February 28, 2025 • 61 mins
Discover the remarkable journey of Ahmad Jaafil, who transformed his life after facing serious challenges, including significant vision loss. In this inspiring episode of Brand the Interpreter, we celebrate five years of storytelling, exploring how Ahmad's passion for language and determination to advocate for himself fueled his success in the interpreting profession.
From an early age, Ahmad showed a deep interest in English, partly due to the influence of American television and video games. This unique pathway opened doors to understanding languages and connecting with people. However, his teenage years took a dramatic turn when unforeseen health issues began to impact his vision. Ahmed candidly shares his experiences navigating this life-altering reality, including the emotional toll it took and the determination it ignited within him.
Moreover, Ahmad's role as an interpreter for his parents during crucial medical visits not only enhanced his language skills but also broadened his perspective on the importance of communication. This episode highlights how Ahmed's early adversities taught him invaluable life lessons about resilience, inspiration, and the power of believing in oneself.
Join us as we unpack his journey, perils, aspirations, and how each challenge inspired Ahmad to rise above expectations—both his own and those of others around him. As he embarks on his new role in the interpreting field, he provides insight and hope to listeners, helping them understand the importance of self-advocacy in overcoming personal and professional barriers. This episode serves as a powerful reminder: no matter the obstacles in your path, there’s a light waiting to shine through when you believe in yourself.
Engage with us and share your own stories of resilience. Subscribe, leave a review, and join the journey as we continue to explore the heart of interpreting through impactful conversations.
Only on the show that shares your stories about our profession: Brand the Interpreter! #BTI5years
Connect with Ahmad:
ahmad.jaafil@aplustranslationsllc.com
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Thanks for tuning in, till next time! 👋
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome back everyone .
To Brand the Interpreter, I'mIreya, your host, and today we
are kicking off season eight.
But this season is extraspecial because we are also
celebrating five years of thispodcast.
Five years, that's five yearsof stories, insights and
(00:27):
conversations that have shapedthe way that we think about
interpreting.
When I started this podcast, Ihad no idea what it would become
.
I just knew that interpretershad stories worth sharing,
stories that deserve to be heard.
And now I'm looking back andI'm blown away by the incredible
voices that have been featuredand the connections that we've
(00:48):
built along the way.
Through the years, I've heardfrom listeners who have shared
how one of the episodes haveeither helped them navigate
through interpreting assignments, or they resonated with some of
the guests' stories, or havefelt inspired or compelled to do
something different in theprofession.
And that, to me, is what thispodcast is all about Real
(01:10):
experiences, real conversationsand a community that grows
together.
And speaking of growing, aswith every new season, I'm
always inspired to do things alittle different or to take
things even further.
I've got some amazing gueststhat are lined up, powerful
stories to share andconversations that will
challenge, inspire and maybeeven surprise you.
(01:33):
We'll be diving deeper into therealities of interpreting, not
just the technical side, but thehuman side, the emotional side
and the moments that don'talways make it into the
textbooks.
And since we're celebrating amajor milestone, I want to make
this season even moreinteractive than ever.
I'd love for you to be a partof it.
(01:54):
So here's a challenge Shareyour favorite Brandy Interpreter
moment, whether that's anepisode that stuck with you, a
guest that inspired you or alesson that you've carried into
your work.
Tag me or use hashtag BTI5yearsso that I can see you share
your stories.
Believe me, your participation,whether that is engaging in my
(02:18):
posts or sending me messages orvisiting the website, whatever
it may be, always helps inspireme to continue doing the work.
I would not be inspired orcompelled to do this for five
years if it weren't because youthe listener is here along the
way, is here taking this ridealong with me.
(02:41):
I get it Life gets busy, thingsget hectic and sometimes we may
slip behind.
We don't necessarily listen toevery single episode, but every
so often we'll happen to tune inand we capture something that
is compelling to us.
That would be the moment toshare.
That would be the moment to say, hey, I'm still tuning in.
(03:02):
Here's one of my favoriteepisodes.
In the coming years, it's verylikely that these are the
communities that we will need tohelp inspire us to move forward
, to feel connected to othersand to continue doing the best
work that we possibly can forthe people that we do it for.
You inspire me and we inspireeach other.
(03:26):
So here's to five years of ourlittle Brand the Interpreter
community.
Thank you for being here withme.
So are you ready?
Because Brand the Interpreteris back and Season 8 starts
right now.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
When I was entering my teenage years.
I was about to turn 13.
My vision took a huge downslide.
I was actually wrestling withmy cousin we were big wrestling
fans.
He accidentally kicked my righteye and my retina detached.
(04:42):
Afterwards I couldn't seeclearly with that eye.
I was having double vision toan extent and there was a lot of
blurriness.
So we had to do a surgery toput the retina back in its place
.
Unfortunately, the surgerywasn't successful and I lost
vision in my right eyecompletely because the pressure
(05:07):
just went to zero and my righteye started even deflating.
It didn't look normal.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Ahmed, welcome to the show.
Thank you so much for joiningus today.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Thank you, Maria.
Thank you for having me on theshow.
I'm really happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Well, I'm happy that you're here, willing and able to
share your story as it relatesto the interpreting profession,
but, of course, also your veryunique and specific story.
So, again, thank you for beinghere and I look forward to
sharing your story with thisaudience.
Let's dive right in by gettingto know Ahmed a little bit more.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Absolutely so.
To start off, I was born in thecountry of Lebanon.
It was, overall, a very amazingchildhood.
It did have its ups and downs,but one thing I'm fond of from
that childhood is my love forEnglish.
It helped me in a lot of ways.
(06:11):
I learned English just byspending countless hours
watching television and playingvideo games on my PlayStation,
so that alone helped me getahead in class, and sometimes
I'd even sneak out of class whenI felt like the session, the
(06:32):
class was boring, or if I feltlike I was too ahead and my
friends were behind, it wouldget too boring for me.
So that's something, you know,that I'm fond of.
Yeah, just being at an advancedlevel thanks to watching TV and
playing video games, which issomething you don't hear very
(06:53):
often.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
That?
No, no, it's not, but that thatis so interesting to hear that
you were picking up the languagethrough video games and
cartoons.
So the video games were inEnglish, so there was no
localization of the video game,I imagine right, but talk to us
a little bit more about thoseexperiences.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Well, you're absolutely right.
Localization back then wasn't abig thing like it is today, and
everything was mostly inEnglish, mainly American English
, sometimes British English.
So I would spend most of theday just watching Cartoon
(07:38):
Network.
When I was at home or when I'dvisit my cousins, we would just
spend the time watching DisneyChannel.
You know, some of my favoriteshows were Ed and Nettie, hannah
Montana, wizards of WaverlyPlace.
So I learned a lot of Englishjust by sitting and watching
(07:59):
that whole time.
Video games, however.
Video games, however, uh, weremore entertaining for me because
of the action you get out ofthem and, uh, there were like
some cool moments in both videogames and uh shows that are
memorable and you just can'thelp but memorize what the
(08:20):
character was saying and, moreimportantly, how they say it,
which, like, signifies theimportance of the moment or the
subject.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Wow, that is so unique.
I really love that.
I think it's going to gocontrary to potentially what
many parents out there myselfincluded, right are always
thinking about when it comes tohow much time are children
spending in front of a screen,and let alone that it's even
helpful in any way, shape orform.
So you, along with other gueststhat have been here on the show
(08:55):
, have actually shared andconfirmed that, thanks to them
watching TV shows, theirfavorite TV shows in English,
they learned to develop theEnglish language for one, yes,
but also exactly what you justsaid how the meanings are
conveyed, watching the bodylanguage and you know just the
(09:17):
spirit of the message by simplywatching one of their favorite
shows or many of their favoriteshows.
So I just find that sointeresting in terms of your
love for the English languageobviously is developed because
you are watching these showsthat become your favorite shows.
But you get to a point itsounds like where, even in the
(09:41):
formal classroom setting, you'rethinking I'm more advanced than
the classes, right, or thanwhat's being taught.
Talk to us a little bit aboutthat.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Absolutely.
It does give you a hugeadvantage and I felt that
several times throughout my timein school.
Like I'd like to tell you thisfunny story that happened with
me when I was in the first yearof kindergarten.
