The Daily Bulletin Archive

Graziela Rondón-Pari, assistant professor in the Modern and Classical Languages Department, was invited to present at the plenary session of the Modern Language Association’s (MLA) Leadership Institute on June 27.

Buffalo State’s Spanish court interpreter certificate received a grant and an award from the MLA and serves as a model in the field of languages for the professions by applying language learning to the field of court interpreting. The Buffalo Immigration Court employs interpreters daily who come from other areas of the country with all expenses paid and a salary that exceeds $500 a day. Buffalo State students visit this court several times a semester and get the chance to interact with judges, attorneys, and on-the-job interpreters.

Lydia Tang, MLA’s head of world language programs, said, “Your grant-winning project perfectly fits the plenary’s vision of demonstrating how language competency can have a real impact on our communities. The feedback we received in response to your plenary session has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are grateful for your engaging, informative, and inspiring remarks. The depth of knowledge, pedagogical innovation, and concrete models you offered was truly impressive.”

Buffalo State’s court interpreter certificate aims to provide practical solutions to the lack of qualified court interpreters while enabling students to pursue a well-remunerated career that is very much in demand.