Laurielle “Lo” Aviles

Laurielle “Lo” Aviles (they/he) is a QTIPOC New York City native now living in the beautiful Pacific North-West. Lo moved out to the West Coast in 2013 to pursue their second Post-Bacc. Degree in ASL/English Interpreting at Western Oregon University (2015). Their first BA is in Linguistics from the University at Buffalo (2013). Once settled into the community here, they knew there was no going back East. Laurielle was instantly connected to an incredible and supportive network of colleagues that have continued to lift up and support Lo through their journey of being an interpreter. Almost six years later, that support has not stopped and those connections have only grown stronger.

As graduation grew closer and Lo’s time at WOU was coming to an end they took the NIC and EIPA Exams, passing both, allowing them to work as a certified interpreter early on in their career. While Lo’s first steps into the field were in K-12 and VRS interpreting, you will now find them all over the Portland Metro area, freelancing at theaters, doctor’s offices, drag shows, conference rooms, or college classrooms (sometimes as an interpreter, sometimes as a part-time Instructor in Portland Community College’s Interpreter Training Program).

When not actively working, teaching or tutoring, you can find Lo at ORID board meetings, though they will be wrapping up the 4th year of their double-term as Member at Large in June of 2021, dabbling in any continuing education opportunities they can get their hands on, snuggling with their dogs, playing Fortnite with their stepson or board games with their wife. Unless the sun is out, then you will surely find Laurielle at the river!

When it comes to mentoring, Laurielle prioritizes leveraging a mentee’s strengths to help them grow in the areas of focus. Lo has been mentoring interpreting students formally for two years, informally mentoring students and colleagues three, and staying engaging in their mentor, as well as participating in supervision, since 2015. They have the most experience working with ITP students on identifying the strengths and areas for growth in their process. Sometimes this looks like practicing interpreting sources and discussing the observable data. Other times this may look like unpacking meaning, conceptual analysis of language, removing the limitations we self-impose on language use–often tied to ‘form’. If their mentee desires a more intrapersonal exploration, they can shift the focus towards ethics, decision-making, or role-space with an emphasis on strengthening our ability to talk about the work.