Colleen Geier

I grew up with a great uncle who was deaf.  His father didn’t allow him to learn to sign (“he’d look like a freak”), he wasn’t allowed to get a job, get married, or drive a car.  My uncle communicated through basic notes and some home signs/gestures.  In spite of this, Uncle Harry tried to be independent.  He’d ride his bike all over and he tried to teach us kids about the animals on the family farm.

His isolation and dependency on the family had a tremendous impact on me.  Because of his life, I learned to sign, became an interpreter, and taught Deaf children.  No Deaf person should be denied the opportunity to accomplish whatever they dream!  The work we do here at Goshen College provides well trained interpreters who go out and bridge the communication gap between Deaf and hearing people.

Church

• I attend St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in South Bend, IN.

Community

• I am currently the part-time program director  for Luvability Ministries (luvability.org) which provides spiritual and social opportunities for people with disabilities. I was previously on the board and a regular volunteer.
• I volunteer for Meow Mission (themeowmission.org) where we do trap/neuter/release (TNR) for cats in St. Joseph County
• I am a volunteer usher for The Morris Performing Arts Center in South Bend, IN.

In the fall of 2020, to combat the frustration of COVID and working from home, I decided to take a class at Goshen College. I took Christian Theologies and enjoyed it so much that I kept going. I obtained a Graduate Certificate in Theological Studies from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart. I am now working on a 2nd master’s degree in Christian Formation from AMBS. I am also being licensed by the United Church of Christ and will serve as the Disability Ministries pastor at St. Peter’s UCC.

I totally believe in the quote often attributed to Michelangelo:

“Ancora Imparo (Yet I am learning)”

Education

• Ed.D., Walden University, 2017
• MS ED, State University New York College At Brockport, 1994
• May 2022 GC Disability Micro-Credential

 

Memberships & Associations

• Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID)
• Indiana Chapter of RID (ICRID)
• World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI)
• Conference of Interpreter Trainers (CIT)

Doctoral Study – December 2016:

An Evaluation of an American Sign Language Interpreting Internship Program

Presentations:

• Vital Signs – Interpreting in Medical Situations
• Introduction to Legal Interpreting
• Space: The Final Frontier
• 7 Expansion Techniques
• Constructed Action and Constructed Dialogue in ASL
• Optimizing Independence for Deaf Students
• Say What??  THAT!
• Wake the Kids Up
• English! How to Use ASL When Interpreting Language Arts/English
• ASL: Compare and Contrast with Sentence Structure Review
• ASL: Discourse
• Role Shifting