Half a Century's Worth of Stories

Although it's only been a few days since this project was launched, I have already been very fortunate to receive many phone calls from interpreters interested in sharing their stories. It makes sense to me that, as interpreters, we love to talk about our experiences. After all, in our line of work, it isn't very often that we get to speak our own thoughts.

Today, I received a call from a wonderful man with more than 50 years of experience as a professional interpreter.

I was honored just listening to this gentleman and hoping to soak up some of the radiant wisdom being beamed across the phone line. We discussed our shared appreciation of the fact that, as educators, teachers and/or trainers of interpreters, we are extremely privileged to have learned from those we have taught. I encouraged him to submit his incredibly unique and important perspective in writing. I hope to include stories from new and seasoned interpreters alike, but I am also very interested in honoring some of those veteran interpreters who have seen our field evolve over the years by giving readers a taste of this viewpoint.

After all, it isn't every day that we get to hear from someone who has interpreted for half a century - and has meaningful lessons to share with us as a result of it.