A Caribbean Interpreter's Tale: Language, Career, and Resilience with Gennike Mayers

Can you imagine uprooting your life in pursuit of language and culture, only to find yourself aiding in disaster-stricken Haiti? In this riveting episode of Brand the Interpreter, we sit down with Gennike Mayers, a multilingual language professional whose journey spans from the sugarcane fields of Trinidad to the serene shores of Tobago. Gennike's linguistic prowess in English, French, Spanish, and Haitian Creole has not only fueled her career as an interpreter but also as an author, speaker, and CEO. Listen as she recounts her formative years in Trinidad and her deployment during the catastrophic 2010 earthquake in Haiti, sharing how these experiences have shaped her professional and personal life.

Follow Gennike's academic and professional trajectory, ignited by a childhood fascination with her aunt's jet-setting life as a flight attendant. From her studies at the University of the West Indies to an unexpected opportunity in Martinique, Gennike's story is a testament to the unpredictable nature of following one's passion. Discover how her language skills have opened doors to various career paths, from teaching in Martinique to facilitating political integration in the French Caribbean. Supported by her family and guided by insightful mentors, Gennike's journey underlines the importance of embracing one's interests and the serendipity of career opportunities.

Uncover the nuances of Genike's professional endeavors, where she transitioned from an untrained interpreter to a seasoned professional who emphasizes the significance of booth etiquette and commitment. Hear about her role in bridging cultural gaps, her time in the interpreting booth, and the importance of relationships over status. Gennike’s story is a powerful reminder that personal connections and professional dedication can lead to extraordinary opportunities, making this episode a treasure trove of insights for language professionals and enthusiasts alike. Join us to explore the profound impact of linguistic skills in our interconnected world.

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Thanks for tuning in, till next time! 👋

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Brand the Interpreter.
The podcast for languageprofessionals around the world.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
It's about time.
By the way, it's 75 years.
I've been the same old, sameold, day in and day out.

Speaker 1 (00:12):
There was the Bernie Sanders event, where we both
interpreted from behind the bar.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Wait, really I say go for it.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
I second that your new drive time podcast Brand the
Inter.
Second that your new Drive Timepodcast Brand the interpreter.
Your stories are profession.
Hey, thanks for tuning in.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
But the meeting went over time and she protested very
vehemently that she was notgoing on over time and she just
got up and left the booth and Iwas there by myself and I'm like
I can't leave.
I mean these, these people needme.
So I stayed in the booth again,not knowing what I was doing,

(00:54):
but I was committed to, you know, going till the end of the
meeting because these peopleneeded me.
You know, I was their bridge.
How?
How were they going tocommunicate without me?
Not that it was about me, but Ijust felt a sense of duty that,
regardless of this you knowmature interpreter, who actually

(01:14):
knew what she was doing, sheleft, but I felt so terrible I
just stayed.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
Well, hello and welcome to another episode of
the Brand the Interpreterpodcast.
This is your host, mireya Perez.
Thanks for joining me today.
I really appreciate you beinghere with me to listen to the
story of yet another greatlanguage professional.
And today our guest is joiningus all the way from Trinidad.
But before we jump into herlanguage professional story, I

(01:49):
wanted to share a little storywith you.
So the other day I was having aconversation with my 12-year-old
son, who from time to timelikes to act like my mini media
manager, and he asked me aquestion that I honestly had no
direct answer to.
It made me think.
So here's what he asked me, andthen I'll tell you what he said
about it.
He said, mama, what do you callyour listeners?

(02:11):
What do you mean?
I said he's like you know, whenyou talk to them on your
podcast, how do you greet them?
I say, hello, languageprofessionals.
Is that what you mean?
And here's where his littlemini media manager skills kicked
in.
He said, mama, all contentcreators have a name for their
community.
Usually it's related to theirbrand.

(02:33):
Language professionals is toolong, well then.
So now here I am, four yearslater into the podcast, and I'm
having to think about how torefer to my community of brand
the interpreter listeners.
I thought at that time at thepodcast, and I'm having to think
about how to refer to mycommunity of Brandy interpreter
listeners.
I thought at that time, at themoment, maybe Brandy's, as in
hey, brandy's welcome back.
So this mini media manager hasgiven me a task.

(02:56):
What if I ask you what youthink our community should be
called?
So here's what I'm thinking.
What if, on this episode'ssocial media announcement,
whether it's on Instagram, onFacebook or on LinkedIn, you
drop a comment with simply aname you think our community
should be called?
Or let's say, for instance, yousee that someone else wrote a

(03:18):
name that you really like andmaybe you'd like to like that
comment, and you can maybe replyto that comment and post the
same name.
And then maybe, just maybe,depending on the engagement to
this little activity of ourshere, by the time that the next
episode is released, I'll get togreet our community with the

(03:40):
name that you chose, and then Ican tell my little media manager
that the Brandly Interpretercommunity has spoken.
He'll be proud of his mama.
So what do you say?
I look forward to seeing someof your responses.
And now on with the show.
Janika Mayers is an English,french, spanish, haitian Creole
language acrobat, as she callsherself.

(04:01):
Additionally, she is an author,a speaker and a CEO.
In 2010, janika was deployed toHaiti for the devastating
earthquake.
There, she was part of theemergency response team
alongside doctors, nurses,search and rescue personnel,
military and so on, mainly inpart for her ability to speak

(04:21):
French and Haitian Creole.
And in today's captivatingpodcast episode, we're going to
follow her remarkable journey,which begins in the Sugar King
fields of Trinidad.
So, without further ado, pleasehelp me welcome Jenica Mayers
to the show.
Jenica, thank you for beinghere today.

(04:44):
Welcome to the show.
How are you?

Speaker 2 (04:47):
Good, good, good morning, and thank you so much
for the invitation Great to behere.

Speaker 1 (04:53):
Absolutely.
Where are you joining us fromtoday?

Speaker 2 (04:57):
I am on the Paradise Island of Tobago.
Paradise island of Tobago,Tobago a lot of people don't
necessarily know but it's thesmaller of the two islands that
form the twin island republic ofTrinidad and Tobago.
So Trinidad is the big sisterthat makes a lot of noise and
most people know Tobago, Stillkind of quiet and well-kept

(05:19):
secret.

Speaker 1 (05:20):
Well, that's a wonderful Tobago.
I just always like to sort ofphysically pinpoint or pinpoint
where the interpretersphysically are joining us from,
because obviously it's trying tocapture the stories of
interpreters from around theworld.
So thank you so very much forthe opportunity and for being
here today.
Let's get into a little bitabout your experience growing up

(05:40):
.
Would you mind perhaps sharingwhere you grew up and a fond
childhood memory of yours?

Speaker 2 (05:48):
Sure.
So I was born on the big island, trinidad, and I grew up in the
central plains what used to begrowing up surrounded by
sugarcane fields.
Trinidad and Fago is a formerBritish colony.
Baghdad and Fago is a formerBritish colony, and so for a
very, very long time sugarcanewas the cash crop of the nation.

