126Academics THE DIVIDE The Department of Foreign Languages adds the Center for Translation within the new Holland-Waller building. In fall 2023, the department of Foreign Languages opened the Center for Translation. Though the center began taking clients in 2022, it wasn’t until fall 2023 when the center was formally established within the new HollandWaller building. Michelle Holland, assistant professor of foreign languages and international studies and assistant director of the Center for Translation, discussed the department’s reasoning for offering services in translation. “We were already planning on offering more translation courses, and I had enrolled in the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee to get an MA in Translation Studies,” Holland said. “So a logical skill and service we could provide was translation.” Holland added two major facets that laid the foundations for the center: academics and service that glorified God. The intention was to provide students with opportunities to actively utilize their language skills in meaningful and practical ways. Through translation services, this allowed those who worked in the center to serve the community. “Language services can be expensive, so we want to offer them at highly reduced rates and pro bono as needed, depending on the situation,” Holland said. Students who worked on projects for the center translated written materials, mainly in Spanish and French. Some projects included documents for the Disability Services Office, Registrar and International Education Center, as well as a power of attorney for a student and a flyer for a doctor’s office in Searcy. A major project the center worked on was translating Written by Cora Freeman “Lay Down Your Guns,” a book by Harding alum Greg Taylor. Holland explained that Taylor and his daughter-in-law were concerned that many of the Hondurans the book was written about would not be able to read it. One contributing student was senior Caitlyn Pettis, who elaborated on what the process looked like. “Typically, each person translates a page on their own during the week, and then we meet to discuss how we each translated that page,” Pettis said. “During this, we come to a consensus about the translation for each page and that becomes the ‘official’ translation. It gives an outlet of creativity that you don’t always get to find in the classroom setting.” Senior Sierra Tackwell, who was also frequently involved with the center, shared her hopes for connecting with the community through translation services. “It will be good to see how [the Center for Translation] impacts the rest of the community and brings Harding and Searcy together,” Tackwell said. With this in mind, Holland and Pettis both added their hopes for the center’s future. Holland looked forward to establishing the Center for Translation as the first place that comes to mind when someone in the community needed translation services, while Pettis encouraged other students to participate in the future. “We are really blessed to work at a place that cares about both student achievement and progress and community outreach,” Holland said.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==