My friends were still learningthe letters from A to K and they
(10:14):
were trying to form words outof those letters and by that
time I, like, knew all of thealphabet and I was able to form
sentences and even write orspeak paragraphs.
So I was very bored and Idecided to sneak out of class
(10:35):
and I got into a drama class.
I snuck into a drama class atthe time just to waste some time
, but you know, eventually I wascaught, I got into trouble and
there were some severeconsequences at home.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
I mean, that was only kinder too, so you were already
getting into a little bit oftrouble there at quite a young
age.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
You're already getting into a little bit of
trouble there at quite a youngage.
Exactly, exactly.
When I look at it now, I can'thelp but laugh at it, but not
just like at how funny it was,but like the meaning behind it.
Just because I was way ahead, Idecided to do all of that,
which is amazing, and credit hasto go to television and video
(11:25):
games for that.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
I want to make sure that I highlight the fact that I
am in no way, shape or formbypassing one of those crucial
moments of your experiencegrowing up, which has to do with
your vision.
We'll get into that storyfurther down.
I just want to make sure thatright now we're focusing on how
(11:48):
language came to be in your life.
So talk to us a little bitfurther, if you will, about what
the acquisition of a secondlanguage felt like for you at
home, because did your parentsspeak the English language where
you could practice it, or whowere you practicing your
(12:09):
language with?
Speaker 2 (12:12):
That is an interesting question.
I love it At home and I want tomention this about Lebanon
almost everybody, you can say,is trilingual Almost everybody,
because we know Arabic.
It's our native language.
Then you have French, since wewere colonized by the French in
(12:36):
the previous century, so almostevery household speaks French to
a certain level.
And then, of course, you haveEnglish, which is probably the
most popular language in theworld.
At home, both my parents spokeArabic and French.
My mom was a French teacher.
(12:57):
Actually, she was teaching at aCatholic school, at a Catholic
school.
She wanted me to enroll in thatschool, but at the time they
(13:18):
were only taking girls in, noboys were allowed.
So she ended up putting me inthe school I went to and I'm
grateful for that.
But when I wanted to expressmyself at home but when I wanted
to express myself at home, whenit was speaking with them, it
was, of course, in Arabic.
But when I was playing videogames and I wanted to express
myself, I would do it in English, or even when I felt frustrated
(13:44):
or sad, I'd start talking tomyself in English.
Really, yeah, I would do that alot and sometimes, when I would
have a call with one of myuncles living in California, I'd
speak to them in English justto express myself and show them
how good I am.
But if I were to do that withmy friends and classmates in
(14:06):
school, it would have beendifficult because they were a
few steps behind me at the time.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Sure, yeah, I think that's why my mind sort of went
there when were you practicingyour newly acquired language
skills if you felt you wereadvanced in the development of
your skill set?
So it's really difficult toeven try to have a conversation
(14:34):
with someone else if thecomprehension isn't there.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
I got the chance to practice my English even more
when I came to California in2014.
My family and I had justreceived our green cards and I
was super excited for theopportunity.
And I was super excited for theopportunity.
I wanted to practice my Englishmore on a daily basis, just by
(15:01):
conversating with people.
I didn't have that opportunityback in Lebanon because nobody
would conversate in English.
So when we came to Californiato visit my uncles, I also
started seeing anophthalmologist in the
University of California in LosAngeles, you know and we're
(15:22):
going to go back to this in abit, I guess but I was kind of
like the interpreter between thedoctor and both my parents,
since they didn't speak English.
I started my role as a15-year-old believe it or not
and, other than justinterpreting, I got the chance
to conversate with my cousins,learn new things from them in
(15:47):
terms of slang language that'sused here in the US, learning
new idioms and more sentencesand new vocabulary that I wasn't
aware of or didn't know before.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Well, no, I definitely commend you in terms
of taking it upon yourself tocontinue growing in that aspect,
acknowledging that there wasmore to learn and then you
taking that initiative to dowhatever you needed in order to
continue growing and developingthat, because oftentimes,
(16:20):
perhaps, many think that there'sonly one way to develop a
language, which is perhaps in aformal setting and if, for
whatever reason, that is noteasily available, that might shy
people away from pursuingsomething that they want, and
you're a perfect example of thefact that it's not necessarily
(16:41):
the case.
While you did have a formalsetting in the background, for
instance, it sounds like youknow, as you're growing up,
elementary school, your primaryyears you felt like the actual
true development came fromelsewhere.
So it could be a combination ofthings and, as I mentioned,
(17:02):
I've had guests that have sharedthat they learned the language
watching their favorite Englishspeaking shows.
So there is something there.
Having heard a few stories likeyours about learning the
language via television shows orprograms, I want to go back,
ahmed, to your childhood againwith regards to your specific
(17:23):
condition.
So bring us back to the momentthat you can remember about how
you started learning thatsomething was happening with
your vision that something washappening with your vision.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
I'd like to start when I first noticed that I did
actually have something wrongwith my eyes before more serious
symptoms started to appear.
I think it mainly started inschool, where, for the whole
year, I was always sitting onthe desk that was in the center
of the class and the front row,while my other classmates would
(18:05):
switch their seats or theirdesks every month or every two
weeks or so.
Another thing is that, okay,yeah, I was in the front row in
the center of the class andthere was this wide grain
chalkboard that was in front ofme, but I couldn't see clearly a
(18:26):
hundred percent of what was onthat board unless I walked up to
it or I carried my desk and putit like one or two or three
feet away from it, and sometimesI'd ask the teacher to write in
a bigger font or biggerhandwriting so that I'd be able
(18:47):
to see more clearly.
And then there was therealization that I'm probably
the only student at school withthis kind of condition, that I'm
probably the only student atschool with this kind of
condition.
Then, when I was entering myteenage years I was about to
turn 13.
(19:07):
My vision took a huge downslide.
I was actually wrestling withmy cousin.
We were big wrestling fans.
He accidentally kicked my righteye and my retina detached.
Afterwards I couldn't seeclearly with that eye.
(19:28):
I was having double vision toan extent and there was a lot of
blurriness.
So we had to do a surgery toput the retina back in its place
.
Unfortunately, the surgerywasn't successful and I lost
vision in my right eyecompletely because the pressure
(19:48):
just went to zero and my righteye started even deflating.
It didn't look normal and fastforward.
Four years after that I wasdoing okay with my left eye.
Vision was good in.
It hadn't changed.
(20:10):
My main goal was to preserve itand make sure that it doesn't
get any worse.
But one night, just three daysafter my junior year in high
school, I was just enjoying somePlayStation at night, having a
lot of fun.
Then I went to bed.
Nothing was wrong.
Next morning I wake up vision'stoo blurry, I could barely see,
(20:33):
and day by day it startedgetting worse.
So my mom and I came toCalifornia to see my
ophthalmologist and my symptomswere even worse then when I
arrived in California.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
About how old were you then, Ahmed?
Speaker 2 (20:52):
I was 17 when I had glaucoma.
It was a very painful andtraumatic experience.
I lost vision significantly inthat eye.
The doctors had to performactually three procedures or
three surgeries in one go.
They had to insert a drainagetube for glaucoma to stabilize
(21:18):
the eye pressure.
They had to put the retina backin its place because it had
detached as a result of the highpressure and a lot of blood
vessels had grown inside of myeye, blocking my vision.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
This was now the left eye correct.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
No, that was the left eye, the right eye.
Honestly, there was nothing wecan do for it and there was
nothing else that could happento it, given that it had lost
all of its power and all of itspressure.
Nothing else could happen to itby that point.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Talk to me before we continue.
As far as your experience wasconcerned, because these are all
things that are occurring onthe physical level, what was
going through your mind at theage of 17, with the possibility
of your eyesight being gone?
Speaker 2 (22:13):
A lot of things, a lot of things.
It was definitely alife-changing incident.
I started doubting how my lifewas going to continue.
I had my senior year coming upand that was going to be my last
year with all of my friends whoI'd grown up with for the past
(22:33):
15 years.
I seriously considered, with myparents, skipping that year,
but ultimately I decided not todo that because it would have
been heartbreaking for me.
I started asking myself, likeokay, even if I do get past high
school, how am I going tocontinue college?
What am I going to major in?
(22:54):
Is there a job that I can excelin and that, at the same time,
accommodate my new disability?
