Stanley Sakai, a captioner from Jersey City, N.J., started his career in stenography as a pen writer. Yes, a pen writer. From captioning Ariana Grande on a hot mic to sharing the (back)stage with Michelle Obama, Sakai is a lifelong learner who doesn’t take himself too seriously.
JCR | Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a stenographer? What inspired you to choose this career path?
SS | My journey into machine stenography is pretty weird. In college I taught myself Gregg shorthand from a 1920s manuals and hit 130 WPM with just a fountain pen. Literally, who does that? During a programming class, I was captivated by a CART captioner’s projected live captions and had to learn how it worked. After my professor connected me with the captioner, I decided to try it out. I bought a cheap steno machine on eBay and started teaching myself and practicing by taking notes in steno at all my lectures and classes. A year and a half later I received my Washington State court reporter certification.
JCR | What do you find most rewarding about your work in court reporting? Any standout moments?
SS | Stenography lets me blend my love for communication with linguistic skills, helping others while satisfying my craving for variety. I adore the Zen flow state it puts me in — my usually noisy mind quiets down, and I’m fully in the zone!
JCR | You’ve had the unique opportunity to transcribe at concerts. How did that come about, and what’s your experience like? Any memorable moments?
SS | As an avid concertgoer in my 20s —especially for electronic music— I jumped at the chance when my friend Isaiah Roberts, RPR, reached out to Coachella about their need for realtime captioning. We pitched the idea of captioning via a mobile app for audience members and on monitors in the ADA area. I collaborated with their tech team to develop a customized captioning page for them.
Some memorable moments include:
- Accidentally captioning Ariana Grande curse on a hot mic that was not audible to the audience.
- Waving hi to Michelle Obama and Jimmy Kimmel while bomb dogs sniffed the backstage area.
- Having an incredibly inebriated concertgoer breach the stage barrier and knock over my keyboard while getting tackled by security. The blow broke the USB port completely off of the board, and I had to overnight it to Stenograph!
JCR | What skills are essential for someone looking to become a successful stenographer? How do these skills help you in your day-to-day work?
SS | I’ve got so many! You really need to be a lifelong learner. Always be curious about what your speakers are talking about. Be a stickler for spelling. Put yourself out there no matter how nervous you may be. Always be open to analyzing your performance. Be resilient to failure. Stop taking things too seriously! Like, there are going to be days when you don’t do so hot. Move on. Don’t let failures define you! A growth mindset is what I’m trying to get at.
JCR | Looking ahead, what are your career aspirations? Any exciting projects on the horizon?
SS | I’m building a Spanish realtime dictionary. It’s currently at 13K-ish entries. I’m also honing my Q&A skills to pass the RPR and kickstart my deposition career.
Stanley Sakai is a captioner from Jersey City, N.J. He can be reached at stanley@stanographer.com.
