Week 1 – Discussion Board 1

[Art Liebl]

In 250 words talk about yourself. Where do you live? What languages do you speak? Why have you decided to become an interpreter? Reply to 2 other students by Monday night.

[Isnelda Mancia]

Hi,everyone!
My name is Isnelda Mancia.
I´m from Honduras and I´ve lived in Rhode Island for over 10 years now
My native language is Spanish. I´d like to dedicated myself to this field because I´ve always enjoyed helping people
I think this would be a great opportunity to be able to help people more closely.
I am the type of person who is always looking for new opportunities to help those who need it most

[Art Liebl]

Hi Isnelda!

Thank you so much for your post. I look forward to learning more about you over the next few weeks.

[Julia Rosales]

hello! I agree that this field will help connect with those who require our help, and contribute to a better healthcare system.

[Musharraf Bayramova]

Hi Isnelda, welcome to the program!

[Art Liebl]

Welcome to week 1! This first week is to get you used to the online platform and for you to get to know each other!

Your instructor for this week is Art Liebl. Please feel to connect to me through my email, or the button, “Contact Instructor” with any issues you may encounter this week.

Here are your assignments for the week:

1. Weekly Reading: Read chapter 1 from the manual. Please translate any and all terminology in the chapter- translating English terminology into your target language.

2. Discussion Board Topics: From the dashboard, scroll down to Week 1 – Posting #1 and posting #2. Please respond to the initial question from the instructor. During the week, bounce off other students’ comments, or the instructor’s comments. By the end of the week, you should have an initial posting and 2 other postings based on other students or the instructor.

3. Weekly Quiz: Take the first quiz- week one. It is auto graded

4. No written assignment

Instructor: Art Liebl
Instructor email: aliebl@interpretersassociates.com

Week starts: February 24, 2026
Week ends: March 2 at midnight

If you have any technical problems or questions: aliebl@interpretersassociates.com

[Art Liebl]

I extend a hearty welcome to you all! I am very excited to be here with you this very first week of class; I am sure you will enjoy your ten weeks with us here! It will be both an intense and yet enjoyable experience. So buckle up and enjoy your time with us. During the course you will be introduced to medical interpreters who have over 10 years experience, as well as medical physicians who are both physicians and interpreters. So…..take advantage of this time with them. Ask them whatever comes to mind, clear up your doubts if you have any.

I started interpreting and translating when I moved to Brazil in 1995 working in the graphics arts field/business field. I grew to have such a passion for communication that when I came back to the USA I stopped my work as a graphic arts technician (working on huge rotary presses) and moved into the translation and interpreting field. I achieved my medical interpreter certificate back in 2002. To be honest I was not very good at medical interpreting as I had a lot of unclear ideas as to anatomy and current medical science. But, with perseverance I can honestly say that I have learned tons and today feel comfortable in any and all medical setting. You will no doubt pass through the same experience, so, be patient with yourself; you are at the start of a marvelous career!

Good studies to you!

[Julia Rosales]

Hello everyone I am Julia Rosales! I am a high school senior and I have lived in Rhode Island my whole life. I speak Spanish and English. I grew up in a Spanish speaking household. Growing up, I sometimes had to do my best to translate and communicate with doctors for my mom on the occasions where medical interpreters were not available during appointments. So I had learned that just being Bilingual was not going to be enough to help her during appointments, due to all the specific medical jargon I had never come across before. Becoming a medical interpreter will give me a chance to help people better navigate the healthcare system, and I hope to have an impact on people who were in similar situations like my mother. In the future I wish to become an OB-GYN, and be able to give quality culturally competent care to my patients. I know that it is important to see representation within the healthcare field. By becoming a medical interpreter I can ensure I learn more about Medical terms that I will surely need in as I aim towards my future career goals. A short term goal is that, as I currently work as a Marketing Intern in a local clinic, and with the help of this course I hope to be able to create future flyers in Spanish that will accurately deliver information to Spanish speaking patients. I look forward to learning alongside all of you guys and wish you all luck!

[Isnelda Mancia]

Hello Julia,
I used to do the same thing with my sister at her medical appointments.
Good look with everything..

[Musharraf Bayramova]

Hello,
I am Musharraf. I speak Russian and English at a working level and Polish and Azerbaijani on a conversational level. I live in Lake Oswego, OR. I work as a bilingual member assistant at a local labor union and use my language skills to help Russian and English-speaking employees access their benefits and required training and answer questions about their union. I identify as an interpreter and want to build a professional interpreter career.

I decided to become an interpreter because this profession brings together everything I perceive as my calling. I experience a quite sense of pride when meaning becomes clear in the air, when structures emerge and become visible, and form becomes accessible. I feel a deep satisfaction when in the course of communication, the parties sense each other and do not sense me. An interpreter develops the skills of neutrality and the ability to convey accurate meaning and complete form, the skills that make exactly these outcomes possible.

Also, this profession provides extensive and multifaceted experience interacting with people across a wide range of settings. Interpreters find themselves in diverse professional and social environments, engaging with people of different communities. As a result, as an interpreter I would develop deep exposure to human experience and nuanced understanding of social and cultural realities.

In our state there is a steady demand for qualified interpreters in the legal and medical fields. Holding relevant state certifications can nearly double the hourly rate of pay. This makes it possible to earn fair compensation for work that genuinely interests me.

[Isnelda Mancia]

Hello, Musharraf
Welcome,wishing you all the best on this new path so that we can help those who need our help.

[Musharraf Bayramova]

Hi Leidy, nice to meet you!

[Leidy Granados]

Hi everyone, my name is Leidy Granados. I am originally from Colombia and have been living in Boston, MA, for the past 4 years. I currently live in Jamaica Plain. My native language is Spanish, but I have always loved English, which is why I moved to the USA to improve my English skills. I earned an ESL teaching certificate, in which I had the opportunity to teach young/adult non-English speakers for six months, and it was a very rewarding experience. Now, I have decided to start this interpreting program because I want to broaden my knowledge in the medical field and would love to help LEP people communicate more effectively and express their medical needs when they are sick. I have been in their shoes, and now that I have a more advanced English level, I want to help Spanish speakers not feel alone on this journey of living in a foreign country without being able to communicate. I am very excited to learn more about this world of medical interpreting and look forward to connecting with you all!

[Art Liebl]

Hi Leidy!

Wow! Your English is impressive! You must have studied in Colombia?

[Julia Rosales]

Nice to meet you! Your story is very interesting! I resonate with your desire to immerse yourself in different cultures and learn something new!

[Leidy Granados]

Hi Art,

Thanks! I took a few English courses back when I was in college, but what helped the most was moving to the USA and being immersed in the language/culture.

[Author]

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