Will I even get married lateron because of this condition?
How is it going to be for mesocially?
How am I going to liveindependently and be able to
(23:18):
take care of myself?
So there was a lot that wasgoing on through my head.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Yeah, and at such a young age too, you were already
thinking about I mean future,future.
I recognize that at that stagein your teenage life,
particularly your last year ofhigh school, it's sort of the
thought of my real life quoteunquote is about to begin, and
then, in your particular case,you come across such a
(23:46):
life-changing moment that you'rehaving to think about all of
these other things compared to,maybe, just the thought of
finishing high school and whatcomes immediately after that.
You're dealing with some prettyserious thoughts there.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Exactly so.
After the procedure I had thesurgery I had at UCLA the doctor
told me it was going to take atleast a year for my vision to
go back to what it was, becausemy eye had experienced so much
trauma and it was a hard andlong surgery.
So he told me that he wanted tosee me after seven months from
(24:30):
the surgery date, so that waslike during the middle of the
school year.
I went back there.
My vision wasn't improving toomuch, it turned out.
I had scar tissues that wereblocking my vision in the eye.
I had a surgery done.
Uh, those scar tissues wereremoved and my vision
(24:52):
significantly improved, but itdidn't go back to how it was
before glaucoma.
There were still somelimitations, there was still
some blurriness, but it hadsignificantly improved to a
point where I could go back toreading with my magnifier and
even writing.
Those scar tissues wouldcontinue to resurface inside my
(25:15):
eye and would make my visionworse.
So we had to keep removing themuntil we got to a point where
we realized this isn't apermanent solution and every
time we do a surgery on the eyeit might get worse and there's
always the increased risk of theeye deciding to shut down after
(25:35):
so much trauma and surgery.
So right now my vision isn't atits peak or isn't living its
glory days.
It's okay right now I couldstill see.
Thank God for that.
But there's a lot of blurrinessthere.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
So you're in California, at UCLA, with an
ophthalmologist team, or a teamof ophthalmologists there that
are working with you.
What inspired you while you'rethere?
Pre-recording you had mentioned, you know, there was a, there
was sort of an inspiration for apotential profession while you
(26:18):
were going through this series.
So talk to us about thoseexperiences and and even the
experience of you as a teenageinterpreter for your parents in
that setting.
What was that?
Speaker 2 (26:30):
like During my teenage years and when I was
frequently visiting UCLA, Iaspired to be an ophthalmologist
just like the one I was seeingbecause he was so good at his
job.
And ever since I was young, Ihad a passion for medicine.
(26:52):
I had a passion about learningabout the human body.
Trust me, when I was still inschool, I would just love
biology classes.
I loved those a lot and I atthe time had made up my mind
like, okay, when I grow up, I'mgoing to be an ophthalmologist,
(27:12):
just like my doctor.
That was before glaucomahappened and even when I used to
go there with my parents and Iinterpreted for both them and
the doctor.
It was also an amazingexperience for me because I got
(27:33):
to learn new medical terminologyin both languages and at the
same time I got to expressmyself in both languages.
And every time I would visit adoctor not necessarily the same
ophthalmologist I kept seeing,but I would see several doctors
(27:58):
ophthalmologist I kept seeing,but I would see several doctors.
And when my parents were withme and they would see me being
able to conversate with them ata high level and not having even
an accent and being able tointerpret for my parents they
were really impressed,considering I was only 15 at the
time when that started, so itwas something that I was proud
of and something that motivatedme.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
That's so excellent.
Yeah, I mean I can only imagine, because obviously, when it
comes to specialty areas in thehealthcare setting, the
terminology can get prettycomplex.
Yes, and so here you're talkingabout an appointment in which
(28:44):
there is a specific conditioninvolved and there are very
specific procedures involved, soit sort of gives you a lens in
terms of, like, you mentioned atopic that you really enjoyed,
and enjoyed because you werereally interested in that, and
(29:06):
then another one thatpotentially you didn't know you
enjoyed, or maybe you did, waslanguage, and so it was like an
overlap, it seems right, ofthese two things that really
interested you, which is just aninteresting way of seeing how
sometimes things sort of workout in your favor without you
(29:30):
even realizing that that'swhat's happening.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
Exactly.
In hindsight I feel like I gotthe best of both worlds, even
though at the time, interpretingwasn't even a thought in my
head, even though I was doing it, but of course not at the
professional level that we do itat now.
I still didn't know like thecodes of ethics or standards of
(29:55):
practice and all of that, but Iwas doing a really good job.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
So at some point down the line you go through a
specific program in which youmeet a teacher that becomes
pretty influential in a point ofyour life.
Walk us through what occurredwith this particular teacher.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Walk us through what occurred with this particular
teacher.
So after a glaucoma and aftergraduating from high school, it
was time to start thinking aboutuniversity, but I hadn't
decided what major I was goingto pursue or what university I
was going to go to.
On rehabbing after glaucomaboth from becoming independent
(30:53):
and from a mental standpoint ofme, just having to come to terms
with this is how my vision isgoing to be for the foreseeable
future, and I have to live withit and adapt to be as efficient
as much as I can.
So when I decided to just focuson rehab and my mental health,
there was one of my uncles toldme about a rehab center for
(31:18):
blind and visually impairedindividuals in the capital of
Lebanon, beirut.
We went there.
I met with the president and itturned out that the vice
president there was actually anEnglish literature instructor at
the Lebanese AmericanUniversity.
That university is consideredthe second best in Lebanon and
(31:43):
one of the best in all of theMiddle East.
She discussed with me my futuregoals.
What do I aspire to be as aprofessional?
She asked me that question andI didn't know how to answer.
She gave me some time to thinkabout it.
(32:03):
I went back home.
I was thinking about it.
Then my mom all of a suddensaid you know, you're pretty
good with English and you'regood with Arabic.
Why don't you become atranslator?
I was surprised that it nevercrossed my mind and, like,
translation as a career isn't asstrong as it is here in the
(32:27):
United States and other parts ofthe world, so I was reluctant
to pursue it at the time.
But then I was like, mostprobably I'm just going to
continue my life in the UnitedStates anyway, considering I
have a green card, so why not gofor it?
So I told the instructor that,the vice president, that this is
(32:47):
my decision I'm going to pursuetranslation.
She helped me by helping meapply for the English entrance
exam that I needed to do andpass to get into that university
, and I prepared for it.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
And I prepared for it .
Speaker 2 (33:41):
Thank God, I passed it and I was able to enroll in
later stage a formal educationalsetting.
What were some of thosechallenges that you're seeing
now, older and with perhaps moredifficult situation with
regards to your vision?
Something exciting for me and abit scary at the same time
Because, like you mentioned, Iwas entering a new setting, a
new world.
It was totally different fromthe concept of school, where I
was going to meet a lot ofpeople from different
backgrounds and from across allthe country potentially from
(34:14):
across all the countrypotentially and I probably I was
probably the only student atthe time with a condition like
the one I had.
So it was going to be achallenge for me in terms of
being able to navigate thecampus on my own.
By that I mean getting fromclass to class, building to
building.
Also, how was I gonna writedown notes?
(34:38):
Like I couldn't do what I wasdoing in school, where I would
just take my friend's notebookand make photocopies of it,
right, and how are my examsgoing to be like?
So those things were sort ofunprecedented before me, but
(34:59):
there was a student who wascompletely blind and she also
studied translation at thatuniversity and she set the
standards a little and helpedthem establish new rules to
accommodate people with a visualimpairment or blindness.
(35:19):
When I came and it was my turn,I built on what she had done and
continued that, Like, forinstance, at the beginning I
asked the administration forpermission if I could bring my
personal driver with me ontocampus so he could show me my
(35:39):
classes, teach me how to getfrom point A to point B on
campus, tell me, like, whichspots to avoid on campus and
which ones are safer for me towalk on.
And there were also somechallenges in class at the
beginning, Like, for instance,the student who came before me.
(36:04):
She would use her laptop torecord every single thing that
was being said in class andafter that happened, she would
go back home, listen to therecording again and write down
notes.
To be honest, I did do that atthe beginning, but that was too
exhausting and time-consuming,so I ultimately decided to just
(36:26):
start writing notes down on thespot as I was in class, and that
made things easier for me.
