Dreaming of Federal Certification By Athena Matilsky Dear Readers, Happy Spring! We’ve gone from sleet and ice to muddy rain up here in Canada, but this week marks the beginning of warmer weather, and it’s possible we’ve almost seen the last of the snowflakes! I hope that wherever...
Peer Observation and the Interpreter By: Jordan Fox Guest Post I have at times been frustrated with myself and my performance when working with a colleague on a case and being overcome by nervousness that ultimately affects my performance in such a way that I’m afraid that the...
Rethinking Reputation By:Ann (Jiraporn) Heath-Huynh Growing up in an Asian household, I believe that many of us were taught how to behave in such a way that we build and retain a good reputation in the eyes of society. Simply put, “Face-saving value is a cultural value...
A Matter of Due Process By Hilda Shymanik About six years ago, I met a colleague during a short-lived, recurring five-day full-time freelance assignment, a 40-hour-a-week two-year contract. We were both Mexican and new to that courthouse, as was the coordinator. It was also a courthouse where...
What’s Going On in Our Field Right Now? By Julli Jaramillo I’ve been keeping up with what’s been happening in our field, and I think now is a good time to update everyone. There’s a lot shifting right now, and it’s not all happening in one place. You see...
A Brief History of The Couch Series [caption id="attachment_36172" align="alignright" width="300"] A symbolic representation of interpreters and translators fostering understanding, depicted by a figure on a couch and another actively listening[/caption] Since its debut in 2017, The Couch has been the place to provide our members with the space to discuss...
Language Access on the Biggest Stage By: Julli Jaramillo Last month, millions of viewers tuned in to watch the Super Bowl Halftime show. As always, the spotlight was on the teams, the halftime show, and the commercials that quickly became part of the cultural conversation. But behind the...
Warts and All By Ángeles Estrada, M.A., F.C.C.I The letters written to the judge by Spanish-speaking defendants in U.S. penitentiaries are hard to read and time consuming to translate. Because of the literacy level of most defendants, their letters are laden with spelling mistakes and frequently as cryptic...
Self-Care as an Ethical Necessity By: Athena Matilsky Be kinder to yourself. Then let your kindness flood the world. -Pema Chödron Have you ever found yourself skipping lunch, losing sleep and working 12-hour days even though you were your own boss? A few years ago, I had a...
Let’s Test Your Ethics: The Digital “Assist” The NAJIT Observer Team Honoring the Lunar New Year Before we turn to this month’s ethical discussion, we want to pause to recognize the Lunar New Year. For many communities around the world, this celebration marks renewal, reflection, and the beginning...