A career track in and around business liaison interpreting

Registering keywords unde Google News like Interpreter our Interpreting yields back at times unexpected fishes, glimpses of unknown places, people and concerns, articles form local newspapers that are like fleeting apparitions, here now, forgotten the next minute.

I do not know Tracy Miller, nor West Michigan, nor even the BattleCreekEnquirer.com.

The new of Ms. Tracy Miller having been designated as the new executive director of the Japan-America Society of West Michigan would have skipped my attention if a summary of her career track had not been mentioned in the article.

The academics devising and pondering on the best practice and curriculum tailoring for a solid education in liaison interpreting for business should look into Ms. Miller résumé.

Here is a liaison interpreter - the expression is not mentioned but that's it - who went through various educational stages, including an MBA, and who is still active as an interpreter, besides doing translation and representing a Japanese company. It rings a bell with my own background. It tells about the advantage of having spent some time working as an in-house interpreter/translator. It tells a story about this core experience allowing to thrust oneself into freelancing - the dirty word with its flimsy connotation. Or better call it, independent professional. I am glad to hear about someone having pocketed an MBA and not joining back the corporate world as an employee. I am also glad to see Ms. Miller touted as representing a Japanese company in situ. It is a model track record and the perfect painting of a professional life into business liaison interpreter. Reverse engineering of this track record should give strong clues to the academics, hints that in order to design the launching pad, you should focus on the best case model already circling the professional orbit.