But the other thing is I didn'thave screen reading softwares
like I do here in the US, sotests and exams were very hard
for me in terms of reading,finishing on time and not being
(36:49):
exhausted quickly.
Screen reader would have helpedme tremendously and I strongly
believe would have helped me geta higher GPA, but that wasn't
available at the time and nobodyhad experience with, or even
knowledge of, screen readers.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
Ahmed, I want to take us now to the point where you
complete your studies right, andI just want to highlight that
this was translation studies inthe program.
At some point, you decide thatyou want to of defined your
choice to also look intointerpreting, and then what
(37:34):
steps did you take in order toget started on that side of the
profession?
Speaker 2 (37:40):
Absolutely.
I love that.
When it comes to interpreting,actually, I didn't know the
difference between interpretingand translating before I got
into university.
What made me decide to go fortranslation, or just like
(38:02):
translation and interpretationin the first place was the oral
aspect of interpreting ingeneral, like I don't have to
strain my eyes with reading,writing or looking at a computer
screen to read something, butit was just mainly listening and
speaking and interpreting.
(38:22):
When I was in Lebanon, um, whenI was in, when I was in lebanon
, there was no university that Iknew of that had an
interpreting program.
There was one, I think, but it,uh, it was very far from where
I lived and, um, I didn't thinkit was a valuable option for me.
(38:44):
So so I just settled fortranslation.
Now, fast forward, after Igraduated and came here to the
States, I had to do vocationalrehab.
Of course, I wanted to learnhow to live independently and
take care of myself without anyassistance.
So while I was at the rehabcenter, we would have a career
(39:07):
counselor where I would have aone-on-one session with her
twice every week.
So we talked about our goal, mygoals, and I tried translation,
and for me it felt a bit boring, honestly, just sitting looking
(39:29):
at a piece of paper or adocument for a good time and
translating it into anotherlanguage by writing or typing uh
, it didn't just, you know, feelnatural to me.
Um, it didn't feel excitinginterpreting.
Interpreting, however, was theopposite.
I got to interact with peoplethe whole time.
(39:50):
I got to speak.
I get to go to places likehospitals and other facilities,
so that was more adventurous andexciting for me.
Before going to the rehab center, I looked up and did some
research on the Internet, likewhat's it going to take for me
to be an interpreter here in theUnited States?
(40:11):
And it turns out I had tobecome nationally certified as a
healthcare interpreter.
I did mention that goal to thecounselor and we started working
on it.
So after my rehab was over, Ienrolled in two medical
interpreting courses.
One was for standard medicalinterpreting, the other was for
(40:33):
an advanced level.
I learned a lot from thosecourses in terms of the
interpreting standards, thecodes of ethics, a lot of new
terminology in both languages,and afterwards I set my sights
on becoming nationally certifiedby CCHI.
(40:56):
So it was a journey.
To get that certification, youknow, we have to do like the
core CCHI test, then theperformance test where we have
to actually interpret bothconsecutively, simultaneously,
and then side translation.
So that was the first step forme, and during that time I was
(41:22):
also freelancing as aninterpreter.
I was going around hospitals inthe Detroit metro area
interpreting for providers andpatients.
It was super fun for me andeven I did conference
interpreting at a school at onepoint.
That was at the beginning.
That was quite the experienceas well.
Speaker 1 (41:43):
Yeah, I actually want to sort of go back to the fact
that you, at this point, how toadvocate for yourself with these
different organizations thatyou were having to work with,
(42:15):
such as the online courses orCCHI, for someone that maybe is
in a similar position such asyours.
Walk us through how youadvocated for yourself.
Now, with a little bit moreexperience working with
individuals that didn't know howto appropriately offer
(42:37):
accommodations for a diagnosis,such as yours, walk us through
that experience.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
Absolutely.
When I was at the rehab center,we had sessions where we
learned how to advocate forourselves as blind and visually
impaired people, not just on thestreet or in a store, but also
in our workplace or even in aneducational setting.
(43:06):
For me, when I enrolled inthose courses, they were online
courses and so there wasn't toomuch to be worried about had the
(43:29):
finals, since we were takingmedical interpreting.
We also had to take anatomy andphysiology classes, but the
challenge for me was they wantedus to memorize the body parts,
memorize how they look, theirlocations, because during the
finals they were going to bringus diagrams and photos of those
body parts and we had to labelthem so they could see if we did
(43:50):
actually memorize them and knowthem.
That was very hard for me andalmost impossible.
I spoke with the coordinator.
I explained my situation to herand, to her credit, she was
very thoughtful andaccommodating.
She told me you know what?
Just skip those questions inthe exam and you'll do a role
(44:13):
play test with one of ourinstructors and we'll consider
it.
You know, grading you on thatbasis instead of just labeling
pictures.
Speaker 1 (44:24):
So that was a great workaround in terms of being
able to find some sort ofaccommodation for your specific,
different ability right.
So that's great, because what'sdemonstrated is the advocacy
piece right being able toactually say something and it's
so great to hear that in thisparticular program they gave you
(44:48):
those tools to be able toadvocate for yourself.
It sort of reminds me oftraining for interpreters, when
we're basically teachinginterpreters how to advocate for
their roles for themselves aswell, Just giving them those
tools to be able to do so whenthe situation arises.
(45:09):
So you end up doing your CCHIand at some point you decide
what with regards to theprofession, Fast forward to now.
Where are you currently withregards to interpreting and the
profession?
Speaker 2 (45:27):
Right now I'm doing two things I have a full-time
job as an over-the-phoneinterpreter and also I recently
started my own business, andit's a translation business and
I'm working on improving it andmaking it go global.
(45:49):
I have those aspirations andambitions and I'm taking it step
by step.
I named the business or companyA-plus Translations, where the
name, I think, speaks for itselfthat we provide high quality
and excellent qualitytranslations.
(46:09):
Just by looking at the A+, solooking at the landscape, when I
was making the decision tostart this, I saw that in the
translation and interpretationfield it's a bit different from
other professions where you haveto mostly rely on freelance
(46:33):
work and attracting a hugeclient base to have a reliable
source of income in the long run.
Having full-time jobs oremployment opportunities on a
full-time basis for interpretersand translators is just, I
think, starting to develop atthe moment.
But in the grand scheme ofthings, I think it's, all in all
(46:57):
, a freelance kind of job andyou have to build yourself from
the ground up if you want to besuccessful and at the top of the
industry.
Speaker 1 (47:08):
I find your story, ahmed, very inspirational the
fact that at a very young age,you came across some pretty
serious challenges that perhapsfor many individuals, it would
have been a challenge thatultimately decided their fate in
(47:30):
terms of just aspirations andbeing to be able to overcome
challenges.
Or even if we don't overcomechallenges, we learn to navigate
(47:57):
around them, and you're a greatexample of someone that not
only navigated around theirchallenges, but you also
basically added more justaspiration.
You were thinking ahead.
It wasn't like you just said aslong as I get here, I'm done
and I'm okay.
(48:18):
That's it.
I'm just going to get this far.
You continued creating morethings, more opportunities for
yourself and simply learning tonavigate that, and I think
that's such an inspirationalstory for anyone, regardless of
whether they share the sameexperience as you or simply come
(48:40):
across some specific challenge.
It's a great demonstration, Ithink, your story of resilience,
of being able to pursue as longas you're clear in what it is
you're pursuing, being able topursue despite of what's in
front of you.
(49:03):
We close, having taken all ofthese experiences now through
your life's journey and whereyou are currently, what would be
something that you would liketo share with our audience as
far as a takeaway that you wantthem to remember.
Speaker 2 (49:21):
I would say this nothing is impossible for those
who believe and focus on theword believe, because you have
to start by believing inyourself, believing that,
despite what's happening in yourlife, you can do what you want
to do.
You just have to believe inyourself, believe in the process
(49:45):
, believe in the vision or goalsthat you set for yourself.
Don't let anything hold youback.
At the end of the day, nobodysaid life was going to be easy.
And those people who you seeare successful out there, most
of them had to go through a lotof struggles and hardships to
(50:06):
get to where they are.
Like the old saying goes,nothing beats hard work.
But on top of hard work youhave to add resilience and inner
strength to continue tonavigate through whatever
challenges that come your way.