(06:09):
And so growing up, you know, Iwas used to seeing sugarcane
fields around.
I grew up in a pretty tight-knitresidential area known as
Chaguanas, which is anAmerindian name, chaguanas and
in terms of good childhoodmemories, I think just the

(06:31):
landscape is something that hasstayed with me because, of
course, over time it has changed.
There's no more sugarcanefields, sugarcane is no longer a
cash crop in Trinidad andTobago.
We import sugar now.
But I have this striking memoryof just driving past certain
areas and having the sugarcanefields and what we call the

(06:53):
sugarcane arrows.
At a certain time of year you'dhave the arrows shooting up
from the sugarcane and theywould be sort of gently wafting
in their breath.
And this is a memory that Ithat I hold there, that just the
kids growing up now don't knowwhat that is.
It doesn't exist anymore.
So I hold on to it dearly.

Speaker 1 (07:12):
I bet, yeah, it's funny.
Now, you know, we get to acertain age where I find myself
well, I should say I find myselfsaying back in my day myself
saying back in my day.
We've reached that age right,we've earned those stripes.

(07:33):
I could only imagine, yes, youthinking back into the beautiful
landscape that the newgenerations now will not, sadly,
get to see.
It's almost like, oh, it'ssomething that's part of the
past, even though it's part ofyour reality.
You traveled through the years,correct?
So you weren't always there.

(07:54):
Talk to us a little bit aboutsome of those different places
that you visited.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
So for the most part I grew up and I lived in
Trinidad.
I would have left here at about20.
So most of my life I did spendin Trinidad, until I took St
Tobago, and part of my travelsreally started thanks to the

(08:20):
undergrad degree in French thatI did at the University of the
West Indies, based in Trinidad,whereby there was a program
sponsored by the Frenchgovernment.
I was studying French and asundergrads we had the
opportunity to do a semesterabroad that was sponsored by the
government, and so we did thatsemester over at the Université

(08:43):
des Antilles in Martinique, soone of the French overseas
departments in the Caribbean.
Full disclosure I am aCaribbean girl, true and true.
I don't do cold, soopportunities to me have
typically been, or my choice ofseizing opportunities, has
typically been guided by theweather.

(09:04):
I will snatch up opportunitiesanywhere in the tropics,
anywhere that it's nice and warm.
Anything that's a little bitfar too north, far too south, I
would decline.
So my travels have essentiallybeen along those lines initially
to Martinique to study, andthen that opened another doorway

(09:25):
to becoming an Englishassistant, again thanks to the
French government, wherebygraduates of French university,
graduates of French, had anopportunity to go teach English
in France.
And again, at the time, a lotof my classmates in the cohort

(09:46):
opted to go to metropolitanFrance.
Everybody wanted to go to Paris, bordeaux, montpellier, lyon
Not me.
I was very happy to go toMartinique and, as a matter of
fact, I was the first Frenchgrad to elect to stay in the
Caribbean.
It was just unheard of, butthis is my comfort zone, and so
I went back to Martinique.

(10:06):
Thereafter, you know I havetraveled a lot across the
Caribbean and further afield,but I would just say that,
thanks to my background inlanguages, I did study French
and Spanish through high schooland university, and that really
opened doors for me to be ableto enter into professions that I

(10:30):
had not necessarily thought ofwhen I was actually studying
languages.
I studied languages becausethat's what I was good at.
I loved it, I was good at itand I just thought, okay, well,
let me just go with what's easy,what's good.
I didn't think too much at thetime like what profession will I
get into?
That was not the point.
The point was I'm passionateabout this, I want to do this,

(10:53):
and that's what I did.

Speaker 1 (10:55):
So around the road.

Speaker 2 (10:56):
Yes, yes, but it's all really been guided by
opportunities that open upthrough foreign language
learning and people that youmeet along the way.

Speaker 1 (11:09):
I think part of what I really like about that is the
fact that you were guided bysomething that you enjoyed and
you loved and you weren't as,maybe potentially as, serious
about.
Oh, I must focus on what I wantto be when I grow up or how I'm
going to use thisprofessionally, even though that
is a thought in many minds,potentially even as parents, we

(11:32):
make that mistake, if I can callit that of such a young age,
you know, trying to instillfocus on what you want to do
when you grow up as a profession.
But part of the stories thatI've heard along the way thanks
to this podcast that are myfavorite are the ones that I've
heard along the way thanks tothis podcast that are my
favorite are the ones who wereguided more by the heart than
the mind or the head.
Right and just saying this iswhat I really enjoy, and I'll

(11:55):
think about that piece later butseeing how your path just
opened up thanks to you, justfollowing your heart.

Speaker 2 (12:03):
I honestly couldn't.
I couldn't do it any other wayand thankfully my parents never
put pressure on me to go in anyparticular direction.
They were quite supportive ofwhatever dreams I had.
And my dreams changed, you know, along the way, even coming
back to a childhood memory, oneof my aunts was a flight

(12:28):
attendant, and so when she'dcome by visit, she and my dad
would speak French.
Now I wasn't learning Frenchyet, but I just know that it
sounded foreign and sounded verynice.
And then I always heard aboutthese wonderful travel stories.
You know, she seemed to have avery flamboyant life and I
thought like, wow, okay, you canactually.
You can actually make moneydoing that, as people live like

(12:49):
that.
And so at one point, I know, Iwanted to follow in her
footsteps and become a flightattendant and I figured out in
my childhood mind that I'd haveto be able to speak these you
know foreign languages to beable to do that.
That was a fleeting thought,that never happened, I never
pursued it.
But you know foreign languagesto be able to do that.
That was a fleeting thought,that never happened, I never
pursued it.
But you know, things evolvedover time, and I would say out

(13:11):
of high school you justmentioned, you know, with
parents sort of trying to gettheir children to focus.
What happened in my case was myfamily is, you know, very had a
very modest background and so,unlike most students out of high
school who would go directlyinto university, my parents
couldn't afford to send me touniversity and I was not

(13:34):
brilliant to the point of havingearned a scholarship.
So I actually took time outright after what is, in our
system, known as the A-levelexams, because it's the former
British education system thatwe've inherited.
And so, right after high schoolexams then, instead of going
straight on to college oruniversity, I actually got a job

(13:56):
right away, working as atrainee journalist in a local
private television, and I was soexcited, like you know, just
getting a job, I was going toearn money my own money, right,
and I love writing, I love beingexactly what we're doing now
conversing, you know, verynatural for me to just get into

(14:18):
conversation with people, and sothat fit the bill for that job.
And I worked there for twoyears and I share this story
because there's a very criticalmoment that was a turning point
for me when working as a traineejournalist.
There was this businessdelegation, a trade mission from

(14:39):
Martinique that came toTrinidad at the time and I was
assigned to cover the story, andthere I was so happy to be able
to speak to them in French andthey were completely blown away
that I was able to interviewthem with my high school French.
I'm sure I made mistakes, butthey were just impressed that

(14:59):
somebody could speak to them intheir language.
And that's when it literallyhad.
I had a eureka moment.
The light bulb went on and Irealized, okay, I could combine
journalism with foreignlanguages and maybe I could be
like a Christiane, amanpour orsomebody, and I could travel the
world, you know, as ajournalist speaking different

(15:21):
languages, interviewing peoplein different languages.
So that actually became myfocus at that point.
Forget about the flightattendant and all that exotic
stuff.
I then wanted to be amultilingual journalist and to
be able to do that, I thought,okay, this is a time.
I need to now go pursueundergrad studies, and that's

(15:41):
how I made the decision to leavethe job.
Undergrad studies and that'show I made the decision to leave
the job and go to university.
By then I was able to save upsome money to start university.
Couldn't pay the whole, youknow the whole thing.
But I started university andthen, because I was doing what I
love and because I totally,totally loved what I was doing,

(16:08):
I did um have access to what wecall bursaries, um scholarships
to pay for my second and thirdyear at university.
So I really started off withjust enough to cover the first
year, uh, and I opted to doFrench, uh, bachelor of Arts in
French, alongside Spanish.
So I studied both together and,um, that was my strategic move
to say, okay, I need to equipmyself with some kind of degree

(16:30):
to be able to become thisinternational, bilingual,
multilingual journalist, oh, mygosh, what a story.

