Spanish Students Translate Texts to Benefit Community and Military Families

BU Spanish students Avery Bingaman and Matthew Sullivan were sought out to help translate texts from English to Spanish to serve their communities and military families.

Avery Bingaman,
courtesy of Dr. Dórame-Holoviak

Ms. Rose Stolz, Education Manager at Columbia Sullivan Head Start in Bloomsburg PA., contacted the Department of Languages and Cultures seeking help to translate documents into Spanish to better the opportunities for Spanish-speaking families in the community. Dr. Patricia Dórame-Holoviak invited Avery Bingaman, a double major in Spanish and Biology, to translate several forms including questionnaires, welcoming letters, and technical documents (child assessment rubrics). 

“We believe we were able to successfully serve the community making state and federal government opportunities available to Spanish-speakers,” said Dr. Dórame-Holoviak.

Matthew Sullivan,
courtesy of Dr. Dórame-Holoviak

While serving in the Army, Matthew Sullivan did an internship in Washington, D.C. last summer under COL Stephen Bowles, Associate Professor of Behavioral Science at the Eisenhower School, National Defense Institute in Washington D.C. When COL Bowles asked him to translate "Building Resilience in the Military Family During Deployment," chapter 7 of the book When the Warrior Returns: Making the Transition Home (edited by Nathan D, Aispan and Walter Penk, and published by the Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 2012), Mathew contacted Dr. Dórame-Holoviak and invited her to translate the chapter with him.

“After couple of months of intense work and multiple correspondences, we completed and reviewed the chapter (17,126 words) and he submitted it to COL Bowles,” said Dr. Dórame-Holoviak.  

Both Sullivan and Dórame-Holoviak’s names were included as a collaborative translation. The chapter will be published individually in the near future.