And I think, and inadvertently,I've always had that belief,
(50:31):
that mindset, ever since I waslittle, because, even as a child
, my childhood wasn't easy,never mind my vision and the
difficulties or challenges Ifaced academically.
But also let's take intoaccount the social aspects of
(50:52):
things.
I want to briefly tell thestory of myself when I was in
first grade, of myself.
When I was in first grade, wehad a GE or sports class and
usually us boys would playsoccer or football.
Almost every time I wasprobably the last person the
(51:13):
other kids would pick on theirteam.
There was one time that nobodypicked me me and I was upset
about it, even though I was agood soccer or football player.
I asked them you know, whydidn't you pick me?
Why didn't anyone pick me?
They said we're worried thatyou won't be able to see the
(51:34):
ball or won't have enoughreaction time if we pass it to
you, because you can't see it,even though I could see
everything clearly to a certaindegree.
But they just didn't understandmy vision and that really hurt
me.
I ran away from everyone, Icried on my own and I thought
(51:59):
that life was going to be verytough for me and I wasn't going
to make it.
But then, being a young,cheerful me who was crazy, I
looked up at the sun.
I saw its bright light and Ithought that there's always
light in the darkness and Ichoose to be a light.
(52:21):
So I raised my fist towards thesun and I told myself that
someday, you know, I want tobecome a legend and I'll show
everybody at school I'm thestrongest ever.
That way, everybody will stopdisrespecting me and show me the
respect I deserve.
I'll show everybody thatthey've got a hero.
(52:42):
Fast forward to our graduation.
I was the first student in ourschool's history to receive the
Student of the Year Award and Igot a standing ovation not just
from my friends or classmates,but also from my teachers and
(53:03):
the parents attending.
And those classmates andfriends most of them were the
ones who doubted me when I wasyoung and I earned.
They appreciated me and theyrespected me.
At the end of the day, Powerfulstory.
Speaker 1 (53:22):
Offman, thank you so much for sharing that.
I absolutely believe that thatgave everyone that's listening
goosebumps and that absolutelybelieves that that had been the
case and you were so young then.
Again, a great demonstration ofjust resilience and what we can
do to change our own mindssometimes because sometimes it
(53:47):
is our own minds that is tryingto work against us and how we're
able to make that changementally in order to do things
differently so that we couldhave our own better results.
So thank you so much for havingshared that powerful story of
(54:07):
resilience and the ability forone to be able to change the way
that we are encountering theworld maybe, or maybe the way we
think we're encountering theworld.
Just making that change is soimportant the mental aspect of
it.
So thank you for sharing that.
If you could give individualsthat have a similar condition to
(54:34):
yours if not the same, if notthe same words of advice when it
comes to being able to eitheradvocate for themselves, or
maybe let's concentrate onindividuals that are also
considering becoming a languageprofessional in the industry
with a similar condition whatwould you recommend to them
(54:58):
specifically?
And then my other question iswhat would you recommend to
individuals, such as myself thatcan do something to create a
more inclusive environment forpeople with visually impaired
conditions.
Speaker 2 (55:17):
Those are very good questions to begin answering for
people who have a similarcondition to me and trying to
get into the language industryto become interpreters and
translators.
I would tell them that if youwant to do it, then go ahead and
do it.
(55:37):
You have to believe in yourselfand believe in the process and
the journey you're about toembark on.
If it's something that you like, something that you're
passionate about, do it.
And you have to, of course,advocate in yourself, because
this journey isn't going to beall flowers and roses.
(55:58):
It's important that, yeah, youdo advocate for yourself in
every aspect, whether it's atyour workplace, whether it's in
class, if you're takinginterpreting courses similar to
what I did with the coordinatorof the program I was in when I
was learning medicalinterpreting.
(56:18):
I was in when I was learningmedical interpreting and just in
general, like if you do getinto the profession and you have
an on-site assignment, you knowit's going to be an unfamiliar
territory for you, so you haveto learn how to ask for help
when you need it, if you want to, if you need assistance
(56:38):
navigating around the facilityor the school you're in, and in
terms of what professionals suchas yourself in the field can do
in general.
I think all of us together needto just start considering and
(57:00):
acknowledging that, yes, thereare interpreters and translators
who have a visual disability.
We have to start byacknowledging that and then we
need to think and startunderstanding how can we make
the playing field more equal,how can we provide these
(57:21):
interpreters and translatorswith tools that can put them on
the same competitive level astheir counterparts, like, for
instance, when it comes totranslation?
I think we are at a disadvantage, considering that almost all
the CAT tools that we know areinaccessible for translators in
(57:45):
terms of their incompatibilitywith screen readers like
VoiceOver, jaws, which is jobaccessibility with speech and
other screen readers.
So it makes it hard for us towork inside those programs or
those tools and it makes thetranslation process for us much
(58:07):
slower and it puts us at adisadvantage, especially if we
have a big translation projectswhere we have to translate at
least 5,000 words.
So the client in this case isgonna prefer someone who does
have access to those tools andknows how to use them.
So that puts us at adisadvantage and, in terms of
(58:29):
interpreting, I would mainly saythat the focus should be more
on on-job assignments in termsof like, let's say, at hospitals
or schools.
I would say maybe puttingBraille signs or Bluetooth
devices that we can utilize toknow where we're going to or
(58:53):
where we should go to.
That would make us moreindependent and rely less on
people who are at the setting.
Speaker 1 (59:01):
Excellent, Excellent advice.
Thank you so much, Ahmed, onceagain for the opportunity to
share your story on the Brandthe Interpreter podcast.
I very much hope that anyonelistening has enjoyed Ahmed's
story and, of course, if youwould like to connect with Ahmed
, I'll have all of hisinformation in the episode notes
(59:25):
.
Ahmed, are you anywhere onlinesocial media?
Do you have a website that youwould like to share with this
audience if they'd like toconnect with you?
Speaker 2 (59:33):
Yes, if anyone would like to reach me, I'm available
on LinkedIn.
You can also contact mepersonally.
Maria, I'll give you permissionto also provide that detail in
the notes.
I'm also on Instagram, but interms of a website, I'm still
working on developing thewebsite for my business at the
(59:55):
moment.
Speaker 1 (59:57):
Very well.
Well then, you've heard it here.
Folks, I'll make sure toinclude all the links to be able
to connect with Ahmed and ifthere's anything further that
you would like to ask, pleasefeel free to connect with him
directly.
Thank you so much, Ahmed, forthe opportunity once again.
Speaker 2 (01:00:15):
Thank you, Maria.
Thank you for having me.
It was really a pleasure and anhonor.
I really enjoyed it.
Welcome back everyone .
To Brand the Interpreter, I'mIreya, your host, and today we
are kicking off season eight.
But this season is extraspecial because we are also
celebrating five years of thispodcast.
Five years, that's five yearsof stories, insights and
(00:27):
conversations that have shapedthe way that we think about
interpreting.
When I started this podcast, Ihad no idea what it would become
.
I just knew that interpretershad stories worth sharing,
stories that deserve to be heard.
And now I'm looking back andI'm blown away by the incredible
voices that have been featuredand the connections that we've
(00:48):
built along the way.
Through the years, I've heardfrom listeners who have shared
how one of the episodes haveeither helped them navigate
through interpreting assignments, or they resonated with some of
the guests' stories, or havefelt inspired or compelled to do
something different in theprofession.
And that, to me, is what thispodcast is all about Real
(01:10):
experiences, real conversationsand a community that grows
together.
And speaking of growing, aswith every new season, I'm
always inspired to do things alittle different or to take
things even further.
I've got some amazing gueststhat are lined up, powerful
stories to share andconversations that will
challenge, inspire and maybeeven surprise you.
(01:33):
We'll be diving deeper into therealities of interpreting, not
just the technical side, but thehuman side, the emotional side
and the moments that don'talways make it into the
textbooks.
And since we're celebrating amajor milestone, I want to make
this season even moreinteractive than ever.
I'd love for you to be a partof it.
(01:54):
So here's a challenge Shareyour favorite Brandy Interpreter
moment, whether that's anepisode that stuck with you, a
guest that inspired you or alesson that you've carried into
your work.
Tag me or use hashtag BTI5yearsso that I can see you share
your stories.
Believe me, your participation,whether that is engaging in my
(02:18):
posts or sending me messages orvisiting the website, whatever
it may be, always helps inspireme to continue doing the work.