Speaker 1 (16:38):
I love it too, because it's, like you said, a
eureka moment.
It's like suddenly it's clearto you and then you follow that
path, but then only to find outthat that path isn't necessarily
a straight path towards right.
There's always like these oh,that a scenic route.

Speaker 2 (16:55):
Yeah, I always tell people I I I never took that
highway, I always got the scenicroute through the countryside
with the long, winding, you knowmeandering roads.
That's been the story of mylife.

Speaker 1 (17:06):
The scenic route, I love that talk to us about your
experience in France, becauseyou go from one place that
you're used to, you're, you'reobviously here, um, I would
imagine in your early teens orlater teens, maybe even young
adult, and you, you are byyourself, I imagine, in a brand

(17:26):
new place.
What was that like?
What was that feeling like foryou?
What do you remember most aboutthat experience?

Speaker 2 (17:33):
So I was actually early 20s because I took that
two-year hiatus after highschool before studying.
By the time I graduated I wasalready about 20, maybe 21.
So, and I think, also havingworked so early and working with
much more mature people, I wasworking with some stalwarts,

(17:57):
real broadcasting veterans,known across the Caribbean.
So I think I matured quitequickly through that first job
experience.
So, even though I was 20, 21, Ithink I had a level of maturity
where I did not necessarilyhave any apprehensions about
throwing myself into new places,new ventures.

(18:19):
I didn't have that notion offear.
Everything for me just feltlike opportunity and excitement.
Another thing, and this goesback a little bit to my past,
even as a teenager, although Idid not have the means to travel
at the time or my parentsdidn't have the means to send me

(18:40):
abroad at the time I was amember of the Alliance Francaise
that they send me abroad.
At the time I was a member ofthe Alliance Francaise and there
were student exchanges everysummer July, August vacation and
so, although I was not able togo overseas with some of my
classmates to go to France orwherever, every year I did host
students from Martinique andGuadeloupe in my parents' home.

(19:03):
So growing up I did alreadyhave that exposure to foreign
language and to foreign conceptsand cultures and being able to
have conversations and buildfriendships, relationships with
persons from outside.
So I was right here in mycountry, but I still felt like I
had this window to the world.
So by the time I was able to,by the time I graduated and I

(19:27):
took up the opportunity tobecome an English assistant in
Martinique, I knew people therealready.
I knew people from the businessmission who I kept in touch
with over the years and backthen it was postcards.
You know you had pen pals.
I know this probably soundslike a foreign in my day, yeah,
back in my day.

(19:47):
This sounds like a foreignconcept to some of your
listeners, but you know I keptin touch with those people.
I met at the very first trademission where I got that light
bulb movement and so whathappened?
Very naturally and I think it'ssomething to do with the
Caribbean as well, because it'squite small you know the, the
countries are quite small,populations are under 500,000.
So by the time I landed inMartinique for the first time, I

(20:11):
felt like I had already knownthe place because I knew people
there.
They were very welcoming.
I had invitations all the timeto go here, there, everywhere go
to this concert, that event, gosailing, go to this seminar,
come and meet these people Very,very quickly.
I felt integrated into thesociety there.
And there's one thing againabout the Caribbean Through

(20:36):
history, you know, we haveEnglish-speaking,
French-speaking Spanish, Dutch,Creole-speaking Caribbean
islands based on the formercolonial powers who would have
passed through the region.
But in spite of thesedifferences in culture and
language, there is thiscommonality I think that all

(20:59):
Caribbean people share, and so,even though I was in a French
speaking territory, it stillfelt like home to me.
The landscape, the food, themusic, it still felt like home.
So I just did not have thatnotion of being in a foreign
land.
It just was home, but speakinga different language.

Speaker 1 (21:18):
That's amazing, how great and how fortunate.
I think I think that one of myonce again going back to the
different stories that I'veheard, uh throughout the last
few years, uh that are that arepart of my favorites have to do
with, uh, just the courage to,to take that leap, uh, in spite
of the unknown, in spite of notknowing, and then only to find

(21:39):
out once you're there, like, yes, like it just solidifies right
Once, once you've made thatdecision, I'm so happy.
I said yes, because you knowwhat's on the other side is is
something that just expands yourworld and and you know it, you
know, you feel it.
So thank you for having sharedthat.
What is it about there that youwould say at some point, was it

(22:03):
there?
There that you would say atsome point, was it there?
Or once you came back, that youwent from the language I would
say acquisition, part oflanguage, services to the
language, maybe output, or thatconnection between languages.
Talk to us about thatexperience, when that occurred,

(22:25):
when that world collided withthe world you were in.

Speaker 2 (22:29):
I love that question, miria, and I'm getting
teary-eyed because it wasanother life-changing moment.
So I signed up for one year ofbeing an English teaching
assistant, which really andtruly didn't feel like work at
all.
It just felt like fun and games.
To be honest, I was gettingpaid to go to school and help,

(22:52):
you know, share the passion oflanguage with high school
students and then primary schoolstudents, and with the primary
school students it basically wasteaching English through games,
through song, dance, theatre.
It just felt like fun, right.
But while living in Martiniqueand, as I said before, you know

(23:14):
I already knew people there Iwas very quickly integrated into
society and because I had thatbusiness mind, I was still
looking for other opportunitiesto own my skills in French, but
in a different sphere, not justin the realm of the school or

(23:34):
just conversational French, butbusiness French then.
And at the same time, I waslooking for opportunities to
help because at that point intime and this was in the late
1990s, early 2000s, so yeah, 25years ago the French islands in
the Caribbean were seeking tointegrate more into the wider

(23:57):
Caribbean space.
So, though, that they'repolitically attached to France,
geographically they'resurrounded by English and
Spanish speakers.
And so there was a politicalmovement at the time, just to
give some context particularlyattached to France,
geographically, they'resurrounded by English and
Spanish speakers.
And so there was a politicalmovement at the time, just to
give some context, whereby theywere seeking to become members
of the Organization of EasternCaribbean States.
They were seeking to becomemembers of what's known as the

(24:18):
Association of Caribbean States,which is headquartered here in
Port of Spain, trinidad, here inin port of spain, trinidad.
And so, because you already hadthat, that move um, you had
both businesses and localpoliticians speaking actively to
both learn english, um, butalso to to get in contact with

(24:40):
um persons in the neighboringislands who were operating in
both spaces.
And so I saw that opportunityas being able to become a bridge
, and I always talk aboutbridging language barriers, so I
was able to offer myself as abridge between Martinique and
its English-speaking neighbors.

