Montse Cancino Aguilar ’21

Putting the Knox Experience to Work

The Spanish translation and interpretation program has given its participants a leg up when it comes to graduate school and professional opportunities. Read more about how Montse used her minor to achieve post-graduate success:

What are you up to now?

I’m currently in grad school for translation and interpreting at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Initially, I was on the medical track at Knox. I took Robin’s interpreting class and ended up liking it. Lo and behold, I pursued a career.

How did the courses and minor get to where you are now?

I grew up speaking Spanish at home, but the main thing I learned in Robin’s class was that the Spanish you use at home is not the same as the one you use academically or diplomatically. Spanish at home is so full of idiosyncratic speech and sayings. It’s hard to translate or switch over to another language. As a kid, I translated for my parents all the time, never realizing how important meaning and word choice are. Robin’s class helped me expand my lexicon and express myself at the same level in Spanish as I do in English.

What was an activity you did locally while at Knox?

We did a lot of volunteer work; my two best friends were with me, and we did court consultations for people in Galesburg. We also helped with the detention center hotline; we translated for people who were being detained while working with local immigration and legal aid in Galesburg. We tried to go out and have events for the community, go to schools, and have them come  to our school too.

Now that you are in grad school for translation and interpreting, what do you think the future of this career could look like?

It’s really difficult to say, especially with the rise in AI. Schools are discouraging it to support translation and interpreting programs, but here at Middlebury, other programs like localization management are working hand in hand with us. There is talk of using the program for large language models, training AI, or creating translation memories for companies, which would reduce the need for translators for subtitles, labels, manuals, and similar materials. 

For interpreting, I think you’ll have more opportunities within medicine or law. There aren't many grad school programs in North America for this; they’re hard to find, so it is a small community. 

Learn more about Knox's Spanish translation and intepretation program in Knox Magazine.