{"id":2623,"date":"2025-12-15T16:00:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T16:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/?p=2623"},"modified":"2025-12-15T16:10:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T16:10:20","slug":"my-experience-as-a-student-at-ata66","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/my-experience-as-a-student-at-ata66\/","title":{"rendered":"My Experience as a Student at ATA66"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Maggie Toppass<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Photo: Maggie winning a Yeti microphone at the CLD dinner during ATA66.<\/p>\n

This October, I attended the American Translators Association’s 66th Annual Conference in Boston, Massachusetts. It was not only my first ATA conference, but my first professional conference. I had a wonderful time and am already looking forward to the next one.<\/p>\n

Networking<\/strong><\/p>\n

As an undergraduate student who is not currently studying translation or interpreting, I was nervous about attending. I bought tickets because I love languages, and had such an amazing time at the annual MICATA conference in April. But even on the plane to Boston, I wondered if there would be a place for me despite my lack of experience.<\/p>\n

However, everyone was more welcoming than I could’ve imagined. On my very first night, I was handed a Chinese Language Division pin, and from then on, so many people I met greeted me as a “new member” of the CLD. I was even invited to dinner at a restaurant in Chinatown, where I had the chance to further socialize with members of the Chinese Language Division.<\/p>\n

The conference breakfasts also provided excellent networking opportunities. Every morning was a chance to meet new friends and continue conversations from previous days. I even ended up going out to explore Boston with some of the people I met at the breakfast, and I’m so glad I got the chance to make those connections.<\/p>\n

Sessions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even though I do not yet work in the industry, I still benefited greatly from everything I learned in the sessions. Some provided insights about a specific target language, while others focused on the rise of generative AI or the effect of national politics on translators and interpreters.<\/p>\n

I particularly enjoyed the language-specific sessions. One of my favorite parts of the conference was comparing how I was taught to learn a language in school, and how translators and interpreters tackle maintaining their languages. I was especially amazed to see how interpreters retain so much vocabulary and make split-second decisions about which word to use. I’m looking forward to using everything I learned in my language-learning journey.<\/p>\n

Boston<\/strong><\/p>\n

The coastal city of Boston was an amazing setting for the conference. The Seaport District’s towering buildings were gorgeous, and I loved having such a spectacular view every day.<\/p>\n

Boston’s efficient public transport system made exploring the city as a tourist a breeze. A bus station was located very close to the hotel, and from there we could connect to the rest of the city’s historic sights. I can’t wait to see what next year’s conference brings!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Maggie Toppass is an undergraduate student at the University of Kansas. She is currently pursuing a double-major in Global & International Studies and Geography, as well as a minor in Mandarin. She also speaks Spanish and French. After graduation, she plans to join a graduate program in translation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Edited by Sijin Xian.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Maggie Toppass Photo: Maggie winning a Yeti microphone at the CLD dinner during ATA66. This October, I attended the American Translators Association’s 66th Annual Conference in Boston, Massachusetts. It was not only my first ATA conference, but my first professional conference. I had a wonderful time and am already looking forward to the next […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":2631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2623","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ata-annual-conference","8":"entry"},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_9531-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2623"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2632,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2623\/revisions\/2632"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}