(25:01):
I didn't quite know what I wasdoing at the time, to be honest,
but I knew that I'm a nativeEnglish speaker and my French
was pretty good.
At some point, you know, peopledidn't believe that I was not
French, right, I startedspeaking even the local Creole,
and so people, for those whodidn't know me for a long time.

(25:21):
They just they didn't know thatI was not from there for a long
time.
They just they didn't know thatI was not from there.
And so I was able to workalongside some business people,
some of the local mayor'soffices, who wanted to establish
, for example, twinningrelationships with other cities
and in other islands, and Ibecame like their liaison, sort

(25:42):
of international affairs liaisonperson who would bridge the
language barriers, culturalbarriers and get them connected
with the people they wanted toconnect with.
And, coming out of that, I thenstarted serving as interpreter
for those meetings.

(26:03):
I had no idea what I was doingReally I didn't but I knew that
I was fulfilling my purpose.
I knew that I was contributingto something meaningful that was
being created at the time, andremember I said this was like 25
years ago.
Now, 2024, we're seeing theresult of those strides in

(26:26):
partnership whereby you havethese same islands have now been
officially integrated into someof the regional political
mechanisms that exist.
They are either associatemembers or they are full-fledged
members, the most recent beingMartinique applied to become an
associate member of CARICOM, theCaribbean community.

(26:47):
That's yet another mechanismthat we have in the Caribbean,
and so I'm privileged to be awitness today and be part of
some of the grand meetings thatare happening at ministerial
level, governmental levelhappening at ministerial level,
governmental level, and to knowthat I was also there at the
start, when that movement wasjust, you know, just very

(27:09):
timidly happening in an informalway.
So I can look back with prideand say, hey, I had no clue
about what I was doing, butsomething in me knew that I was
in the right place at the righttime.

Speaker 1 (27:21):
So, going back to that experience, jenica, the
liaison piece and well, first ofall, you mentioned that you
offered your services.
Do you remember how you didthat?
Was this through theconnections that you had already
established and sort of by wordof mouth, someone recommending

(27:42):
you and you just happened tohelp one day, quote, unquote or
do you remember how that came?
Yes, absolutely.

Speaker 2 (27:49):
I remember the exact moment, the exact person, so it
was the Chamber of Commerce ofMartinique and I'll call a name
Marie-Noelle Cattay.
She was part of the businessdelegation from Martinique that
visited Trinidad when I met as ajournalist, and when I got to
Martinique, she wasinidad when Imet as a journalist and when I
got to Martinique, she was veryinstrumental in, you know,
helping me fit in and we are incontact up to today, today,

(28:14):
right, and that's why I call herthere, because if she ever gets
a window of this podcast,she'll be recognized.
Thank you, mary Noel.
And there are lots of otherpersons, but basically at that
time, um, what happened is therewas the well, actually there
were lots of other persons, butbasically at that time, um, what
happened is there was the well,actually there were several
meetings, but the very firstmeeting because she knew that I
was skilled in in languages andI think was a last minute thing

(28:36):
but, um, I was asked whether Icould serve as an interpreter,
but this time in a booth withequipment.
That was like first time I hadactually been into a booth I had
not been trained for that byany means, um, but because I
have no notion of fear and Ithought, okay, this can't be
that difficult.
I jumped right in, right, um, Ijumped right in.

(28:59):
Uh, I think I managed to swimrather than sink.
Interestingly enough, thatmeeting was hosted by IFREMER.
It's l'Institut Français deRecherche Maritime or something
like that.
It's a marine researchinstitute.
It was the very first meeting Idid in a booth.

(29:20):
Prior to that, I would have satin on B2B meetings doing what I
now know to be whispering,interpreting, liaison,
interpreting.
At the time I didn't know anyof that stuff, but so those are
the two key moments.
But I would say as well, whilewhile I was overseas, I well, I

(29:47):
did keep in touch with my formerlecturers at the University of
the West Indies back home, andyou know I'm somebody, I cherish
relationships, and I did havethe privilege of having very
good relationships with myteachers, who have all become
friends, mentors and, in onecase, my booth buddy.

(30:08):
And so over the years, yeah so.
So over the years they wouldhave encouraged me to look into
particular paths.
And you know, janica, youshould take a look at this.
This sounds like it might begood for you, why don't you have
a look at this?
And they would shareopportunities with me, always
really looking out for my, mybest interests.

(30:29):
Um, so, after that, because thatwas my Martinique um stage for
three years, I then went over toto Guadeloupe.
There's a love story in themiddle of it.
I got married to a Frenchmanand moved to Guadeloupe, so
another French overseasterritory, but a completely

(30:49):
different island.
And of course, my experiencethere would then have been
colored by the fact that I wasMrs Somebody.
It was not, you know, on my ownanymore, but still very much
cherished learning experience,because then I was working with
my husband at the time and whohimself was multilingual.

(31:11):
So it gave me, I think, a boostof confidence in my own
language skills and opened upother opportunities to be able
to use language differently inbusiness.
And last but not least, thatwas another milestone moment

(31:31):
where I thought OK, the Bachelorof Arts got me to here, I want
to go a little further in mystudies.
And an opportunity came up topursue a master's degree in
communications in a Frenchuniversity.
So I was able to marry thejournalism experience that I had
prior, formalize it with theyou know, communications theory

(31:56):
and applications, and, at thesame time, because my husband
and I worked together he workedin the field of change
management and he needed a commsperson that comms person
happened to be me, so I was ableto have that practical
application of communications ina French language in completely

(32:16):
different business sectors thatI had not experienced before.
And I share that.
You know, I'm completelytransparent.
I share that because you justnever know where life is going
to take you.
That decision was.
It was a hard decision.
I went to Guadeloupe for love,um, but I found much, much more

(32:37):
there and I could not have known.
It's not a calculation I couldhave made beforehand to say I'm
gonna go pursue studies or I'mgonna go do this, no, I just I
went there for love and thatopened up other doors, which
then opened other doors.
But, uh, let's just say that atthat time I ended up then

(32:59):
living, working, getting to knowGuadalupe, um, you know, making
more connections in inGuadalupe and, um, making a lot
of more beautiful friendships,long-lasting friendships.
Again, these are people I metback at that time who are still
friends today, and those are thethings that I cherish most.

(33:22):
It's the relationships, youknow.
It's not about the job or thestudies or the status.
It's the relationships that youweave with people that you meet
along the way.

Speaker 1 (33:34):
Oh, absolutely yes, and it's because of those
relationships at times that sortof help us make the connections
to whatever opportunity maycome right and it only happens,
I imagine.
Well, I happen to actually knowif we are out there letting
people know what it is that wedo or talking a little bit about

(33:57):
you know our experiences, sothat they can make the
connection when they're havingthose conversations.
So the experience in the boothfor you happened on occasion,
but then, you know, life sort ofsort of went on and you were
doing things here and there.
You know keeping busy life.
You know just happened.
Do you remember what you recallfrom the booth experience,

(34:22):
aside from you recognizing whoalike this was, you know?
I didn't know what I was doing,but nevertheless, what do you
recall from that particularexperience?
Did it show you, teach youanything in terms of how
language is utilized?

