Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalia Noland, Ph.D.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
In 2014, I approached Houston Community College administration with an idea of the possibility of Houston Community College to provide a new International Business Translation and Interpretation Program to Houston area. In Houston, 40 foreign governments maintain trade and commercial offices, and there are 23 active foreign chambers of commerce and trade associations.
Furthermore, 25 foreign banks representing 13 nations operate in Houston, providing financial assistance to the international community, with over 90 languages spoken in the city. Houston’s diverse cultures, international corporations, foreign and domestic business dealings all point to a strong demand for translation services.
I provided the results of my investigation showing that no other college or university in Houston offered formal state-approved education in translation and interpretation other than American Sign Language Programs, and the demand in translators and interpreters had been growing. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of interpreters and translators is projected to grow 29 percent from 2014 to 2024, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Employment growth will be driven by increasing globalization and by large increases in the number of non‐English speaking people in the United States. Job prospects are best for those who have professional certification. Areas of employment include: business, legal, and medical interpretation; web globalization, certified document translation, proofreading & editing; certified court interpretation and catastrophic injury interpretation.
HCC Chief Entrepreneurial officer Dr. Durnovo believed that this might be a good opportunity for the International Business Program to expand and offer new skills to HCC students, and she supported the development of the Program.
All of the courses offered by the Program are new to HCC and Texas. Because the translation and interpretation courses did not exist in the list of approved workforce courses posted by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), every course was designed based upon my experience. I hold a Ph.D. degree in Linguistics, MA in the English Language and Literature and have worked as translator/ interpreter for more than 25 years and had taught such courses in another state.
The program started as an Advanced Technical Certificate Program in Translation and Interpretation (for students who already had a degree in any field of knowledge) at its Spring Branch campus in 2015. As it turned out, there is a considerate number of potential students who don’t hold a college degree and are eager to get a professional education in translation and interpretation.
Thus, in the fall of 2017, the Program was transferred to Level II certificate for college-ready students. Currently, our program presents an opportunity for many bilingual Houston residents, including high school graduates, to pursue training and career in this growing field of translation and interpretation, serving not only the oil and gas business but many others, such as legal, medical, research, etc. This is especially beneficial considering the expansion of many large hospitals in Houston and Houston area, which always requires qualified interpreters and translators.
In addition, it gives a chance to make a career change for many professionals currently affected by the oil and gas decline, or just provide an additional source of income to any professional.
The program is conducted in strategic partnership with the industry, such as MasterWord Services and TechTrans International translation companies, and academic partnership, such as SDL and Lilt – translation software companies, as well as Performance English – specialists in communication.
Since the start, we have had of 25 graduates (three cohorts), and all of them have found a job including three blind students! We are growing, and, together with our graduates, making this world better!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The greatest challenge was to explain that one needs to study to become a professional translator or interpreter. Some people think that just being bilingual is enough to succeed in this profession. As Mila Golovine MasterWord Services translation company CEO and President says, “The difference between being bilingual and knowing how to translate is the same as between being able to drive a car and knowing how to fix it.”
Therefore, one needs to get a professional education to produce good quality translation and interpretation.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with International Business Translation and Interpretation Program (Houston Community College) – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We teach translation and interpretation, including the theory of translation and interpretation, editing and revising for translation, intercultural communication, technical, legal and medical translation and interpretation, technology for translation etc.
What sets us apart from others who teach translation is that, in a way, we are unique as we enroll students with different languages including Urdu, Hindi, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, etc. We provide formal, state-approved education in translation and interpretation.
In addition, there is at least one blind student in each cohort, and translation /interpretation has turned out to be a good profession for them.
We are proud of the quality of our education as we adhere to ISO standards in translation and interpretation.
Also, the greatest pride of mine is International Business Translation and Interpretation team – two graduates from my very first cohort Veronika Demichelis (MA in Linguistics, MBA, medical certified interpreter) and Lucia Fallah (MA in History). Both of them had worked as translators/interpreters prior to joining the Program as students, wishing to get a professional education in translation and interpretation. Now they provide great instruction to our students.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
The plans are to expand the Program into an AAS ( Associate in Applied Science) degree and expand the strategic and academic partnership to offer our students and instructors new opportunities for professional growth.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1010 W. Sam Houston Pkwy. North, Houston, TX, 77043
- Website: http://www.hccs.edu/finder/programs/international-business—translation–interpretation-certificate-level-2/
- Phone: 713 718 2457
- Email: natalia.noland@hccs.edu
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hccti/
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