Pictured: M.O.S.T. Alumna Kathryn “Summer” Edwards interprets a TedxColumbia event held earlier this year at Columbia College in Chicago, where she will graduate this December with a degree in American Sign Language (ASL) to English Interpreting.
“I graduated from high school during Covid, which was crazy enough,” said former M.O.S.T. Scholar Kathryn “Summer” Edwards, a 2020 St. Agnes Academy grad. “But then I was supposed to start at Columbia College in Chicago that fall, and the city was locked down. I paid for college myself and would have spent so much more to be in a dorm room by myself. Classes were online anyway, so I stayed in Memphis.”
Though the transition from high school to college life broke all the rules for students of her generation, some traditions aren’t so easily subverted. That very year, Summer found herself, like many college students before her, in an unexpected class that changed her life forever.
“Because my major was undecided, I took mostly gen ed classes, one of which being my choice from a series of classes for out-of-towners, called Big Chicago,” said Summer. “These courses are designed to help us understand Chicago and I found one called Did You Just Flip Me Off? which covered the Deaf community.”
The class was taught by the Associate Chair of the college’s American Sign Language (ASL) department, Diana Gorman Jamrozik, an educator Summer describes as ‘perfect.’ Dr. Jamrozik’s teaching assistant, Peter Wujcik, was the first Deaf person Summer had met, and as she learned more about ASL as well as the rich culture of the Deaf Community, she became increasingly taken with it.
“We took deep dives into Chicago’s Deaf community, which Peter would often lead,” said Summer. “At the end of that semester, I was like; ‘Okay, this is amazing.’ Second semester of freshman year, I took my first strictly ASL class, and fell even deeper in love. This community and this language, they felt like magic to me.”
The following fall, she relocated to Chicago, attending her sophomore year in-person. Summer took a class in ASL interpreting- the real-time translation of spoken English into ASL for Deaf and Hard of Hearing audiences. A member of the St. Agnes theatre department while a student, Summer immediately felt the convergence of her new passion for ASL and her comfort presenting a narrative to an audience. Just like that, she knew the career path she would take.
“In high school, I had done every play and musical and I’m a natural performer, but I was also drawn to work with people in a way I felt gave meaning to my life, influenced by my experiences on stage but going a little deeper,” she said.
“I’d found this program and this community and this language, and it was perfect,” she said. “Since learning ASL and the skills behind interpreting, I've interpreted performances like Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and a musical called On the Town. I’ve worked in a high school, interpreting classes like anatomy and honors English. I've done concerts, and I just recently interpreted an engagement party. It feels amazing to have found a career and a passion that I am fiercely in love with and passionate about.”
Summer is now in her final semester at Columbia and will be graduating in December with a degree in ASL-English Interpreting. She says, “I will leave this school ready to succeed in my field, knowing I have unwavering love and support behind me.”
When asked about the role M.O.S.T. played in uncovering this unlikely career path, her answer came immediately and with passion.
“I could say a billion and one amazing things about M.O.S.T.,” said Summer, whose sister Maye is also a M.O.S.T. alumna, and whose siblings Joe, Lissie, and Ryan are currently attending schools as M.O.S.T. Scholars. “M.O.S.T. allowed me to go to schools that supported me, encouraged me, and challenged me to not settle, and to hold onto things I'm passionate about. I met people that will be part of my life forever and support me every step of the way. Without M.O.S.T., I would have never found Chicago, or Columbia College, and I probably would have never found the interpreting field at all, which is everything to me.”