“Welcome to one of the world’s most beautiful professions.” That’s a variation on a book title I heard during my second year of translation studies, in the fall semester of 2015. The book title was Profession: Traducteur by Georges Bastin and Monique C. Cormier, and the student...
This message from the NAJIT Chair was originally published in the 2021 summer issue of Proteus, NAJIT's Quarterly Newsletter. Dear NAJIT Members: For those of you who don’t know me, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I have been a member of this...
The show on Netflix called The Taco Chronicles came on my radar not long ago. I started watching, enthralled with the images, history, and diversity of this tubular treat. It was right around that same time that a decision was announced by the Chief Judge...
The first two weekends of June saw our NAJIT colleagues join together from around the country for our 42nd Annual Conference and first ever virtual one. On the West Coast, our valiant Pacific-timers rose at 7am to attend the days’ events. Luckily it was on...
Has it ever happened to you that there is something you have believed all your life, something you have never even considered questioning, and then out of nowhere you see something or hear someone say something that makes you feel like your brain has been...
I was born Puerto Rican. I was actually born in New York, but that doesn’t make me a New Yorker any more than being born in Hawaii or Japan makes my cousins Hawaiian or Japanese just because their military parents happened to be stationed there...
I have recently become particularly interested in exploring what sign language and spoken language interpreters have in common and what we do not. One thing that seems crystal clear, especially now that so much public health information is conveyed through televised press conferences, is how...
I was listening to an interview of Korean American author Cathy Park Hong about her book, Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning. She spoke of a mythical We that does not really apply to all Asian Americans because it lumps together the Pacific Islanders and...
Before becoming a staff interpreter in 2015, I freelanced for more than seven years. During that time, I exchanged information with every single interpreter I crossed paths with during assignments or in class (once I found interpreting courses). I was desperately searching for a sense...
I used to think that to be an association volunteer you needed to be extraordinary, extremely qualified, have all sorts of accreditations, certifications, a long resume, and be known to all in the profession. However, all you need is to have the will, the time,...