Mariana Robinson: Journey as an Interpreter
Originally from Brazil, Mariana Robinson has been an invaluable member of our Community Interpreters network for over two years. In this article, we go through her journey, tracing the steps that led her to become an interpreter and exploring her current role at Vandu Languages.
Becoming an Interpreter
Mariana's journey as an interpreter commenced in the UK when she generously assisted a midwife friend working with the Portuguese community in West Sussex. Interpreting for community members became an informal volunteer role that ignited Mariana's interest. Recognising her passion, she pursued and completed a Postgraduate in Language Interpretation and Translation with the Institute of Linguists in London.
Her professional career as a Portuguese Interpreter in the UK spans over 20 years, marked by periodical skill enhancement, including the completion of a Community Interpreting Level 3 course in the early 2000s and, more recently, a DPSI Law qualification.
Interpreting for Vandu Languages
Her connection with Vandu was a stroke of fortune for which we are very grateful. Mariana recounts the genesis of this association stating:
"I made a call on behalf of someone who needed an interpreter. [They asked me], ‘Can you call this place and check if there is an interpreter for me?”. This place happened to be Vandu Languages.
During their telephone conversation, Neil Redfern, our Interpreting Desk Supervisor, astutely identified the confident voice of someone well-versed in the languages industry. This led to Mariana's seamless onboarding as a freelance interpreter at Vandu Languages.
Currently, Mariana undertakes remote and face-to-face interpreting assignments, offering support to the Portuguese-speaking community in locations such as Worthing, Eastbourne, Hastings, Crawley, and Redhill.
Expressing her satisfaction with Vandu Languages, Mariana shares:
“It’s just very straightforward, very flexible, friendly, and with reasonable journeys'”.
She commends the Booking Team for their consistent helpfulness and effective communication:
“I speak to them all the time and they’re always so helpful”.
We took the opportunity to also convey to her that her undeviating performance at work has been outstanding, to the extent of being regarded as one of our most reliable interpreters to date.
Experience at Khin Family Services
Mariana provided insights into her recently completed role as an interpreter for Khin Family Services, an independent social work service that provides residential assessments for parents and families.
She narrated her involvement in shadowing a mother under assessment, a role that encompassed various activities, including playground sessions, counselling groups, meetings, individual sessions, local park visits, shopping trips, and medical appointments.
Vandu Languages has been offering interpreting services to Khin for the last few months. The reason for our interest in her experience is that these interpreting assignments have drawn our attention due to their unique nature and characteristics, including their long duration (they are day-long assignments requiring interpreters to work from 5 to 10 hours), combined with a low percentage of active interpreting.
We explain this in further detail in our blog titled “How Interpreting Enhances Professional and Corporate Experiences at Khin Family Services”. This blog evaluates the success of these assignments for interpreters, Khin Family Services, and Vandu Languages. It also provides additional insights into Mariana's perspective as a Community Interpreter on site.
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Thank you!
Thank you for your interest in Vandu Languages! We hope Mariana's story serves as an inspiration for current and future language professionals.
Read another compelling story from one of our interpreters, HQ, who had to leave her home country, Iraq, as a refugee in 1997. Read the article "How a Career as an Interpreter Can Bring Opportunities in a New Country: the Story of HQ" for a different perspective.
Explore our website or contact us at info@vandu.co.uk or 01273 473986 for more information about our services or opportunities for aspiring interpreters and translators.
