Careers in Translation and Interpretation

Katerina Borghi

Current Employment: Founder and Chief Language Professional, Nexos Translations (Orange County, California)

Degree: Translation and Interpretation

Languages of Study: Spanish, English

First Job After Graduation: Spanish Court Interpreter, Superior Court of Maricopa County (Phoenix, Arizona)

Immersive Learning Opportunity: J-term Cuba trip

Internships: Medical Interpreter Intern, Stanford Hospital; Conference Interpreter Intern, Universidad Internacional Menendez Payo (UIMP) (Santander, Spain); Court Interpreter Intern, Superior Court of Maricopa County (Phoenix, Arizona)

Institute Advantage: I believe that the attention and dedication of my professors coupled with the network of internships that MIIS has at its disposal gave me both the skills as well as the opportunity I needed to work in places that would have otherwise been out of reach for a newcomer to the profession.

Story: How I Got Hired

Céline Colvin

Current Employment: Staff Diplomatic Interpreter, U.S. Department of State (Washington, D.C.)

First Job After Graduation: Freelance Translator, CC Translation Services

Degree: Conference Interpretation

Languages of Study: English, French

Story: Three Alumnae Interpreters Support White House State Dinner for French President Macron

John Ellis

First Job after Graduation: Freelance translator, interpreter, and interpretation instructor (São Paulo, Brazil)

Internship: Course Instructor—Associação Alumni (São Paulo, Brazil)

Degree: Translation and Interpretation

Languages of Study: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese

Immersive Learning Opportunity: I spent two weeks at the United Nations in Geneva. The experience allowed me to work in different dummy booths during live meetings and practice my different language combinations by switching between the floor and relay channels. Moreover, I met many Institute alumni who were working at the UN as full time interpreters. Watch the video.

Institute Advantage: The coursework is extremely demanding and led me to develop my own note-taking system for consecutive interpretation (note-taking strategies develop our listening and help us to be more discerning when it comes to precision in meaning).

Nina Fink

Current Employment: French to English Translator, Embassy of France in the U.S. (Washington, D.C.)

First Job After Graduation: Conference and Seminar Interpreter, U.S. Department of State

Degree: Translation and Interpretation

Languages of Study: English, French

Internship: Translation internship with l’Association française de gestion financière (Paris, France)

Institute Advantage: The Middlebury Institute community was immensely helpful to me. My career was shaped by excellent professors, talented, kind fellow graduates and the support of the Institute community around the world. From the professor who showed me the way when I decided to launch my career in Paris to the many Institute graduates I have the pleasure of working with, I am proud to be part of this community every step of the way.

Story: How I Got Hired

Miguel Garcia

Current Employment Freelance Conference Interpreter with clients including the United States State Department and the Organization of American States (Washington, D.C.)

Degree: Conference Interpretation

Languages of Study: English, French, Spanish

Institute Advantage: The coursework and high academic expectations were by far the most valuable component in preparing me for a career after graduation. Middlebury Institute professors armed students with tools and techniques to grow as professionals after graduation. The Washington, D.C. market deals with a rich variety of topics, so knowing how to prepare for meetings—whether about security or finance or human rights—is absolutely essential. Coming into this market, I felt ready to take on that challenge thanks to the faculty and staff at the Institute.

Story: How I Got Hired

Dawnielle Jacobson

Current Employment: Freelance Translator (Interlachen, Florida)

Degree: Translation

Languages of Study: English, French, Spanish

First Job After Graduation: The English Translation Service at United Nations Headquarters (New York City, New York)

Immersive Learning Opportunity: Winter-term course about the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Institute Advantage: The skills I learned at the Institute didn’t just improve my ability to translate; they helped me to become a better writer in my native language as well, allowing me to work as an editor, copywriter, and occasional transcriber. The Institute’s Center for Advising and Career Services was instrumental in launching my career, and my internship at the UN led to a number of other opportunities.

Hirofumi Jinno

Current Employment: Translator, International Monetary Fund (Washington, D.C.)

First Job after Graduation: Global Communications Manager, Sprint (Overland Park, Kansas)

Degree: Translation and Interpretation

Languages of Study: Japanese, English

Immersive Learning Opportunity: East Asia Practicum (Japan)

Institute Advantage: I heard about my current job at the IMF through the Middlebury Institute network! As a part of my work, I revise translation performed by freelancers and provide them with feedback. Since receiving and giving feedback was an essential part of the curriculum and we learned how to give constructive suggestions to one another, I now feel more confident in giving feedback to other translators.

Amy Mendenhall

First Job after Graduation: Translator, United Nations (New York City, New York)

Internship: Translation Intern—Finance, Technicis (Paris, France)

Degree: Conference Interpretation

Languages of Study: English, French, Spanish

Institute Advantage: I absolutely cannot believe my life. I am so thankful to Professor Christiane Abel for training me to do this job. It is exactly as fulfilling as I hoped it would be.

Story: Everyday is something different working at the U.N.

Frances Pao-Fang Chang

Current Employment: Operations Program Manager, Andovar (Bangkok, Thailand)

First Job After Graduation: Localization Project Manager, Star Group (Bangkok, Thailand)

Internship: Intern, Star Group (Bangkok, Thailand)

Degree: Translation

Languages of Study: Chinese, English

Institute Advantage: From the Career Management course and mandatory career advising sessions to two major career fairs, I was pushed to think of a career early on and prepare for it. Along with the challenging academic programs and strong support network, I became more confident in job hunting, which would have otherwise been a daunting task. I found my internship with Star Group at an Institute career fair in February 2016. I received a job offer in February 2017 and moved to Bangkok in July 2017.

Wendy Wei

Internship: Associate Intern, Cadence Translate (Los Angeles, California)

Degree: Conference Interpretation

Languages of Study: Chinese, English, Japanese

Institute Advantage: Experiences at the Middlebury Institute that helped me definitely include both the individual career advice offered by the Center for Advising and Career Services and the TILM Career Fair.

Story: How I Got Hired