Kudos to AATIA member Anna Boyet who recently got word that she'd passed the American Translators Association (ATA)  certification exam. Boyet, who translates from English to Polish, took the exam last summer during the exam sitting hosted by AATIA. Before that, she attended an AATIA information session on ATA certification. Here's what she had to say about the session: 

...it helped me a lot. I had already attended one [session] before, during one of the ATA conferences, but the one in Austin was much more detailed and it helped me prepare. Most of all it helped me understand the difference in expectations between the reviewers of the certification exam and my regular every-day clients.

Of course we can't guarantee that everybody who attends an information session will pass the exam, but we can say that these sessions provide valuable information and helpful tips for anyone thinking of attempting it. Our next information session will be on March 20th. The registration deadline is this coming Monday, March 15th.

So, if you've been thinking of signing up, don't delay. Register online now!

Earn 9 CE Points at an ATA Professional Development Event
Presented by the American Translators Association
and the Austin Area Translators and Interpreters Association
  

Crowne Plaza Riverwalk
San Antonio, Texas
March 27-28, 2010

• AATIA Member Mike Magee will present a session on Patent Translations.
• Karen Tkaczyk will present From Soap to Drugs and Back, via QA and SOPs.
• Aaron Ruby will present Research Techniques and Primary Resources for Technical Translators

All presentations are non-language-specific.
Early registration ends March 19.

To learn more, see http://www.atanet.org/pd/scitech

Join SpanSIG for its first meeting of the year. The topic will be film translation from Spanish to English and we will have the opportunity to offer our professional critique.

As always, we invite you to spend a couple of hours with your SpanSIG colleagues and enjoy a light breakfast.

At the conclusion of the meeting, we will raffle a couple of books that you might find interesting.

We’ll see you from 10:00 to 12:00 at the International Center of Austin. See sidebar at right for directions and parking instructions.

The expertise of Conference Interpreters is very much needed in today's global economy. Come and listen to two of our distinguished members — Maurine McLean and Tony Beckwith — share their experiences as well as tips on how to polish up your interpreting skills.

Join us at our ICA location on 2nd Street between Brazos and San Jacinto on Saturday, March 13th from 1 to 4 p.m. Find directions and parking information in the sidebar on this page.

AATIA members Esther Diaz, Cristina Helmerichs, and Leonard Sepeda were interviewed for an article in the "Jobs Plus" section of last Sunday's Austin American-Statesman. Read the article online.

Leonard Sepeda interprets for nurse Becca Mielke at Dell Children's Medical Center, photo by Walter Brewer, Austin American-Statesman

Register online now for an information session on the American Translators Association (ATA) translator certification program, to be offered by AATIA on Saturday, March 20, 2010 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Registration deadline: March 15. (more…)

The Interpreter’s Special Interest Group will be meeting on Saturday February 13th from 10 AM to 12 noon at the AATIA headquarters in the International Center of Austin on 2nd street and Trinity. In the meeting Joseph Brettell, a Licensed Court Interpreter will present on certification exams for court interpreters, training materials available to aspiring court interpreters, and the realities and practice of court interpretation. We will have a practice session of real texts which are commonly seen in the courts. All interpreters or other interested parties are welcome. See you then!

AATIA is pleased to present a complimentary translation memory tool webinar for freelancers during our next membership meeting on January 9. A qualified trainer from Across Systems will demonstrate how to put this tool into practice.

Please join us at the International Center of Austin. The meeting begins at 1:00 and the webinar begins at 1:30. 

If you are unable to attend the meeting, you may also join us online by registering via this link:
 https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/473840274

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer