Virginia Martz's mission as an interpreter and transliterator for hard of hearing, deaf and blind individuals began years ago under the influence of family and one special friend.
Her father, grandfather and a great-aunt were all hearing impaired and knew no signs. Two other great-aunts were teachers of deaf and blind students and knew some signs. Ginger also had a deaf friend while growing up in Perry, a small town east of Lansing. Although neither Ginger nor her friend knew formal signs, they made up gestures in order to communicate with each other.
When Ginger began her studies at Lansing Community College, she opted for American Sign Language to fulfill her second language requirement. She transferred from L.C.C. to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, NY, from which she graduated in the summer of 1985 with a certificate of transliteration.
After working for the Brighton and Bloomfield Hills school districts, Ginger decided to return to school at MSU to earn a master's degree in Deaf/Blind Education. She came to OPHS in 1993 as an on-call interpreter. When a staff interpreter position opened up a year later, applied and was selected.
Although working 3/4 time and being a full-time student leaves little time for fun, social activities, Ginger does enjoy cross-country skiing in the winter and hiking and backpacking in the warmer months. A favorite summer activity is swimming in Lake Michigan.