Speaker 2 (34:39):
My goodness, you just really took me back.
Listen, what stood out in thebooth and I'm glad I don't
remember the name of the personI worked with was she was a real
interpreter.
I was the, the newbie next toher.
Um, I think we, you know, wehad a good dynamics going on in

(35:01):
the booth, um, but the meetingwent over time and she protested
very vehemently that she wasnot going on over time and she
just got up and left the boothand I was there by myself and
I'm like I can't leave.
I mean these, these people needme.
So I stayed in the booth again,not knowing what I was doing,

(35:24):
but I was committed to, you know, going till the end of the
meeting because these peopleneeded me.
You know I was their bridge.
How were they gonna communicatewithout me?
Not that it was about me, but Ijust felt a sense of duty that,
regardless of this you knowmature interpreter who actually

(35:44):
knew what she was doing, sheleft.
But I felt so terrible.
I just they thanked meprofusely at the end for staying
and the meeting it went on forlike another two hours.
These were passionate scientiststalking about it was a whale
sort of mapping, like they weremapping the trajectory of whales

(36:07):
in the Caribbean.
This was high level stuff butof interest to me.
I love whales.
You know I'd gone whalewatching in the Caribbean before
and it was intriguing to methat this was their life and so
I stayed.
But what that taught me is thatthere's something called booth

(36:28):
etiquette.
I learned that years down theroad when I actually decided to
study interpreting.
So that's another part of myacademic and life story.
The love story in Guadeloupedidn't quite work out and so,
sort of trying to take care ofmy wounded heart, I went back to

(36:49):
Trinidad, to my homeland, and Icame back home just at the time
when my same alma mater,university of the West Indies,
was offering for the first timeum a postgraduate diploma in
interpreting no exactly when Iwent home just to like try to

(37:10):
pick up the pieces and figureout, okay, what am I going to do
next with myself.
And so I just dived right intothat interpreting program, which
started a few months after Ilanded in Trinidad.
As a matter of fact, I remembervery clearly my same French

(37:31):
teacher mentor, very clearly mymy same french teacher mentor.
Um, he told me, you know,you're, you're late in the
application process, but we'll,we'll make an exception for you
because we, you know, you, havea track record here.
And so I was kind of the lastperson to apply.
We passed the deadline, but Iwas there when the program
started, first cohort, and Igraduated a year later with a

(37:55):
couple of the colleagues.
Not everyone made it throughthe program, but I was committed
.
You know, at that point it wasmore like that was like my life
boy, because, you know, life wasa little difficult at the time.
I was still trying to figureout, you know, what am I going
to do with myself, and I latchedon to interpreting diploma and

(38:21):
again, that was anotherlife-changing moment once I
graduated, matter of fact,before the graduation and I love
to share this story because itis a tribute to the teachers who
taught that program, in thatour final exam was a live booth.
This was no simulation eventfor the exam.
They threw us into a live booth, so the booth comes back to

(38:46):
your life.
The booth came back.
So I had already, for the yearof interpreting the interpreting
program at the university, wewere working, of course, in a
dummy booth for the year.
That wasn't overwracking enough, but then they threw us into
the live booth.
It was the start of June 2006.

(39:10):
I remember the date, I rememberthe scene, I remember the food.
I remember everything.
It was CARICOM, the Caribbeancommunity's very first meeting
of agriculture ministers.
That took place again inTrinidad, in my homeland.
This is a high level meeting.
These are agriculture ministers, right, talking agriculture, of

(39:31):
course, but they throw us intothe booth for the exam.
Um, I don't think that theattendees knew that we.
There was some studentinterpreters in the booth, so we
had one student, paired, ofcourse, with the teacher,
because it was an exam.
They were monitoring us in thebooth and, if needed you know,
if we failed, they would takeover the booth.

(39:52):
So the system was in place.
Know, if we failed, they wouldtake over the booth.
So the system was in place.
Nevertheless, it could have beennerve wracking, and I'm after
the first.
You know the nerves.
You always get nerves, even nowI get nerves, you know, when
you get into the booth.
But I just remember feelinglike I was floating.
I was floating in the boothbecause the stuff they were
talking about regardless of thefact that these were ministers,

(40:13):
the subject matter for me wasnot foreign.
You know, I grew up, like Isaid, I grew up in the midst of
sugarcane fields.
I was very familiar with umagriculture, even through my my
experience as a journalist, andthat's where everything that I
did before I realized, wow, itwas just preparation for this
moment, and so I tackled yeah, Itackled that meeting.

(40:39):
you know, just head on, I feltlike I was floating.
I was.
I was so happy I passed theexam and right after that, know,
I did start working as aninterpreter freelance, because I
was also, so I omitted tomention.
I did get a job as acommunication specialist when I

(41:03):
went back home, because Istudied comms and I remember
negotiating with my employer atthe time because I knew that I
was going to do the interpretingprogram, and I was telling them
in the interview listen, I havethis extra special skill set
that I have to maintain and soI'm going to need time off.
Yes, I'm applying for a job,but, yeah, I'm going to need

(41:25):
time off to go study, tomaintain this special skill set,
and don't worry, because you'regoing to benefit from it, which
, which is the truth um, I endedup working at a institute of
marine research.
Does that sound familiar?
Yeah, does it sound familiar tomy personal experience?
So you know, I I don't believein coincidences in life.

(41:47):
I think that when you'reconstantly in preparation and
you're constantly trying to bethe best version of yourself,
that when preparation meetsopportunity, that's where you
get success.
And so if I say today that I'vebeen successful it's only
because I'm in constantpreparation and so when the
opportunities come I'm able tosay yes, and that's what makes

(42:13):
way for success.
So there was communicationspecialist in the Marine
Institute.
Telling my future employer, Iactually want to go study
interpreting, they kind ofscratching their head like what
is that about?

Speaker 1 (42:28):
What do you mean?
You don't speak anotherlanguage.
Why do you need to go to schoolfor that?

Speaker 2 (42:32):
yeah, right, right, but here's the beautiful part of
the story.
This is why I give this levelof detail.
Um, I did get the job and Isettled in and everything, but I
didn't have the class times yet, and when I got the class times
, there was a bit of a clash andso I had to where I thought
that I could just leave work andgo to class.
I actually had to get time offto go to class and that didn't

(42:57):
go down very well.
Um, I had to make the decisionto leave the job because I knew
what I wanted to do and I leftthe job.
Now I'm not recommending thisto anybody.
I'm just saying that this iswhat I did and it worked for me.
But I made the decision to leavethe job without having another
job to go to because I felt inthat moment that interpreting

(43:22):
would be my future.
Now, that's a pretty huge riskIf you're married, you've got
children and bills and all thatstuff.
It's probably not a wisedecision for you, but at the
time I was recently divorced,living in my my parents home,
and my choice was just listen,this is my future.
And so now I look back at thatchoice and if they got a genica.

