November 16, 2009
Community Assistance Program, director connect with area through service learning
 |
Yet Tenorio, a certified translator and interpreter, has trouble using it.
Tenorio, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, is a self-proclaimed workaholic. A former journalist, she holds a master's degree in both Latin American literature and Spanish from the Argentine Catholic University. She has worked as a journalist in international news for more than 10 years in Argentina, Mexico and the United States and helped start the Spanish edition of the Journal and Courier in Lafayette.
Tenorio has been teaching SPAN 415, Introduction to Translation and Interpretation, for the past two and a half years, and in January, she helped launch the Community Assistance Program.
CAP was created as part of the engagement initiatives of the College of Liberal Arts. The program's goal is to connect Purdue to the area and the state of Indiana by assisting organizations and residents in areas related to foreign languages and cultures.
"The idea came from my translation class," Tenorio says. "The students wanted to practice and the community needed the service."
CAP functions as a component of Tenorio's class. Ten percent of her 18 students' grades is based on their participation in CAP. Each student has to complete a certain number of hours of service learning.
SPAN 415 is an undergraduate class that requires instructor's approval for admission. Tenorio evaluates the level of each student's expertise. Then based on the student's schedule, Tenorio places the student somewhere in the community -- based on external requests -- or has them complete written translations for non-profit organizations, or both.
"Their work is meaningful, it makes a difference, and that is what students like," she says.
CAP provides assistance to agencies, organizations, businesses and individuals, while positioning students to help others and gain advanced language skills.
"The Community Assistance Program is much more than a class, but part of it works together with a class," Tenorio says. "I think the course is a good little taste of every aspect of the profession."
Tenorio receives requests from many different organizations with many different language requirements. The program, which is designed for Spanish majors and minors, is not limited to simply those students; nor are the external requests restricted to Spanish.
"It's also a question of explaining the culture," Tenorio says. "It's not just translating these words into those words. It's a cultural thing, and that's what I try to teach my students."
Students have worked in places such as Head Start, the YWCA Greater Lafayette, various local elementary and high schools, Ivy Tech, the Riggs Health Clinic, CFRC and many others. Students also work on the College of Liberal Arts video news magazine, Fast Track te Informa, a weekly Spanish TV show that airs on the Boiler TV.
They complete tasks that range from translating documents to interpreting at parent-teacher conferences, health clinics and Latino events, to editing and proofreading. Everything is done pro bono.
Tenorio does a certain amount of pro bono work herself, but some of the tasks she completes bring in revenue for CAP. And those tasks are not limited to Spanish.
Tenorio has received requests for translation for many languages other than Spanish and Chinese -- the most common ones -- including Polish, Greek, Indonesian, Vietnamese, French, Italian, Chinese, Urdu and Pashto.
Tenorio also puts in numerous hours doing independent research. She is a certified court interpreter but does not have a legal background. The bookcase she keeps in her office is stacked with legal and medical books she uses for reference.
However, Tenorio will not send a student into a situation, like legal or medical work, if the student is not adequately prepared for it. Thus she fields many of the outside requests herself.
According to Tenorio, her students like the practical aspect of the class very much and community members are really excited to have that help. But when asked how she manages to balance all of her time, she laughs, "That part is not a success story."
"That is my responsibility," she says. "I've always been a bit of a workaholic. I get excited with every possibility, and it is hard for me to say no. Every request that I receive is an honest request and it comes from a need. It's very hard to say no."
CAPTION: Cecilia Tenorio, director of the Community Assistance Program, talks to Purdue students Brittany Wilkerson and Juan Fabrega on the set of Fast Track te Informa. Wilkerson was a student in Tenorio's Introduction to Translation and Interpretation class in spring 2009.