{"id":208,"date":"2017-04-12T19:00:27","date_gmt":"2017-04-12T19:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/PLD\/?p=208"},"modified":"2018-04-17T20:07:43","modified_gmt":"2018-04-17T20:07:43","slug":"2017-micata-annual-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/PLD\/2017\/04\/12\/2017-micata-annual-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"2017 MICATA Annual Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/b>Melissa Harkin<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Early morning on Friday, March 24, 2017. I pack my stuff and hit the road with former Brazilian Olympic athlete and long-time translator \u00c9lora Ugo and newbie translator Bruna Picker.<\/p>\n

We are headed to Overland Park, Kansas, to attend the\u00a02017 Annual Conference of the Mid-America Chapter of the American Translators Association (MICATA)<\/strong>. Never having attended a regional conference before, all three of us are unsure what to expect.<\/p>\n

We drive through Missouri\u2019s lavender fields and corn and soy farms\u2014a beautiful view along the road\u2014and arrive just in time for the welcome reception at Johnson County Community College.<\/p>\n

A reception is always a great way to start a conference. The camaraderie and networking make you feel less of a stranger the next day when sessions begin. I make some great connections and meet wonderful new people, such as\u00a0Marcela Renna, Hamideh Gerami<\/strong>, and\u00a0Amy Randles<\/strong>; get hit by the unexpected (such as\u00a0Dr. Jason Jolley<\/strong>, an associate professor of Spanish at Missouri State University in Springfield, who is also fully fluent in Portuguese, and who surprises \u00c9lora, Bruna, and me by approaching us with a big \u201cOi! Voc\u00eas est\u00e3o falando portugu\u00eas?\u201d which is Portuguese for \u201cHi! Are you speaking Portuguese?\u201d); and catch up with friends and colleagues I\u2019ve met through the years while attending other conferences and following them online (Hi,\u00a0Karen Tkaczyk<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Abigail Dahlberg<\/strong>!).<\/p>\n

A lot of work goes into putting a conference together, and, after attending MICATA\u2019s conference, I will try to go to as many other regional conferences as possible. Of course, the ATA national conference is and always will be a must-go event, but regional events also provide you with growth, learning, and networking opportunities. It\u2019s a big mistake to completely disregard them and not support your regional ATA chapter.<\/p>\n

Just like any other conference, MICATA has multiple sessions happening at the same time; I want to attend them all, but time traveling isn\u2019t a thing yet, so I have to pick and choose the ones that best fit my interests, learning desires, and this point in my career.<\/p>\n

We all start with a plenary session by\u00a0Karen Tkaczyk<\/strong>\u00a0on\u00a0Professionalizing: Find your Place in the Industry<\/strong>. What I find especially interesting are all the examples from personal experience she gives us, showing the crowd the similarities within diversity that can be found among translators.<\/p>\n

While Bruna attends\u00a0Starting Up Your Own Business<\/strong>, by\u00a0Jeana Clark<\/strong>, \u00c9lora and I hit the\u00a0ATA Certification Exam Preparation<\/strong>, presented by\u00a0Rudy Heller<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Diego Mansilla<\/strong>. Afterwards, Bruna mentions that her session was great and that she left it having a clearer idea of some of the next steps in her career. \u00c9lora and I report that the overview of the ATA Certification Program was excellent. It became much more obvious to us why it is a good idea to seek ATA certification, and we left knowing how exams are graded, what graders look for (and what they\u2019d rather not see), and many other details about the exam.<\/p>\n

Next, I head to\u00a0Planning Effective Translator Training<\/strong>, by\u00a0Dr. Jason Jolley<\/strong>. He guides us in a discussion to outline what an effective competency-based program in translation should look like. It is quite interesting to see the perspective of educators rather than students. The fact that he discusses competency-based programs is valuable to everyone present because, as we all know, not every translator has a degree in linguistics. Some become translators later in life, after retiring, or after realizing they have a passion for writing and for the languages they speak.<\/p>\n

At lunch, we are all gifted with\u00a0Angela Tamae Liu\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0fun and loving personality while she shares her knowledge and experiences with translation. What a great presentation! She speaks specifically about\u00a0Differences in Anime and Manga Translation<\/strong>. The heavy historical and cultural load behind every story makes me want to learn more about this type of translation.<\/p>\n

I then accompany Bruna and \u00c9lora to the session\u00a0Getting Started in the T&I Industry<\/strong>, by\u00a0Gabby Doherty\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Jean Marie Trujillo<\/strong>. Since I\u2019ve been trying to guide Bruna in the past few months, I feel it is important to attend this session with her so we can discuss the content afterward. Other reasons for attending sessions about getting started are to learn about paths other translators have taken when starting in the profession, and to check out new info and trends. Not every translator is keen to attend such sessions, but I highly recommend they do so. Even if you think you know it all, you\u2019ll always come out with new knowledge.<\/p>\n

I end my day attending\u00a0Karen Tkaczyk<\/strong>\u2018s second session,\u00a0A Lucrative Sideline: Editing Non-Native English Scientific Writing<\/strong>. Karen and I both work with technical translations but in different fields. She is a role model to me when it comes to research and technical writing in translation. So imagine my goofy happiness (which I don\u2019t show, of course, because one must keep oneself in check)\u00a0when she sits down for coffee with me, and we talk about translation, kids, traveling, and politics for an hour. It is so much fun that we forget to take a picture! Oh well, now she has to meet me again for that picture (YAY!).<\/p>\n

What I take from attending MICATA\u2019s conference is that regional events should not be underestimated. To quote the\u00a0About\u00a0<\/i>page in MICATA\u2019s website, your ATA chapter \u201cexists for the benefit of translators, interpreters and language professionals, and for those who use our services.\u201d<\/p>\n

By joining your regional chapter you get the chance to meet people from your hometown (Hey,\u00a0Amy Randles<\/strong> and\u00a0Mercedes Stephenson<\/strong>, how about a cup of coffee?), which can help alleviate some of the loneliness we face being work-from-home freelancers. You also get a forum, a helping hand, and a bunch of colleagues who can chip in with professional advice and other relevant information.<\/p>\n

Translators and interpreters, unite! Love your ATA chapter!<\/p>\n