(43:45):
It was pretty, pretty brazen,but this is what I'm doing today
because I made that choice backin 2006.
And the irony of that story is,having completed the
interpreting program, one of thevery first jobs was right back

(44:06):
with that very same institute.
They had a regional eventbecause they're part of the UN
network called Regional ActivityCenters, and so they were
liaising with guess whoMartinique and Cuba, and so they
needed interpreters for a bigmeeting being hosted in Trinidad

(44:27):
Guess who was there.

Speaker 1 (44:29):
And what did you say?
I told you so.

Speaker 2 (44:32):
I just gave that to myself.
I told myself you should havekept me.
But you know the thing is, hadI not laughed, I might not have
been able to serve as aninterpreter.
I most likely would have beenserving in my capacity as
communication specialist, youknow organizing the event.
I may not have been able toserve as interpreter in that

(44:52):
event.
So you know it ended well.

Speaker 1 (44:54):
I think it ended in my favor and I'm watching the
interpreters from afar.

Speaker 2 (44:59):
Yeah, yeah and that happened to me lots of times and
I always had the itch.
I'd always go the booth and I'malways checking in on the booth
because I want to be in there.
You know, you get this kind ofitchy, you just want to be in
there, and that happened a lotover the years where I was still
operating.
So this is another part of thestory in that I, although I had

(45:20):
graduated from the interpretingprogram, I wasn't able to make a
living, full-time from that,and so I continued working, as
you know, communicationsspecialists in different
organizations that actually,there was another key moment in
my life where I was working withthe Red Cross in Trinidad and

(45:40):
the 2010 earthquake happened inHaiti, and that was like another
life-changing moment because Iwas literally one of the nearest
colleagues in the Red Crossnetwork global network, right
next door, so to speak, inTrinidad, and they were looking

(46:02):
for French-speakingcommunication specialists to go
to Haiti to deploy with thefirst responders and so forth.
Because you know what happensin those response operations is
that you know you have the firstresponders, the medics and so
forth, the persons who areinvolved in distribution of aid,
whether it's food or whateverhave you, but you also have the

(46:24):
communication specialists whotag along to make sure that the
world knows what's happening.
And also also foraccountability, because you have
donors who are giving money toorganizations like the Red Cross
and you have to account for howthat money is being spent.
And part of accounting for itis documenting the stories,
showing through photography,through video, how the money is

(46:47):
being spent, what is the impactthat that spending is having,
how are people coping with thesituation.
And so I was deployed in thatcapacity.
But I was deployed because Ispoke French my much more
experienced colleagues, becauseat that time I had been working
with the Red Cross for, I think,just about nine months.
Nine months, so really a newbieon the job, um, but I was

(47:15):
liaising with my colleagues inpanama, in geneva, in in other
areas of the world, and justbecause I was in the caribbean
and it was shorter distance forme to get to haiti than my
colleagues in geneva or inpanama, um, I would have been
among the first who landed therewith the Red Cross.
But again, I say again, frenchopened the door for me, and so

(47:37):
language has been a consistenttheme.
When I talk about, you know,opening doors and opportunities,
it's always tied with theopportunity to serve.
You know, it's not just anopportunity for me to get
something.
It's an opportunity, first ofall, to serve, to do something
that's meaningful.
And on the flip side of that,yes, you do get some

(47:59):
life-changing, rewarding,unimaginable experiences along
the way when you allow yourselfto be led, as I have.

Speaker 1 (48:09):
Absolutely to be led, as I have, absolutely.
I've read somewhere that yousee yourself as more than an
interpreter, and I think itconnects back to the message
that you just shared.
Would you mind elaborating moreon this, because I think that
many listeners can make thatsame connection?
What are your feelings behindthat?

Speaker 2 (48:30):
Firstly, I have very strong feelings about that.
Language is a key.
It's a tool.
If I use a metaphor, the key,it's meant to unlock a door,
because if you have the key inyour hand and you do nothing
with the key, what's the pointof having the key right?
Likewise, a tool, whether it'sa mechanics tool or whatever.

(48:52):
You could have a box of tools.
They're all nice, new, shiny,the fancy, latest edition tools,
you could have it all.
If you don't know how to usethe tool, what's the point?
And so I would like to placelanguage in that context.
It's a tool, but you get todecide how you use that tool or
how you use that key.

(49:13):
Some people use the languagetool in teaching.
Some people use the languagetool in journalism, as I once
dreamt of.
I actually dabbled in that alittle bit, but not at the level
that I dreamt of, right.
So it's up to you to decide howyou're going to use that tool.

(49:33):
And what's been instrumental inmy journey is through the
relationships that I've built,through the people that I've met
, through the conversations thatwe've had, I've been able to
identify problems.
I like to think of myself as agood and creative problem solver
.
So in any conversation I'mlistening to hear what's this

(49:56):
person's problem, and I don'tsay that in a condescending way
at all.
I say that just to say if thisperson expresses that there's
some sort of challenge, somesort of problem, maybe I can
provide a solution.
Now the solution might belanguage-oriented.
The solution might beconnecting them to someone that
I know who has a solution totheir problem right.

(50:21):
But even that connection is initself the start of the solution
.
And I've found 100% of the time, without exception, it comes to
relationship.
I know somebody who knowssomebody who can fix that
problem that you have and,because of the quality of the
relationships that I've nurturedover the years, if I call that

(50:44):
somebody, they will call thatsomebody that they know to
provide a solution.
So there's a lot of trustthat's built up and I like to
say that it's a currency.
It's a very precious currency,that currency of trust.
So language, the tool miredwith the currency of trust it

(51:09):
really has over the years for me, it's both placed me in
situations strategically where Iknow that I'm the best person
to to resolve that specificproblem, and so it's.
I take it as a duty when I sayI'm more than an interpreter.

(51:30):
I do have a sense of duty aboutwhat I do.
I'm very mindful, veryattentive to people's needs,
because I think a lot of what wesee in our society and right
now in my home country not todigress too much, but we are

(51:52):
experiencing very worrisomelevels of crime and for me, I
think it comes out of the factthat there's been such a
breakdown in trust not trustingyour neighbor, not trusting your
employer, the employer, nottrusting the employee, not
trusting the politicians, theleaders, trusting the employee,

(52:14):
not trusting the politicians,the leaders.
And I feel very strongly thatmy role in my little sphere is
to be able to beat that bridge,as I said before, and build
trust so that we can solveproblems together.
Because the whole point ofcommunicating in a foreign
language, at the basis it'scommunication.
And why are we communicating?

(52:36):
I mean, we could talk toourselves all day.
That might be fun.
Some people like their owncompany, I like my own company,
but at the end of the day, wecommunicate with other people,
other human beings, because wewant to do something together.
You want to collaborate on aproject, or you want to, or you
need to resolve a problemtogether.
Two heads are better than one.

(52:56):
So all of that to say, yes, Iam more than an interpreter.
I am very often a mediator, Iam very often a connector, um, I
am very often an instigator.

