Language Access Fellowship
Our Language Access Fellowship is a program that seamlessly integrates medical interpreter certificate training, holistic supports, and career advancement opportunities, enabling women to succeed in the interpreting profession.
Certificate Training
Post-Training
Medical Interpreter Certificate Training
Our rigorous curriculum offers 140+ hours of in-person skills-based, practical training, covers the fundamental components of medical interpreting:
- Interpreter skills, roles, and ethics
- Medical terminology in both languages
- Anatomy & Physiology
- Language coaching and role-plays
- Introduction to advanced skills (simultaneous interpreting, education and mental health interpreting and more)
Our course exceeds the industry standards for Medical Interpreter Certificate education and qualifies graduates for employment as medical interpreters. Coursework is taught by experienced professionals in healthcare, interpreting and education. In 2021, 90% of our faculty were alumnae of our program.
0+ hours of
in-person practical training
0% of
faculty are alumnae
Job Readiness and Professional Development
Overcoming homelessness and poverty is never as simple as earning a certificate. That is why our program includes 50+ hours of job skills and professional development training to position graduates to succeed in their new careers, and financial literacy education to equip them with the skills to manage their new wages, build assets, and achieve their financial goals.
Our approach is practical and in tune with modern workforce needs. Most importantly, our approach is hands-on: Our participants set and pursue goals, participate in mock interviews, create professional profiles and resumes, and work 1-on-1 with volunteer mentors each week.
Supportive Services
We are deeply invested in our program participants' success, and in eliminating traditional barriers that stand in their way. That is why we are committed to providing:
- $0.00 tuition
- All textbooks and materials provided free-of-charge
- On-site volunteer-run play groups for the children of Language Access Fellows without other childcare options
- Transportation assistance as needed (All in-person classes take place in the Greater Boston Area)
- Equipment and tech literacy resources
- Volunteer Mentors to provide encouragement, guidance, and accountability in meeting career advancement goals and expand Language Access Fellows' professional networks
Our staff help program participants to plan for foreseeable obstacles, and troubleshoot unanticipated challenges that arise along the way.
Career Advancement
Completing the Medical Interpreter Certificate course is only the beginning of the journey. We create a pipeline from our training to well-paying jobs. This enables graduates to earn higher wages, faster. Post-graduation, participants receive:
- Ongoing year-round job search and placement support
- Direct job placement through our Interpreter Services and Education Services across the Greater Boston Area
- Community support and networking opportunities through monthly Alumnae Association meetings
- In-house continuing education and advanced skills trainings
- Scholarship opportunities for outside continuing education opportunities
- Leadership opportunities through serving as Faculty for our Interpreter Training
Found in Translation’s Interpreter Services employs graduates to fulfill interpreter requests our organization receives from our community partners. This creates opportunities for graduates to hone their skills while providing interpreting services to hundreds of vulnerable Limited English Speakers in “language access deserts.”
Our pool of talented and highly-trained interpreters grows every year, thus improving our ability to provide interpreting services to the community in response to rapidly growing demand.
We offer a tiered fellowship model allowing graduates to progress to higher rates and more advanced interpreting assignments and opportunities as they gain experience.
Education Services
Recently, we have begun the launch of our Education Services, another direct employment opportunity for our graduates. As trained instructors, our alumnae will earn higher wages and improved access to full-time, benefited positions. Leadership opportunities available to experienced graduates include serving as faculty instructors for our Medical Interpreter Training. The Class of 2021 program had 15 alumnae instructors, teaching everything from interpreting skills to anatomy and physiology and language coaching.
A key component of these services will focus on preparing healthcare providers to effectively incorporate language access into their care of patients. This is of especially high demand, as of 1,563 physicians surveyed between 2011 and 2016, roughly half were "relatively unfamiliar" or "unfamiliar" with the legal requirements of working with interpreters. (“With Scarce Access To Interpreters...,” NPR Online, 2018).
Alumnae Community
Our alumnae network is strong. We currently have graduates interpreting at all of Boston’s top hospitals including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Mass General, and Tufts Medical Center.
Some volunteer their services in their communities and in their schools, while others influence entire school districts as coordinators for interpreting services departments. Each year, many of our graduates take on leadership positions in our program as paid instructors or contribute to our organization as volunteers and donors.
Through our monthly Alumnae Association, we are able to continue participant engagement, provide ongoing support and professional development training, and build community across cohorts.
We have found that through this community, more experienced alumnae mentor new interpreters and use their clout at work to open doors and promote their Found in Translation peers. This network accelerates the success of new interpreters and serves as a way for more experienced interpreters to land positions as mentors, teachers, and leaders.
