Giulyanne Sousa Costa
Translator or interpreter (or both): translator
Language(s) and direction(s): Portuguese<>English
Location: Perth, WA
Practising as a translator/interpreter since: 2010
Member of AUSIT since: 2018
Main area(s) of practice: documents for visa purposes and skills assessment, community translation
Q1:
How did you come to be a T/I?
A1:
I grew up in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, surrounded by government buildings and embassies. I’ve always been fascinated by different cultures, and the idea of working for one of the embassies often crossed my mind. When deciding what to study at university, I chose translation because I saw it as a pathway to achieving that goal. The course brought me numerous perspectives, and I absolutely loved it, so I decided to pursue a career in this field. When I moved to Australia to be with my partner, I initially worked in customer service roles, but once I obtained my NAATI certification, I returned to working solely as a translator.
Q2:
Tell us about a project you have worked on that was especially interesting or challenging (within the bounds of confidentiality of course).
A2:
Assisting people in obtaining their visas or accomplishing their goals is always rewarding, but the projects I find most fulfilling involve police investigations. During my internship in Brazil, I had the opportunity to work with the Brazilian Federal Police, and it was fascinating to witness the important role translators play in dismantling large criminal operations. However, some of these projects can be quite challenging. Recently, I worked on a project related to child sexual abuse, and it was difficult not to be emotionally affected by the distressing material involved, especially as I have children of my own. Some of the victims’ statements were very detailed and made me feel sick. I had to take frequent breaks to clear my mind and be able to complete the project.
Julieta Carroll
Translator or interpreter (or both): interpreter
Language(s) and direction(s): Auslan<>English
Location: Gold Coast, QLD
Practising as a translator/interpreter since: 2020
Member of AUSIT since: 2023
Main area(s) of practice: education and medical
Q1:
How did you come to be a T/I?
A1:
I started working in a school with a significant Deaf population, and I noticed a few students who craved communication and connection, so I started to learn Auslan from other staff so I could converse with them about their days. I met many wonderful Deaf people who were passionate about Auslan and sharing their language. Many years later a colleague encouraged me to enrol in a diploma of interpreting (Auslan–English). I was full of doubt and withdrew from the course several times, but I persevered, completed my Diploma in 2019, and in 2020 passed NAATI’s Certified Provisional Interpreter test – my most fulfilling academic achievement to date.
Q2:
Tell us about a project you have worked on that was especially interesting or challenging (within the bounds of confidentiality of course).
A2:
During COVID many Deaf students were learning online, and our school team had to quickly come up with solutions to ensure all announcements and resources were accessible. A Deaf adult with experience in NZ schools suggested livestreaming all announcements and assemblies. We moved quickly to secure the technology needed to livestream with interpreters visible (picture-in-picture to meet COVID regulations), and streamed to our local community. It was incredible to see extraordinary innovation and skill development during this time – in our school-based interpreting team we upskilled ourselves to become audiovisual technicians, onstage interpreters and production managers. We were thankful to have a school principal who believed in what we needed to do, as a result of which we were supported financially and systemically to ensure we established access and connection for our Deaf community.
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