Speaker 1 (53:13):
I give birth to new projects, and I do all of that
through the use of languages Ilove that I love being able to
expand on how we feel our rolereally is, or what we feel our
role really is.
Feel our role really is, and Ithink, as I'm hearing you talk

(53:38):
about the topics ofrelationships and trust and how
we, as the individuals that arehelping convey the messages in
words that establish trust rightin a way in which it resonates,
I should say, with those thatare listening, that begins to
grow trust with one another.
Like I think about a phrasethat I read a while back that

(54:01):
said in nature, nothing and I'mparaphrasing here completely,
but somewhere around the linesof in nature, nothing exists for
its own sake.
You know, a flower doesn'tblossom so that it could look
beautiful for itself or smellbeautiful for itself.
Like in nature, everything it'stogether, right, it's?

(54:21):
It's it's about one thingproviding to another thing and
that other thing to the otherthing, and I feel that that's
that's really what, when we stepin as interpreters.
It's exactly what you say.
It's so that we can ensure thatthat relationship or that trust
can be established between thetwo individuals or more that are

(54:43):
trying to communicate with oneanother.
So that was beautifully said.
I really like that andappreciate that.
About what you feel the role ofthe interpreter and your own
role in your capacity is allabout.
Talk to us about that moment inyour interpreting career now as
a professional interpreter.

(55:04):
So fast forward, now that youare doing this as a trained
interpreter now and doing itprofessionally, that you
embarked on it full career, fullthrottle, as they say.
What was that story or thatmoment as an interpreter?
That sort of put that rubberstamp of this is where I'm
staying.

Speaker 2 (55:25):
All right, I'm going to try to make this story short
because it's long and it's thescenic route of my life, but
basically I've been working, asI said, communications
internationally.
You know I've been so I spokeabout Haiti.
I've worked in Bangladesh andZimbabwe as a communication
specialist, differentorganizations, but along the way

(55:47):
I would take vacation leave towork as an interpreter whenever
the opportunity arose.
And again, again, thanks to myteachers at university, whenever
there was an opportunity,they'd call me.
Wherever I was in the world,They'd still call me and say,
hey, are you interested?
Is it worth your time to come?
You know, if it was a three orfive day conference, it would

(56:09):
make sense to leave wherever Iwas and fly back home or fly to
the location to work as aninterpreter for a few days.
And you know, I always had thatvery open, transparent
conversation with all of myemployers.
I have the skill, I have tomaintain it and you're going to
benefit from it.
So just just be warned, Right?
And I always said that in avery diplomatic way.

(56:31):
And for the most part everyonewelcomed that skill because the
organizations made use of thatskill, particularly in
translation.
In the internationalorganizations I worked with,
they got two employees for theprice of one.
They paid a comm specialist butthey got a translator
interpreter that works.
So they couldn't complain,right?
But then there was a thingcalled COVID, Do you remember?

(56:55):
Remember it seems like right.
So I've been working um as acommunication specialist for
years and then, 2020, covidhappened while I was overseas.
I was working in Zimbabwe atthe time and I had some concerns
for my safety, not just COVIDrelated, but, you know, there

(57:18):
were rumors of another coup andI felt, look, I don't want to be
out here if something shouldhappen to me.
I didn't want my parents tohave the burden of flying a body
back and if something were tohappen to my parents, I didn't
want to be halfway across theglobe and not be able to come
home.
So I felt I made what was agood decision at the time, in

(57:40):
spite of how you know crazy itseemed, and I flew home and I
had resigned my job, you know,resigned the job, left the
foreign country, flew home inthe midst of COVID to do what?
Thankfully, so thankfully atthat time, actually, while I was

(58:00):
still in Zimbabwe, I washearing about, you know, these
new multilingual platforms thatwere being developed and that
the multilingual meetings wereall going online, and so I
jumped on board.
I remember doing a trainingwith Kudo at the time.
That's one of those platformsthat you know really exploded at

(58:22):
the start of COVID.
That had been in developmentbefore, of course, but then
COVID sort of gave the impetusto just actually make this the
norm, and so I, when I came home, I very quickly.
And so when I came home, I veryquickly, even before I came home
, started sort of reaching outto former colleagues, people I
trust, and letting them know hey, I'm coming home, I don't have

(58:44):
a job.
If you need somebody to dotranslations or interpreting or
anything, I'll be home.
And, of course, even in mycountry we were still
functioning under curfew andlockdown, a lot of restrictions.
So I was basically trying tosee if I can generate new leads

(59:04):
of work that I could do online,whether it was editorial work,
writing articles, translations,anything that I could do online,
because I had no idea what Iwas coming home to.
I mean, none of us had any ideawhat was going to unfold.
Right, this was the start of2020.

(59:28):
And again, fortunately for meand fortunately for the
relationships that I had builtover the years, I very quickly
was able to get a few onlinejobs, meetings online, and you
know I was living off my savingsat the time, but you know I had
a limited time frame that thosesavings would last, because by
this time I now have a mortgageto pay and living on.

(59:50):
So at that time I was no longerin Trinidad, mainland Trinidad,
where my family is.
I was in Tobago, where I haveno family, a few friends and not
any real network of connectionsto say that I could just go get
a job, especially in the midstof COVID.
And so what really saved theday was, yeah, all of these

(01:00:12):
online platforms Kudo,interprefy, interactio, and even
former clients, so persons Iwould have worked with in
Guadeloupe, in Martinique,elsewhere, because now travel
was no longer well, it was nolonger an option, but also it
was no longer a hindrance,because before, if you wanted me

(01:00:34):
to come interpret in yourmeeting, you have to pay my
plane ticket, hotelaccommodation, premium lodging,
everything Whereas now you know,I just jump online and you pay
me for my services and that's it.
So I was fairly quickly able tostart generating income from
that interpreting exclusivelyonline, because in my country

(01:00:57):
nothing was happening in personat all, not until maybe towards
the end of 2021.
So I had probably about a year.
I have never worked as aninterpreter for so many meetings
, but that period prior it wouldhave been maybe two or three
days a month.

(01:01:17):
If I got a five-day meeting, itwould be five days out of the
month when I worked as afreelance interpreter.
And so I also made the decisionto incorporate a company
because I realized, okay, I'mactually earning a living from
interpreting online and I had nojob and there were no jobs to

(01:01:39):
go to.
So I incorporated a companycalled Interpreting your Needs,
and the very name of the companyspeaks to what I do.
It's not just interpreting,it's interpreting the needs and
the needs might have nothing todo with languages.
It's interpreting the needs andthe needs might have nothing to
do with languages.
It could be in any sphere oflife, actually.

(01:02:01):
And so that company wasincorporated in 2021, july 2021.
And I'm proud to say I'm notjust an interpreter anymore, I'm
the CEO of my own company.
I am the interpreter in chief Ilove that title
interpreter-in-chief and youknow I work with a team of

(01:02:24):
freelancers, freelanceinterpreters, a lot of much
younger interpreters who arecoming up, who have graduated
from the same university that Iwent to.
You know much younger cohorts,as well as interpreters globally
, because you know, witheverything going online, you
don't have to limit yourself tothe country or the region that
you live in.
I've worked now withinterpreters who are based on
African continent, who are basedin North America, south America

(01:02:48):
.
I've serviced a client in NewZealand, okay.
So, with COVID and with allrespect for persons who have
lost so much during that periodand you know I don't have to
rehash those details but myexperience has been the opposite
I was able to finally live mydream, working full-time as an

(01:03:13):
interpreter, thanks to COVID.
I know that sounds strange, butthanks to the technology that
evolved, thanks to the meetingsgoing online, thanks to the
network of people whorecommended me, say, hey, we
know her, we've worked with herbefore in a previous life.
Right, it felt like 10, 20years ago.
You can work with her before ina previous life.

