Hard of Hearing Program in Fairfield, CA as well as the University of California, Davis and California State University, Sacramento.

Interpreting is the job I've wanted all my life; I just didn't realize it until I got into the field. I also work as a freelance interpreter in community settings, and especially enjoy religious interpreting with the Deaf church of which I belong.

I'm a member of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and the National Association of the Deaf, with EIPA (Educational Interpreters Performance Assessment) and NAD certifications, and a degree in American Sign Language Interpreting.

Professional interpreting experiences have run from A-Z, yet any professional deficiencies are counter balanced through daily living in a Deaf household, including twice interpreting for my husband while personally giving birth (we'd do things differently these days, but it was next to impossible to find a KSL interpreter back when we were still new to ASL).

Our two sons are both hearing yet live comfortably in Deaf culture, and the family pet is a "Hearing Dog for the Deaf" trained by the San Francisco SPCA.

Never would have dreamed up my life, but certainly pleased with the outcome!!  

  Main  |  FAQ  |  Registration form  |  Payment  |  Staff  |  Schedule  |  Maps  |  Menu