I would not be inspired orcompelled to do this for five
years if it weren't because youthe listener is here along the
way, is here taking this ridealong with me.
(02:41):
I get it Life gets busy, thingsget hectic and sometimes we may
slip behind.
We don't necessarily listen toevery single episode, but every
so often we'll happen to tune inand we capture something that
is compelling to us.
That would be the moment toshare.
That would be the moment to say, hey, I'm still tuning in.
(03:02):
Here's one of my favoriteepisodes.
In the coming years, it's verylikely that these are the
communities that we will need tohelp inspire us to move forward
, to feel connected to othersand to continue doing the best
work that we possibly can forthe people that we do it for.
You inspire me and we inspireeach other.
(03:26):
So here's to five years of ourlittle Brand the Interpreter
community.
Thank you for being here withme.
So are you ready?
Because Brand the Interpreteris back and Season 8 starts
right now.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
When I was entering my teenage years.
I was about to turn 13.
My vision took a huge downslide.
I was actually wrestling withmy cousin we were big wrestling
fans.
He accidentally kicked my righteye and my retina detached.
(04:42):
Afterwards I couldn't seeclearly with that eye.
I was having double vision toan extent and there was a lot of
blurriness.
So we had to do a surgery toput the retina back in its place
.
Unfortunately, the surgerywasn't successful and I lost
vision in my right eyecompletely because the pressure
(05:07):
just went to zero and my righteye started even deflating.
It didn't look normal.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Ahmed, welcome to the show.
Thank you so much for joiningus today.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Thank you, Maria.
Thank you for having me on theshow.
I'm really happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Well, I'm happy that you're here, willing and able to
share your story as it relatesto the interpreting profession,
but, of course, also your veryunique and specific story.
So, again, thank you for beinghere and I look forward to
sharing your story with thisaudience.
Let's dive right in by gettingto know Ahmed a little bit more.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Absolutely so.
To start off, I was born in thecountry of Lebanon.
It was, overall, a very amazingchildhood.
It did have its ups and downs,but one thing I'm fond of from
that childhood is my love forEnglish.
It helped me in a lot of ways.
(06:11):
I learned English just byspending countless hours
watching television and playingvideo games on my PlayStation,
so that alone helped me getahead in class, and sometimes
I'd even sneak out of class whenI felt like the session, the
(06:32):
class was boring, or if I feltlike I was too ahead and my
friends were behind, it wouldget too boring for me.
So that's something, you know,that I'm fond of.
Yeah, just being at an advancedlevel thanks to watching TV and
playing video games, which issomething you don't hear very
(06:53):
often.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
That?
No, no, it's not, but that thatis so interesting to hear that
you were picking up the languagethrough video games and
cartoons.
So the video games were inEnglish, so there was no
localization of the video game,I imagine right, but talk to us
a little bit more about thoseexperiences.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Well, you're absolutely right.
Localization back then wasn't abig thing like it is today, and
everything was mostly inEnglish, mainly American English
, sometimes British English.
So I would spend most of theday just watching Cartoon
(07:38):
Network.
When I was at home or when I'dvisit my cousins, we would just
spend the time watching DisneyChannel.
You know, some of my favoriteshows were Ed and Nettie, hannah
Montana, wizards of WaverlyPlace.
So I learned a lot of Englishjust by sitting and watching
(07:59):
that whole time.
Video games, however.
Video games, however, uh, weremore entertaining for me because
of the action you get out ofthem and, uh, there were like
some cool moments in both videogames and uh shows that are
memorable and you just can'thelp but memorize what the
(08:20):
character was saying and, moreimportantly, how they say it,
which, like, signifies theimportance of the moment or the
subject.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Wow, that is so unique.
I really love that.
I think it's going to gocontrary to potentially what
many parents out there myselfincluded, right are always
thinking about when it comes tohow much time are children
spending in front of a screen,and let alone that it's even
helpful in any way, shape orform.
So you, along with other gueststhat have been here on the show
(08:55):
, have actually shared andconfirmed that, thanks to them
watching TV shows, theirfavorite TV shows in English,
they learned to develop theEnglish language for one, yes,
but also exactly what you justsaid how the meanings are
conveyed, watching the bodylanguage and you know just the
(09:17):
spirit of the message by simplywatching one of their favorite
shows or many of their favoriteshows.
So I just find that sointeresting in terms of your
love for the English languageobviously is developed because
you are watching these showsthat become your favorite shows.
But you get to a point itsounds like where, even in the
(09:41):
formal classroom setting, you'rethinking I'm more advanced than
the classes, right, or thanwhat's being taught.
Talk to us a little bit aboutthat.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Absolutely.
It does give you a hugeadvantage and I felt that
several times throughout my timein school.
Like I'd like to tell you thisfunny story that happened with
me when I was in the first yearof kindergarten.
My friends were still learningthe letters from A to K and they
(10:14):
were trying to form words outof those letters and by that
time I, like, knew all of thealphabet and I was able to form
sentences and even write orspeak paragraphs.
So I was very bored and Idecided to sneak out of class
(10:35):
and I got into a drama class.
I snuck into a drama class atthe time just to waste some time
, but you know, eventually I wascaught, I got into trouble and
there were some severeconsequences at home.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
I mean, that was only kinder too, so you were already
getting into a little bit oftrouble there at quite a young
age.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
You're already getting into a little bit of
trouble there at quite a youngage.
Exactly, exactly.
When I look at it now, I can'thelp but laugh at it, but not
just like at how funny it was,but like the meaning behind it.
Just because I was way ahead, Idecided to do all of that,
which is amazing, and credit hasto go to television and video
(11:25):
games for that.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
I want to make sure that I highlight the fact that I
am in no way, shape or formbypassing one of those crucial
moments of your experiencegrowing up, which has to do with
your vision.
We'll get into that storyfurther down.
I just want to make sure thatright now we're focusing on how
(11:48):
language came to be in your life.
So talk to us a little bitfurther, if you will, about what
the acquisition of a secondlanguage felt like for you at
home, because did your parentsspeak the English language where
you could practice it, or whowere you practicing your
(12:09):
language with?
Speaker 2 (12:12):
That is an interesting question.
I love it At home and I want tomention this about Lebanon
almost everybody, you can say,is trilingual Almost everybody,
because we know Arabic.
It's our native language.
Then you have French, since wewere colonized by the French in
(12:36):
the previous century, so almostevery household speaks French to
a certain level.
And then, of course, you haveEnglish, which is probably the
most popular language in theworld.
At home, both my parents spokeArabic and French.
My mom was a French teacher.
(12:57):
Actually, she was teaching at aCatholic school, at a Catholic
school.
She wanted me to enroll in thatschool, but at the time they
(13:18):
were only taking girls in, noboys were allowed.
So she ended up putting me inthe school I went to and I'm
grateful for that.
But when I wanted to expressmyself at home but when I wanted
to express myself at home, whenit was speaking with them, it
was, of course, in Arabic.
But when I was playing videogames and I wanted to express
myself, I would do it in English, or even when I felt frustrated
(13:44):
or sad, I'd start talking tomyself in English.
Really, yeah, I would do that alot and sometimes, when I would
have a call with one of myuncles living in California, I'd
speak to them in English justto express myself and show them
how good I am.
But if I were to do that withmy friends and classmates in
(14:06):
school, it would have beendifficult because they were a
few steps behind me at the time.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Sure, yeah, I think that's why my mind sort of went
there when were you practicingyour newly acquired language
skills if you felt you wereadvanced in the development of
your skill set?
So it's really difficult toeven try to have a conversation
(14:34):
with someone else if thecomprehension isn't there.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
I got the chance to practice my English even more
when I came to California in2014.
My family and I had justreceived our green cards and I
was super excited for theopportunity.
And I was super excited for theopportunity.
I wanted to practice my Englishmore on a daily basis, just by
(15:01):
conversating with people.
I didn't have that opportunityback in Lebanon because nobody
would conversate in English.
So when we came to Californiato visit my uncles, I also
started seeing anophthalmologist in the
University of California in LosAngeles, you know and we're
(15:22):
going to go back to this in abit, I guess but I was kind of
like the interpreter between thedoctor and both my parents,
since they didn't speak English.
