Dayana Gonzalez Lopez ’25
Beach Park, IL
Major: International Relations; Minor: Social Service and Spanish Translation and Interpretating
Dayana is working as an interpreter and scheduler doing psychosocial evaluations, which are used to help immigrants' legal claims for asylum or other forms of relief that help families stay together.
Putting the Knox Experience to Work
Knox College's 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 Dayana Gonzalez Lopez '25 has used his minor to achieve post-graduate success.
How did the program help with what you are doing now?
It taught me a lot of coping techniques and to be trauma-informed. It helped me be able to interpret ethically in a multitude of settings from medical to legal and even community settings.
You are doing evaluations to help immigrants' legal claims for asylum. What is the most difficult/rewarding part of your job?
The most difficult part of my job is being able to distance myself from a person’s story to protect my own mental health while still being compassionate and interpreting with precise details. It’s quite a fine line to maintain especially as many asylum seekers have gone through very heavy trauma both in their home country and on their journey to the United States.
The most rewarding part of my job is knowing I contributed, even if it’s a tiny bit, with helping them tell their story authentically and truthfully. Giving them just that bit more of an opportunity to be able to win their immigration case.