Carly Fischbeck

Carly has been practicing as an interpreter for over ten years, focusing on educational and religious interpreting. She earned her bachelor’s degree in interpreting from St. Catherine University. There, she fostered a love of English and linguistics in addition to interpreting. She later returned to St. Catherine University, where she received her Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies and Communication Equity (MAISCE). Her research focused on interpreters’ strategies when working with Deaf refugee and immigrant students, a project inspired by her own work with several refugee and immigrant Deaf students and staff.

Carly is passionate about interpreter education, and has worked with mentees and interpreting students since she was an undergraduate student herself. She frequently hosts interns in her work at a secondary school, and appreciates the new perspectives and ideas her mentees bring. In her mentoring, she applies ideas from interpreting research, combined with a “sandbox approach” of trying new skills in a low-stress environment, to help interpreters improve specific skills. Sessions can also focus on unpacking situations for better understanding and improved ethical decision-making skills. It is her goal to enhance interpreters’ skills, as well as their understanding of their work and its impacts. She is committed to creating a safe environment in which to learn, practice, and grow in skill, confidence, and ethical decision-making.

Carly currently works primarily in a K-12 school, where she engages with Deaf students and staff in mainstream and self-contained settings ranging from sixth through twelfth grade. She is fascinated by seeing others learn, which motivates her to continue improving her own interpreting practice. She also enjoys religious interpreting, and has been an interpreter and mentor in Catholic and Lutheran church settings. When not mentoring or interpreting, Carly enjoys spending time with her family, which includes her husband, her two young boys, and two Siberian Huskies. When she gets alone time, she can be found completing a craft project, testing out a new recipe, or catching up on a good book.