The University of New Mexico (UNM), and especially the Department of Language, Literacy & Sociocultural Studies in the College of Education and Human Sciences, attracts many international and domestic MA and PhD students who are extremely bilingual and biliterate in diverse world languages and English.  Many have taught English and studied translation internationally.  They come to UNM for graduate degrees in areas such as Bilingual Education, Educational Linguistics, Foreign Languages, Latin American Studies, and Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language.

• It has been my honor to initiate UNM’s Translation Center in order to enrich these highly skilled graduate translators’ academic competencies and professional experiences.                                                                                       
• Me siento honrada de iniciar este Centro de Traducciones en la UNM para enriquecer las competencias académicas y las experiencias profesionales de estos traductores de postgrado altamente capacitados.

   Professor, Applied Linguist

Spanish/English Translator

Translation Center Director 

Our Translation Center (UNM EX-TRA) is committed to UNM’s internationalization in the global market, to cultural, historical & linguistic preservation, to social services, civic outreach, and to meeting personal translation needs.  As Center coordinator, I work closely with skilled multilingual and multiliterate graduate translators and vetters, with local and international agencies/customers, and on coordinating daily tasks, such as receiving translation requests, researching rates, translating documents from/into Arabic, maintaining the Center website, etc. 

• It is a pleasure and an honor to work as the coordinator of this on-campus center, helping build bridges between communities, cultures, and ideas.
• إنه لمن دواعي فخري و سروري أن أعمل كمنسقِ لمركز الترجمة بالجامعة، حيث أساعد في تعزيز ربط المجتمعات و الثقافات و الأفكار.

PhD candidate, TESOL

English/Arabic Translator

Translation Center Coordinator

Hyun Hee Bae:

My two years of experience at UNM’s Translation Center have been an honor for me.  The Translation Center has been the perfect place for me to utilize my Korean-English bilingual skills, my unique perspective, and my Korean cultural background and knowledge.  Working here not only offers me economic support, but also gives me the chance to learn multicultural insights from my international colleagues from countries such as Mexico, Egypt, Brazil, China, Russia, and Ecuador.  

• I am so pleased by the meaningful opportunity to serve as a bridge for people who want to exchange their knowledge of the English and Korean worlds.
• 저는  영어와  한국어  세계의  지식을  교류하려는  사람들을 위해  가교 역할을할  수 있는  뜻깊은  기회에 매우 기쁩니다. 

Korean Ph.D. student, TESOL

Research Assistant and English/Korean translator

 Ryan Gomez:

A lifelong interest in French culture combined with undergraduate linguistics studies led me to study French at the postgraduate level with a research focus on the translation of bande dessinée (French-language comics) and an interest in the translator as a figure of literary studies. As a PhD student of French Studies and an instructor of French at UNM, I maintain an interest in the relationships between language, culture, translation, and the political stakes therein. In addition to my own translation research, I have participated in UNM’s only Translation Studies course and performed various academic English/French translation tasks, including an academic article in collaboration with the original author and paid work for postgraduate colleagues.

• I am thrilled by the opportunity to promote translation at UNM with the Excellence in Translation (EX-TRA) Center and immensely honored to be part of the center’s pilot program. Increasing accessibility of academic work and bridging gaps in global communication is a truly worthwhile enterprise. Offering development opportunities to graduate students at UNM, the center will be a regional leader of translation work, a rich site for professional and academic productivity, and a credit to the University of New Mexico.
• Je me réjouis de cette occasion de promouvoir la traduction à l’UNM au sein du Centre d’Excellence en Traduction (EX-TRA), et je me sens profondément privilégié de faire partie du projet pilote du centre. Améliorer l’accessibilité aux travaux de recherche et combler les lacunes de communication mondiales est une initiative qui vaut vraiment la peine. Tout en proposant aux étudiants de troisième cycle de nombreuses opportunités de développement, le centre sera un site de productivité professionnelle et académique, reconnu à l’échelle régionale pour son travail de traduction, et un atout pour l’Université du Nouveau-Mexique.

American PhD student, Foreign Languages & Literatures

English/French translator

Mario Esteban del Ángel Guevara:

Translation goes beyond knowing a language, but it requires knowing the culture of the people you are translating for and from. Understanding how to communicate appropriately to bridge linguistic and cultural gaps is key in translation work. Making information available for a multilingual audience becomes a necessity in America today. I am pleased to support this mission at the University of New Mexico by having translated books in different areas such as Mexican Traditional Medicine and U.S. Latino entrepreneurship.  A New Mexico transplant since 2013, I work doing research about Spanish varieties in northern New Mexico and how they interact.

• The course on translation studies allowed me to expand my professional career in a new direction by training me to build one strong pillar in my career around the Spanish language. Now, besides working on the teaching of Spanish in college and conducting research, I do translation between English and Spanish.
• El curso en estudios sobre la traducción me ha permitido expandir mi carrera profesional en una nueva dirección al capacitarme para construir un pilar fuerte en mi carrera en torno al idioma español. Ahora, además de trabajar enseñando español en la universidad y realizar investigación, también realizo trabajo de traducción entre el idioma inglés y español.

Mexican PhD candidate in Hispanic Linguistics

English/Spanish translator