(01:03:33):
Right, it felt like 10, 20years ago.
Um, you can work with her, too,online.
And so I really, um, I'm verygrateful for, for the persons,
the friends, the colleagues,former colleagues most of my
former colleagues are friendsnow who would have, through word
of mouth, recommended myservices, um, vouch for for my

(01:03:55):
company, vouched for me, and Ihave been able to establish not
just a network of freelancersbecause, you know, interpreting
is not a solitary venture, it'sa team sport but also I have
been able to build a network ofclientele globally while working

(01:04:15):
right here in my home in Tobagoon a little rock of 60,000
people, and that has been, todate, I think, my life's single
most rewarding accomplishment.

Speaker 1 (01:04:42):
I feel you have given so much to learn from, so much
inspiration, and all of thatthrough, as you call it, your
scenic route, all of thatthrough your journey,
independence, going out there,trying to just find business on
our own, that we often forgetthat very important element of
relationships and the peoplethat we have experienced or have

(01:05:04):
come across paths in the pastwith, to sort of let them know
hey, I knew you here, this iswhat I'm now doing, because you
don't ever know when that cancome back to.
I know someone.
Actually, I think we tend tosometimes, unfortunately, think,
from this point forward, I'llbegin to tell people that I meet

(01:05:27):
or that I know.
This is what I do.
Hi, my name is Mireya and thisis what I specialize in, as
opposed to no, I want to telleveryone in my network so that
everyone is aware and that way,when those buzzwords hit, they
can come back and refer back tome.
So I think that, out ofeverything that I've heard today
which is an amazing story ofjust synchronicities and

(01:05:51):
preparation and sometimesfearless actions or, in spite of
the fear, continue down yourpath my favorite message today
was the networking andestablishing and sustaining
those relationships, not withthe intention that I'll never

(01:06:12):
know when I need you.
It's just authenticrelationship building Absolutely
, which is part of the processright.

Speaker 2 (01:06:20):
Authenticity is key.
This is not about transactionalrelationships no, it's, and
people know when you're fake.

Speaker 1 (01:06:29):
Even through screens, people know when you're fake.
Absolutely All they do now iskeep scrolling.
Jenica, we have come to the endof today's episode, but I have
just a couple more questions foryou right before we close.
The very first one is whatrecommendation would you give to

(01:06:50):
individuals that are desiringto begin in this profession
potentially the new generationof interpreters that wish to
enter this field?
What are some of thoserecommendations that you can
give to them that can helpinspire them through their
scenic route as they begin tostart their journey?

Speaker 2 (01:07:11):
This may sound counterintuitive, but I would
say do what's right for you.
What worked for me may not workfor you.
I'm a different person.
You have your own talent,skills, personality, baggage,
aspirations.
Do what works for you.
Yes, at some point along theway you want to formalize your

(01:07:34):
talent, because a lot of peoplehave latent talent, you're
gifted in a particular area, butat some point you want to
formalize that with some form ofinstruction structure that may
take the form of of a degreeprogram, that may take the form
of some sort of apprenticeship.
So you want to to back up yourtalent and your gift with

(01:07:58):
something of substance, inwhatever form that makes sense
to you.
I had that opportunity giftedto me right here in my homeland.
For you, it might meantraveling overseas to go to a
university somewhere.
It might also mean living in aforeign land to really formalize

(01:08:23):
your language acquisition.
Whatever it is, do what's rightfor you.
And I will mirror what you said,miria, in terms of telling your
network.
I mean, we find it so easy totell our network what we had for
breakfast this morning onFacebook or Instagram or
whatever.
But why not tell your network,hey, I'm looking for
opportunities in XYZ.

(01:08:44):
Or hey, I'm in this country andI'd love to meet up with I
don't know whoever's here.
I think we have a fantastictool that is social media that
can help us connect acrossborders and boundaries and again
, it's up to us to how we usethat tool strategically to ask

(01:09:04):
for what we want.
Maybe that's my last point.
I am a huge fan of asking forprecisely what I want.
I will ask people for exactlywhat I want or need.
The answer might be no, butthen the answer might be hey, I
can't help you.
But I know somebody who doesright, and I also believe in

(01:09:25):
speaking these things into theatmosphere that somewhere,
somehow, god is going to respond.

Speaker 1 (01:09:33):
Ask and you shall receive Speaking into the
atmosphere and, yes, that maymean talking to yourself
sometimes.
Okay, so it's okay to talk toyourself and speak your dreams
out loud.
That's wonderful advice, jenica.
Thank you so much.
I really appreciate the askingfor what you want.
I think in my personalexperience that the latent

(01:09:57):
talent, like you just called itto me, came more in the sense of
latent courage, and I think theasking for the things that I
want came later in life for me,as the me self was created and I
felt more confident in my ownskin.
But I can attest to the powerof asking for what you want,

(01:10:19):
even if, just as you said, theanswer is no.
It doesn't mean no forever.
It could mean no for now, andlater it comes back to a yes.

Speaker 2 (01:10:31):
There's an acronym I like to say.
No means next opportunity, loveit.
It's no to this one, but youjust move on to the next To the
next, you keep asking.

Speaker 1 (01:10:42):
Absolutely, jenica.
It's been such a privilege anda pleasure speaking with you
here today.
Thank you for joining us intoday's episode of Brand the
Interpreter.
I highly encourage anyone thatis listening to connect with
Jenica and, in any way possible,if you would be so kind, jenica
, to share where our listenerscan find out more about you and

(01:11:03):
the work that you do.

Speaker 2 (01:11:04):
So and thank you, mireya, congratulations on
keeping this podcast going.
I want to say that publicly,it's not easy to start.
Okay, the hardest part ofanything new is to start, and
you've not only started, you'vekept it going, and thanks to you
, you know people like myselfwere able to connect with each
other.
One of the favorite places Ihang out virtually is on

(01:11:26):
LinkedIn.
So please reach out to me onLinkedIn, connect, and that's
the place where I am at my mostauthentic right.
I love entertainingconversations there on LinkedIn.
I am also on Facebook, I wouldsay a little bit less, but link
up with me on LinkedIn, and I'dsay this also the online

(01:11:48):
conversations very quicklybecome offline conversations.
I've had the privilege ofhosting here at home several
people that I've met on LinkedInfrom across the globe, and it's
a whole other realm ofopportunity to be able to share

(01:12:08):
of yourself, share of yourculture, and then learn from
somebody else who's from acompletely different culture,
and you don't have to travel totheir country to do that.
You just need to connect withthe person.
You just need to connect withthe person to get that window,
that access to a whole differentcountry and different culture.
So I want to encourage that.

Speaker 1 (01:12:27):
LinkedIn for the win yet again.
Thank you so much, Jenica.
I appreciate you being heretoday.

Speaker 2 (01:12:33):
Likewise Thank you and enjoy the rest of your day.