Jorge Santiago O'Neill
"Raised in Puerto Rico as early as four months of age, in a typical middle-class Puerto Rican family, I was given the opportunity of being enrolled in a Full-English curriculum private school. This opened the possibility of acquiring a second language at an early age. In high school, I changed to a bi-lingual school, which emphasized the appreciation of Puerto Rican culture and the love for Spanish.
Given the nature of my educational uprising and interest to work with people, I majored in Cultural Tourism from the University of Puerto Rico in Carolina. This spurred the curiosity of looking for a specialty and focus market in tourism, which led me to take ASL classes. Little did I know, short-after I would be submerged in the Deaf-ASL community and shifted all my attention to this new dimension. As I gradually improved my skills, a job opportunity was offered as a video interpreter in a Spanish platform.
From this point forward, I created a momentum of involvement in interpreter trainings, skill-building, and professional development. Due to the underlying and inherent knowledge of English, I pursued the skill mastering and recognition of becoming a tri-lingual interpreter. Benefiting from living in one of the few "tri-lingual hubs" like Puerto Rico, Texas, California or Florida; I will continue fostering this specialty while embracing my journey towards certification."
