Bilingual students explore careers helping others in this high school class

Gimena, a Bonney Lake High School junior, and Valerie, a Sumner High School sophomore, are bilingual students: They speak both Spanish and English. 

They’re both interested in exploring careers assisting others who might need translation and interpretation help.

And this year, they’re both taking the Translation & Interpretation class, taught by Jeanie Iovino at Bonney Lake High School and Nohelia Braswell at Sumner High School. 

The Translation & Interpretation class is a Career & Technical Education (CTE) course that equips students with the foundational knowledge and techniques used in translation and interpretation across fields like medicine, education, business, law, and international affairs.

Students who take this course are already proficient in speaking another language and are interested in expanding their skills. Currently, only Spanish is offered in the course, but additional languages can be offered if there are at least two students who speak that language. 

Hear more from students in the class:

Gimena V., BLHS junior

• What job are you interested in pursuing in this field?
  I’m interested in a court interpreter career – I feel like there's a lot of families out there and I want to help them.
• How has this class prepared you for that career?
  We practice different scenarios of translating documents, like medical documents, for example. I think it just gives you overall experience and shows you what to expect pursuing that career. It's a great opportunity to show kids the different ways they can help others in the community.
• What is something that has stuck out to you in this class?
  One time we took a field trip to the courts in Tacoma. We talked to different interpreters there and saw firsthand what they do – it was really cool to see.

Valerie A., SHS sophomore

• What job are you interested in pursuing in this field?
  I'm interested in psychology and philosophy. I definitely want to be a children's therapist. I want to help children because I've always been really passionate about that, and being able to translate and interpret is such a good, helpful skill.
• How has this class prepared you?
  I think that this class prepares you with scenarios and experiences that could occur. We also get the ability to complete a state test to be a certified interpreter and it’s paid by the school district.
• What is something that has stuck out to you in this class?
  We do a lot of role-playing, where we introduce ourselves as a language interpreter, or we introduce ourselves as a client or a doctor, and we just go about what would actually happen in a scenario. We’ve done that for situations like “doctor, client, and interpreter” or “lawyer, client, interpreter.” That sticks out a lot because it really does help us prepare.