Translators for Elders held a six-week winter internship program in Philadelphia. Our intern Jizong Yao provided community translation and interpretation for the elderly Chinese community at 99 Adult Day Care Center to make their voices heard. Many aging immigrants in the U.S. face the challenges of language barriers, cultural differences, digital gap, and interrelated physical and mental health conditions. Therefore, Translators for Elders is dedicated to bridging the gaps and improving the well-being of the elderly community. Now let’s dive deeper into Jizong’s internship experience.
No-Arena-in-Chinatown Project: a rosy taste of the Translation and Interpretation career
I facilitated Jewish community’s Hannukah action to show solidarity with residents of Chinatown to oppose the proposed Philadelphia 76ers arena to be built in their neighborhood that would otherwise negatively impact Chinatown. I translated campaign posters, flyers, and postcards. I interpreted for Rabbi Linda Holtzman’s well-written speech on December 25, 2022 to tell the local Chinese community that they were not alone to protect their deserved rights. I also interpreted for Chinese people on site who would like to speak out their minds to news media. This major event in efforts to protect the Chinese community was covered by FOX29 Philadelphia, NPR WHYY, The Philadelphia Inquirer and several other news media, which endorsed my capability as I’m trying to expose myself to the TI industry to start my career.
SEPTA Forward Bus Revolution Project: building up my first client relationship
I worked with Michael Baker International to collect feedback on the proposed updates of SEPTA bus routes in the format of guided focus group discussion organized by Northeast Philadelphia Chinese Association (NEPCA). I translated a focus group moderator guide and interpreted for the one-hour focus group discussion on January 18, 2023 to bring the first-hand riding experiences and rider suggestions to SEPTA and route designers, and to inform the community, business, student, and older people representatives of the proposed major changes in SEPTA routes. Michael Baker International representative Bianca Panunto, as well as the NEPCA Chair Mingchu Huynh, spoke highly of my language service. They kept me as a resource for future translation needs and shared my contact information with their client SEPTA. New connections from other companies that partner a lot with Michael Baker International also reached out to me via LinkedIn. In this way, I gained my very first client’s trust and started my business networking.
Language Services for Geriatric Social Work at 99 Adult Day Care: discovering my passion for medical interpretation
A good part of my job was to work with 99 Adult Day Care to help the Chinese elder immigrant community with their concrete needs. I did medical interpretations for Keystone First health insurance company’s annual health evaluation home visits to update my clients’ health conditions and medications. I also communicated with other healthcare providers and government departments to solve clients’ inquiries about the welfare policies, and to apply or argue for their deserved benefits. I learned about clients’ difficulties in cross-cultural gap, digital gap, and interrelated physical and mental health conditions and built strong connections with them. It dawned on me how important medical interpretation together with the interpreter’s patience and sincerity is. I want to leverage my capability to help more.
