Along with my Spanish major, I am also completing a Comparative Literature major. When I was looking into colleges, I knew I wanted to take courses that focused on translation and interpretation studies. Initially, I enrolled at UMass as a double major in Spanish and Linguistics, but found that although the linguistics classes were very interesting, they weren’t exactly what I was looking for. I then stumbled upon a flyer for Comparative Literature and have been taking classes ever since. 

Comp. Lit. is a much broader major than just translation and interpreting, and the scope of the major has complimented my Spanish major very well. I’ve found that there are many aspects of Comp. Lit. that have intersected with my discussions in Spanish classes and vice versa. 

My junior year, I enrolled in Translation and Interpreting Practice and Research. My professor was a temporary professor who had many years of experience as a professional interpreter, working all over the world in various fields of interpreting. She worked as a conference interpreter, a court interpreter, and a presidential interpreter. Her expertise in both the theory and practice of interpreting made the class incredibly interesting. 

For our year-long final project, we were instructed to collaborate with a community partner and work with them to help translate documents that they needed in our working language. I was paired with Hilltown Community Health Center in Amherst translating various documents. 

Another student and myself met with some of the employees at Hilltown, including one of the nurses who was a bilingual Spanish speaker. They shared with us the challenges the Health Center faced due to a lack of translated materials, especially given that many of their patients speak languages other than English. The nurse began to share her anecdotes about her time working at the Health Center. She explained how she is often pulled out of her duties as a nurse to be an interpreter for Spanish-speaking patients. Despite the challenges of balancing both roles, she expressed how rewarding it was to help bridge the language gap for patients who were already anxious about seeking medical care.

She explained that hospitals can be overwhelming environments for anyone, and that for non-English speakers, the experience can be even more isolating. The nurse explained that being a resource for these people was extremely fulfilling and that through interpreting, she was able to ease their anxiety and ensure they received full, accurate care. She spoke about the sense of relief that patients felt when they could communicate their needs clearly, without language being an obstacle.

That conversation had a profound impact on me. It solidified my passion for language and interpreting, and gave me a real-life example of how my work could directly help others. Learning Spanish has always interested me, and the more classes I take the more I fall in love with the language. Spanish is applicable to so many different fields, and I have enjoyed exploring the career paths where it can play a pivotal role. Working with Hilltown offered a glimpse into what my future could look like, and how I could apply my Spanish skills to a job that provides people with basic language access- Something that is so important in our country that is such a diverse area filled with people from all over the world.