I started my role as a15-year-old believe it or not
and, other than justinterpreting, I got the chance
to conversate with my cousins,learn new things from them in
(15:47):
terms of slang language that'sused here in the US, learning
new idioms and more sentencesand new vocabulary that I wasn't
aware of or didn't know before.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Well, no, I definitely commend you in terms
of taking it upon yourself tocontinue growing in that aspect,
acknowledging that there wasmore to learn and then you
taking that initiative to dowhatever you needed in order to
continue growing and developingthat, because oftentimes,
(16:20):
perhaps, many think that there'sonly one way to develop a
language, which is perhaps in aformal setting and if, for
whatever reason, that is noteasily available, that might shy
people away from pursuingsomething that they want, and
you're a perfect example of thefact that it's not necessarily
(16:41):
the case.
While you did have a formalsetting in the background, for
instance, it sounds like youknow, as you're growing up,
elementary school, your primaryyears you felt like the actual
true development came fromelsewhere.
So it could be a combination ofthings and, as I mentioned,
(17:02):
I've had guests that have sharedthat they learned the language
watching their favorite Englishspeaking shows.
So there is something there.
Having heard a few stories likeyours about learning the
language via television shows orprograms, I want to go back,
ahmed, to your childhood againwith regards to your specific
(17:23):
condition.
So bring us back to the momentthat you can remember about how
you started learning thatsomething was happening with
your vision that something washappening with your vision.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
I'd like to start when I first noticed that I did
actually have something wrongwith my eyes before more serious
symptoms started to appear.
I think it mainly started inschool, where, for the whole
year, I was always sitting onthe desk that was in the center
of the class and the front row,while my other classmates would
(18:05):
switch their seats or theirdesks every month or every two
weeks or so.
Another thing is that, okay,yeah, I was in the front row in
the center of the class andthere was this wide grain
chalkboard that was in front ofme, but I couldn't see clearly a
(18:26):
hundred percent of what was onthat board unless I walked up to
it or I carried my desk and putit like one or two or three
feet away from it, and sometimesI'd ask the teacher to write in
a bigger font or biggerhandwriting so that I'd be able
(18:47):
to see more clearly.
And then there was therealization that I'm probably
the only student at school withthis kind of condition, that I'm
probably the only student atschool with this kind of
condition.
Then, when I was entering myteenage years I was about to
turn 13.
(19:07):
My vision took a huge downslide.
I was actually wrestling withmy cousin.
We were big wrestling fans.
He accidentally kicked my righteye and my retina detached.
Afterwards I couldn't seeclearly with that eye.
(19:28):
I was having double vision toan extent and there was a lot of
blurriness.
So we had to do a surgery toput the retina back in its place
.
Unfortunately, the surgerywasn't successful and I lost
vision in my right eyecompletely because the pressure
(19:48):
just went to zero and my righteye started even deflating.
It didn't look normal and fastforward.
Four years after that I wasdoing okay with my left eye.
Vision was good in.
It hadn't changed.
(20:10):
My main goal was to preserve itand make sure that it doesn't
get any worse.
But one night, just three daysafter my junior year in high
school, I was just enjoying somePlayStation at night, having a
lot of fun.
Then I went to bed.
Nothing was wrong.
Next morning I wake up vision'stoo blurry, I could barely see,
(20:33):
and day by day it startedgetting worse.
So my mom and I came toCalifornia to see my
ophthalmologist and my symptomswere even worse then when I
arrived in California.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
About how old were you then, Ahmed?
Speaker 2 (20:52):
I was 17 when I had glaucoma.
It was a very painful andtraumatic experience.
I lost vision significantly inthat eye.
The doctors had to performactually three procedures or
three surgeries in one go.
They had to insert a drainagetube for glaucoma to stabilize
(21:18):
the eye pressure.
They had to put the retina backin its place because it had
detached as a result of the highpressure and a lot of blood
vessels had grown inside of myeye, blocking my vision.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
This was now the left eye correct.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
No, that was the left eye, the right eye.
Honestly, there was nothing wecan do for it and there was
nothing else that could happento it, given that it had lost
all of its power and all of itspressure.
Nothing else could happen to itby that point.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Talk to me before we continue.
As far as your experience wasconcerned, because these are all
things that are occurring onthe physical level, what was
going through your mind at theage of 17, with the possibility
of your eyesight being gone?
Speaker 2 (22:13):
A lot of things, a lot of things.
It was definitely alife-changing incident.
I started doubting how my lifewas going to continue.
I had my senior year coming upand that was going to be my last
year with all of my friends whoI'd grown up with for the past
(22:33):
15 years.
I seriously considered, with myparents, skipping that year,
but ultimately I decided not todo that because it would have
been heartbreaking for me.
I started asking myself, likeokay, even if I do get past high
school, how am I going tocontinue college?
What am I going to major in?
(22:54):
Is there a job that I can excelin and that, at the same time,
accommodate my new disability?
Will I even get married lateron because of this condition?
How is it going to be for mesocially?
How am I going to liveindependently and be able to
(23:18):
take care of myself?
So there was a lot that wasgoing on through my head.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Yeah, and at such a young age too, you were already
thinking about I mean future,future.
I recognize that at that stagein your teenage life,
particularly your last year ofhigh school, it's sort of the
thought of my real life quoteunquote is about to begin, and
then, in your particular case,you come across such a
(23:46):
life-changing moment that you'rehaving to think about all of
these other things compared to,maybe, just the thought of
finishing high school and whatcomes immediately after that.
You're dealing with some prettyserious thoughts there.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Exactly so.
After the procedure I had thesurgery I had at UCLA the doctor
told me it was going to take atleast a year for my vision to
go back to what it was, becausemy eye had experienced so much
trauma and it was a hard andlong surgery.
So he told me that he wanted tosee me after seven months from
(24:30):
the surgery date, so that waslike during the middle of the
school year.
I went back there.
My vision wasn't improving toomuch, it turned out.
I had scar tissues that wereblocking my vision in the eye.
I had a surgery done.
Uh, those scar tissues wereremoved and my vision
(24:52):
significantly improved, but itdidn't go back to how it was
before glaucoma.
There were still somelimitations, there was still
some blurriness, but it hadsignificantly improved to a
point where I could go back toreading with my magnifier and
even writing.
Those scar tissues wouldcontinue to resurface inside my
(25:15):
eye and would make my visionworse.
So we had to keep removing themuntil we got to a point where
we realized this isn't apermanent solution and every
time we do a surgery on the eyeit might get worse and there's
always the increased risk of theeye deciding to shut down after
(25:35):
so much trauma and surgery.
So right now my vision isn't atits peak or isn't living its
glory days.
It's okay right now I couldstill see.
Thank God for that.
But there's a lot of blurrinessthere.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
So you're in California, at UCLA, with an
ophthalmologist team, or a teamof ophthalmologists there that
are working with you.
What inspired you while you'rethere?
Pre-recording you had mentioned, you know, there was a, there
was sort of an inspiration for apotential profession while you
(26:18):
were going through this series.
So talk to us about thoseexperiences and and even the
experience of you as a teenageinterpreter for your parents in
that setting.
What was that?
Speaker 2 (26:30):
like During my teenage years and when I was
frequently visiting UCLA, Iaspired to be an ophthalmologist
just like the one I was seeingbecause he was so good at his
job.
And ever since I was young, Ihad a passion for medicine.
(26:52):
I had a passion about learningabout the human body.
Trust me, when I was still inschool, I would just love
biology classes.
I loved those a lot and I atthe time had made up my mind
like, okay, when I grow up, I'mgoing to be an ophthalmologist,
(27:12):
just like my doctor.
That was before glaucomahappened and even when I used to
go there with my parents and Iinterpreted for both them and
the doctor.
It was also an amazingexperience for me because I got
(27:33):
to learn new medical terminologyin both languages and at the
same time I got to expressmyself in both languages.
And every time I would visit adoctor not necessarily the same
ophthalmologist I kept seeing,but I would see several doctors
(27:58):
ophthalmologist I kept seeing,but I would see several doctors.
And when my parents were withme and they would see me being
able to conversate with them ata high level and not having even
an accent and being able tointerpret for my parents they
were really impressed,considering I was only 15 at the
time when that started, so itwas something that I was proud
of and something that motivatedme.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
That's so excellent.
