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Department ofModern Languages and Literatures

Stories

Spanish Studies Students getting down to Business

Through an exciting new inter-college collaboration, this past summer, six Spanish Studies students completed internships with the Leavy School of Business's non-profit My Own Business Institute (MOBI). Under the leadership of Prof. Ariel Schindewolf of the Dept. of Modern Languages & Literatures, the students applied their language and culture skills to translate and edit learning materials in order to make this important and free entrepreneurial course accessible to Spanish-speakers around the globe. This was an invaluable experiential learning experience for this group of students, who in the spring completed a course in business translation with Prof. Schidewolf. This collaborative internship also opened doors to a new opportunity- one of the interns has become the MOBI student assistant for the entire academic year!

Student participants had this to say:

“Working on the MOBI site really showed me how to be committed on a project and also to be persistent. Translating the website challenged me to look beyond my general knowledge in Spanish, as it required me to understand basic business language and apply it to new sentences. I enjoyed cooperating with the team and learning new ways of translating more effectively. Overall, the internship enhanced my translating skills by making me a more effective translator.”  -- Hector

“My experience working with MOBI was great. I am grateful for being able to work with such a talented group of students and with Professor Schindewolf. We were able to complete this project because of everyone’s hard work and willingness to make sure the final product was flawless. Moreover, I enjoyed being able to apply and develop my translation skills and contribute my insights. I am sure that all the business owners who use the MOBI courses will benefit significantly”. - Nancy Romo

“As easy as that act of translation might seem, there is a lot to learn and to master. Even then, you can't guarantee that you'll accurately capture the meaning of the text. My time spent fixing translations and even translating the MOBI courses was very challenging yet rewarding. I continued to learn more as I worked and to improve as a translator.” - Mike

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