Silent Weekend Back in Person
After a two-year absence, Silent Weekend was back in person in 2023 and was a smash success.
The event, titled “Foundations: Back to Basics,” was organized by a committee of eight people who started planning for the conference in August 2022. It was held at YMCA Camp Manitou-Lin in Middleville, Michigan.
D&HHS workshop coordinator Jen Kolhoff was the committee chair, and she said it was a joy to be back together for what is one of D&HHS’ signature events.
“There really is no comparison to an in-person, fully immersive, Silent Weekend,” she said. “With a visual, 3-D language like ASL, you just can’t get the full effect of the subtle nature of the language from a computer screen like you can in real life. People were very excited to finally be able to connect in a more meaningful way.”
Almost 120 people attended all or part of this year’s event, including 31 students from the interpreter training program at Lansing Community College and 15 from the interpreter training program at Oakland Community College.
The eight-person planning committee also included a trio of student representatives, and Kolhoff said weekend programming also had a strong student focus.
“Committee members included experienced certified interpreters, Deaf community members, recent graduates of interpreter training programs and current students,” noted Kolhoff. “And more of the focus this year was on the students and their wants and needs.”
Silent Weekend offers two professional levels. One track provides skill development and emerging knowledge acquisition, while the other track is set up for those who already have an understanding in Deaf culture or are already certified or soon-to-be certified interpreters. The more advanced track features Professional Studies CEUs, or Continuing Education Units, for those people working to fulfill their state licensing requirements. Deaf community members are given the option of picking between whichever track best matches their interest.
One of the highlights for many attendees was comedian Justin Loncar, known as Some Deaf Guy and a viral sensation on Tik Tok and a social media influencer. Kolhoff said people also enjoyed the Sign Olympic games as an icebreaker on Friday night. Another of the highlights was the Deaf/Interpreter community panel, an annual part of Silent Weekend that showcases various ethical scenarios.
One committee member, Beth Magennis, an ASL interpreter for two decades now, said she enjoyed helping to plan the event, and added that Silent Weekend is “a great way for students to earn hours for their programs and a wonderful opportunity for working interpreters to earn CEUs.”
