How I Got Hired: Staff Translator at the French Embassy and Freelance Conference Interpreter
| by Nina Fink MATI ’12
Translation and Interpretation alum Nina Fink shares how she landed a career as a freelance translator and interpreter.
Jacolyn Harmer
Professor Emerita
- jharmer@miis.edu
Jacolyn Harmer, born and educated in the UK, earned her BA in French/German at the University of Bradford before training as a conference interpreter at the European Communities (now European Union) in Brussels where she began her career, initially as a staff interpreter and then as a freelancer for international institutions and the private market.
Professor Harmer joined the Monterey Institute of International Studies’ Graduate School of Translation & Interpretation faculty as a full-time translation and interpretation professor in 1985, combining teaching with her freelance professional practice. Her clients have ranged from heads of state and government to medical missions in the global South.
A long-standing member of the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC), Professor Harmer served for several years on the AIIC Training Committee. She earned her Diplôme d’Études Approfondies (Master of Advanced Studies / MAS) in interpreter training from the University of Geneva School of Translation and Interpretation in 2003 and joined the MAS teaching team. She has since designed and contributed to interpreter trainer programs worldwide. Professor Harmer has received several awards for her teaching, including the Institute’s Eliason Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2007. Her landmark translation of Pédagogie Raisonnée de l’Interprétation (Seleskovitch & Lederer) was published in 1996.
Areas of Interest
Professor Harmer’s top priority in her teaching is for students to acquire the kind of adaptive expertise which will enable them to be professionally successful in a dynamic translation and interpretation marketplace. Believing in the power of intentional learning, she steers students toward systematic and solid mastery of their target skills. She firmly believes that a learning experience which is both challenging and satisfying will lead to the best possible outcome for students and faculty alike. Motivated by her own positive experiences in interdisciplinary collaboration, Professor Harmer helped pioneer the popular MIIS signature Interpretation Practicum and Monterey Model courses.
Academic Degrees
- Diplôme d’Études Approfondies (MAS) - University of Geneva, School of Translation and Interpretation
- MA in Hispanic Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies
- TESOL Certificate, Monterey Institute of International Studies
- BA (Joint Hons) in French/German, University of Bradford
Professor Harmer has been teaching at the Institute since 1985.