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December 13, 2021White Bear Lake, MN - The Interpreting Stakeholder Group (ISG) and the Century College Foundation are pleased to announce the establishment of scholarships for students in the Translation and Interpreting (TRIN) Program at Century College.
These scholarships will provide financial support for the education of bilingual students at the College who wish to develop professional interpreting skills and prepare them for careers in this high-demand field.
“Financial concerns can be a barrier and stressor for many students,” notes Century College TRIN Program Director Rachel Herring. “These scholarships from ISG will provide much-needed and appreciated support for students in our program.”
The TRIN program at Century College is the only college-level translation and interpreting program focused on spoken languages in the State of Minnesota and is available to students throughout the state and the country. The program prepares students to work as interpreters and translators in a variety of contexts, including health care, social services, education, and legal settings.
ISG, a non-profit organization with a mission to improve the delivery of spoken language interpreter services, has been an active presence in the Minnesota interpreting community.
“ISG was unique in that it brought together all sectors of the spoken language interpreting industry to dialogue, problem solve, and identify emerging trends,” explained ISG Board Chair Cathleen Urbain. “ISG provided interpreter training opportunities and was the principal force behind the introduction of the spoken language healthcare interpreter registry bill at the MN legislature.”
Recently, ISG made the decision to legally dissolve as an organization. As part of that process, the ISG Board directed its remaining funds to support interpreter education and professionalization. They selected two Minnesota interpreter training programs, providing 40 percent of the funds to the Interpreter Training program at the Karen Organization of Minnesota and 60 percent to the Translation and Interpreting program at Century College for student scholarships.
The ISG Scholarships for Century College will provide $500 to newly admitted students entering the program, as well as $500 to enrolled students working to complete the program.
“We are grateful for ISG’s decision to finance these scholarships and honored by the trust they have placed in us to continue this important work,” said Herring. “Their generosity will have a significant impact on our students and their future careers.”
For more information about the Century College Translation and Interpreting program, visit https://www.century.edu/trin. For information regarding the scholarships, including eligibility requirements, visit https://www.century.edu/foundation.
The Century College Foundation would like to thank ISG for its generosity and its support of language access and the education of future professional interpreters and translators.