We're still taking in the joy of our class of 2025 graduation! It's been a month since our most recent class of interpreters graduated and joined our community of alumnae, which is nearly 400 strong. We're basking in the beautiful memories of our graduation celebration, appreciating all the details and delighting at the joyous atmosphere of that evening. The class of 2025 was special for a number of reasons, among the top being that they patiently waited for this opportunity while our medical interpreter training program was on hold during a funding shortfall in 2024. The students began their training program at the beginning of this year after months of waiting, and we're so glad they became part of our community! This class was also our first in-person graduation since before the pandemic, and it was wonderful to celebrate with them all last month! One of our favorite parts of graduation is when we invite graduates to reflect on their journeys and share what they "found in translation." Our class of 2025 shared such touching remarks about gaining community, life and work skills, and new opportunities. We are so proud of each and every one of them! Special thanks to our photographer, Angela Rowlings, who expertly captured this beautiful evening. Her involvement was extra special for us, as in addition to being a skilled photojournalist, Angela is one of our alumnae and a Spanish interpreter as well! Check out more of her work here: www.angelarowlingsphoto.com . Thanks also to our funders, faculty and staff (100% of whom were also alumnae!), and volunteers for your support and engagement. We say it takes a village to raise an interpreter, and we wouldn't be able to keep training new ones without the engagement of such a strong community! #graduation #interpreters #interpretertraining #congratsgrads #newinterpreters (fb)

June has been a busy month for us! In addition to graduation, Found in Translation participated in the Paving the Way to Health Care Access Conference. A team of our staff and alumnae presented for the second year in a row at this wonderful conference, and we enjoyed being in conversation and community with our colleagues in this field! Executive Director Maria Vertkin and Interpreting and Translation Manager Denise Muro were joined by alumnae Krystie Bellabe (Haitian Creole and French interpreter) and Dara Sok (Khmer interpreter), both of whom have over a decade of experience. We presented about challenges facing the interpreting field and interpreters' lived experiences. We also spent time engaging attendees in imagining what changes we'd all like to see in the interpreting field in the future. #interpreters #interpreterservices #languageaccess #languagejustice #thrivinginterpreterfield #pavingtheway2025 (fb)