Students from the University of Arizona who want to become interpreters for deaf and hard-of-hearing students could get their tuition covered thanks to a federal grant.
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded nearly $2.5 million to UA.
Cindy Volk with the university’s Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies will oversee a program that will train interpreters for deaf and hard-of-hearing K-12 students.
"It’s a five-year grant, and we are going to train 60 interpreters so about 12 per year and the majority of the money, about 70% of it goes to the students and so they get their tuition paid for, and they get a little stipend money on top of that," she said.
In return for that, graduating students have a work obligation.
"For every semester of money they accept, they have to work one year in public school education as an interpreter anywhere in the U.S.," she said.
Volk said there’s a shortage of interpreters across the country. A second grant will help UA students become teachers for K-12 students with visual impairments.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The story has been updated to correct the spelling of Cindy Volk's name.
