Media Recognition

MCS Community Interpreter Training Featured in El Tiempo Latino (2009)

On May 29, the newspaper El Tiempo Latino featured an article on the Community Interpreter Training program at MCS. The article, “Para romper las barreras del idioma” (To break language barriers!), focuses on how the training simultaneously breaks language barriers in the community and provides professional development for people with language skills who live in the DC metropolitan area.

For the past seven years, MCS, partnered with the DC Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs, has provided the training to address the need for language access in Washington, DC. Since its inception, the program has graduated over 140 trained community interpreters.

The training benefits both participants and the community. DC area residents who speak multiple languages are given the opportunity to develop their language skills and to use this development to enhance opportunities within their careers. At the same time, interpreters serve community interests by assisting their own neighbors, able to really understand their community and its needs.

A highly intensive course, the 70-hour Community Interpreter Training program prepares participants for the demands of work as an interpreter. In the article, one student remarks that she never thought the class would be so intensive, a testament to the comprehensiveness of the course.

To view the article, click here.

MCS Community Interpreter Graduation Ceremony featured in Washington Hispanic (2008)

The event was hosted by MSC and the Language Services Program Director, Rosa Carrillo. It opened with remarks from Congressman Sylvester Reyes (D-TX). Congressman Reyes congratulated the interpreters and priased them and MCS for continued efforts toward improving understanding across the may diverse cultures and languages of the Washington, DC area and elsewhere in the US. His speech was highlightedby his own autobiographical account of growing up as one of eleven children in a Spanish-speaking household on a farm in El Paso, Texas. He discussed how he overcame difficulties in affirming his identity as a bilingual person living in the US. He went on ot highlight that the vast majority of the country accepts intitiatives like the Community Interpreter Training and languages access rights work that cater to non-English proficient communities. He called the audience to action in challenging the minority of the US that would prefer the country to be monolingual with English as the official language. Congressmen Reyes emphasized the vitality of teaching foreign languages throughout primary and secondary education. He mentioned how important it is to incorporate US nationals in foreign language training in all government agencies and departments for the purpose of national security and international relations.

Quote from Congressman Reyes from our press release:

"As Chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, I understand that critical language skills are necessary to help protect our country. America is involved in many overseas missions, and we are increasingly dependent on our interpreters and translators withing the Intelligence Community to gather the vital information we need to achieve our military and security goals. Critical language, interpretation, and translation skills are needed to decipher information and help piece together a more cohesive intelligence picture. I want to thank everyone at the Multicultural Community Service and all the supports of foreign language access and education, for their steadfast commitment to making sure that language is not an impediment, problem, or obstacle, but a skill, asset, and critical part of our nation's identity."

To view the article, click here.

MCS Community Interpreter Training Featured in the Washington Post (2005)

On September 15, the Post highlighted photos from the Community Interpeter Training program's graduation ceremony, held at Habana Village in Adams Morgan.

To view the article, click here.

MCS Community Interpreter Featured in World Bank Newsletter (2005)

In a Q&A-style article, the World Bank highlighted Silvia Perez's volunteerism as a community interpreter, having freshly completed MCS' Community Interpreter Training. Perez described her role as an interpreter for the community as one in which she helped "people with a limited knowledge of English to do . . . the everyday things that most English speakers easily accomplish but which can pose major obstacles for others in the community."

To view the article, click here.