Yeah, I mean I can only imagine, because obviously, when it
comes to specialty areas in thehealthcare setting, the
terminology can get prettycomplex.
Yes, and so here you're talkingabout an appointment in which
(28:44):
there is a specific conditioninvolved and there are very
specific procedures involved, soit sort of gives you a lens in
terms of, like, you mentioned atopic that you really enjoyed,
and enjoyed because you werereally interested in that, and
(29:06):
then another one thatpotentially you didn't know you
enjoyed, or maybe you did, waslanguage, and so it was like an
overlap, it seems right, ofthese two things that really
interested you, which is just aninteresting way of seeing how
sometimes things sort of workout in your favor without you
(29:30):
even realizing that that'swhat's happening.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
Exactly.
In hindsight I feel like I gotthe best of both worlds, even
though at the time, interpretingwasn't even a thought in my
head, even though I was doing it, but of course not at the
professional level that we do itat now.
I still didn't know like thecodes of ethics or standards of
(29:55):
practice and all of that, but Iwas doing a really good job.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
So at some point down the line you go through a
specific program in which youmeet a teacher that becomes
pretty influential in a point ofyour life.
Walk us through what occurredwith this particular teacher.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Walk us through what occurred with this particular
teacher.
So after a glaucoma and aftergraduating from high school, it
was time to start thinking aboutuniversity, but I hadn't
decided what major I was goingto pursue or what university I
was going to go to.
On rehabbing after glaucomaboth from becoming independent
(30:53):
and from a mental standpoint ofme, just having to come to terms
with this is how my vision isgoing to be for the foreseeable
future, and I have to live withit and adapt to be as efficient
as much as I can.
So when I decided to just focuson rehab and my mental health,
there was one of my uncles toldme about a rehab center for
(31:18):
blind and visually impairedindividuals in the capital of
Lebanon, beirut.
We went there.
I met with the president and itturned out that the vice
president there was actually anEnglish literature instructor at
the Lebanese AmericanUniversity.
That university is consideredthe second best in Lebanon and
(31:43):
one of the best in all of theMiddle East.
She discussed with me my futuregoals.
What do I aspire to be as aprofessional?
She asked me that question andI didn't know how to answer.
She gave me some time to thinkabout it.
(32:03):
I went back home.
I was thinking about it.
Then my mom all of a suddensaid you know, you're pretty
good with English and you'regood with Arabic.
Why don't you become atranslator?
I was surprised that it nevercrossed my mind and, like,
translation as a career isn't asstrong as it is here in the
(32:27):
United States and other parts ofthe world, so I was reluctant
to pursue it at the time.
But then I was like, mostprobably I'm just going to
continue my life in the UnitedStates anyway, considering I
have a green card, so why not gofor it?
So I told the instructor that,the vice president, that this is
(32:47):
my decision I'm going to pursuetranslation.
She helped me by helping meapply for the English entrance
exam that I needed to do andpass to get into that university
, and I prepared for it.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
And I prepared for it .
Speaker 2 (33:41):
Thank God, I passed it and I was able to enroll in
later stage a formal educationalsetting.
What were some of thosechallenges that you're seeing
now, older and with perhaps moredifficult situation with
regards to your vision?
Something exciting for me and abit scary at the same time
Because, like you mentioned, Iwas entering a new setting, a
new world.
It was totally different fromthe concept of school, where I
was going to meet a lot ofpeople from different
backgrounds and from across allthe country potentially from
(34:14):
across all the countrypotentially and I probably I was
probably the only student atthe time with a condition like
the one I had.
So it was going to be achallenge for me in terms of
being able to navigate thecampus on my own.
By that I mean getting fromclass to class, building to
building.
Also, how was I gonna writedown notes?
(34:38):
Like I couldn't do what I wasdoing in school, where I would
just take my friend's notebookand make photocopies of it,
right, and how are my examsgoing to be like?
So those things were sort ofunprecedented before me, but
(34:59):
there was a student who wascompletely blind and she also
studied translation at thatuniversity and she set the
standards a little and helpedthem establish new rules to
accommodate people with a visualimpairment or blindness.
(35:19):
When I came and it was my turn,I built on what she had done and
continued that, Like, forinstance, at the beginning I
asked the administration forpermission if I could bring my
personal driver with me ontocampus so he could show me my
(35:39):
classes, teach me how to getfrom point A to point B on
campus, tell me, like, whichspots to avoid on campus and
which ones are safer for me towalk on.
And there were also somechallenges in class at the
beginning, Like, for instance,the student who came before me.
(36:04):
She would use her laptop torecord every single thing that
was being said in class andafter that happened, she would
go back home, listen to therecording again and write down
notes.
To be honest, I did do that atthe beginning, but that was too
exhausting and time-consuming,so I ultimately decided to just
(36:26):
start writing notes down on thespot as I was in class, and that
made things easier for me.
But the other thing is I didn'thave screen reading softwares
like I do here in the US, sotests and exams were very hard
for me in terms of reading,finishing on time and not being
(36:49):
exhausted quickly.
Screen reader would have helpedme tremendously and I strongly
believe would have helped me geta higher GPA, but that wasn't
available at the time and nobodyhad experience with, or even
knowledge of, screen readers.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
Ahmed, I want to take us now to the point where you
complete your studies right, andI just want to highlight that
this was translation studies inthe program.
At some point, you decide thatyou want to of defined your
choice to also look intointerpreting, and then what
(37:34):
steps did you take in order toget started on that side of the
profession?
Speaker 2 (37:40):
Absolutely.
I love that.
When it comes to interpreting,actually, I didn't know the
difference between interpretingand translating before I got
into university.
What made me decide to go fortranslation, or just like
(38:02):
translation and interpretationin the first place was the oral
aspect of interpreting ingeneral, like I don't have to
strain my eyes with reading,writing or looking at a computer
screen to read something, butit was just mainly listening and
speaking and interpreting.
(38:22):
When I was in Lebanon, um, whenI was in, when I was in lebanon
, there was no university that Iknew of that had an
interpreting program.
There was one, I think, but it,uh, it was very far from where
I lived and, um, I didn't thinkit was a valuable option for me.
(38:44):
So so I just settled fortranslation.
Now, fast forward, after Igraduated and came here to the
States, I had to do vocationalrehab.
Of course, I wanted to learnhow to live independently and
take care of myself without anyassistance.
So while I was at the rehabcenter, we would have a career
(39:07):
counselor where I would have aone-on-one session with her
twice every week.
So we talked about our goal, mygoals, and I tried translation,
and for me it felt a bit boring, honestly, just sitting looking
(39:29):
at a piece of paper or adocument for a good time and
translating it into anotherlanguage by writing or typing uh
, it didn't just, you know, feelnatural to me.
Um, it didn't feel excitinginterpreting.
Interpreting, however, was theopposite.
I got to interact with peoplethe whole time.
(39:50):
I got to speak.
I get to go to places likehospitals and other facilities,
so that was more adventurous andexciting for me.
Before going to the rehab center, I looked up and did some
research on the Internet, likewhat's it going to take for me
to be an interpreter here in theUnited States?
(40:11):
And it turns out I had tobecome nationally certified as a
healthcare interpreter.
I did mention that goal to thecounselor and we started working
on it.
So after my rehab was over, Ienrolled in two medical
interpreting courses.
One was for standard medicalinterpreting, the other was for
(40:33):
an advanced level.
I learned a lot from thosecourses in terms of the
interpreting standards, thecodes of ethics, a lot of new
terminology in both languages,and afterwards I set my sights
on becoming nationally certifiedby CCHI.
(40:56):
So it was a journey.
To get that certification, youknow, we have to do like the
core CCHI test, then theperformance test where we have
to actually interpret bothconsecutively, simultaneously,
and then side translation.
So that was the first step forme, and during that time I was
(41:22):
also freelancing as aninterpreter.
I was going around hospitals inthe Detroit metro area
interpreting for providers andpatients.
It was super fun for me andeven I did conference
interpreting at a school at onepoint.
That was at the beginning.
That was quite the experienceas well.
Speaker 1 (41:43):
Yeah, I actually want to sort of go back to the fact
that you, at this point, how toadvocate for yourself with these
different organizations thatyou were having to work with,
(42:15):
such as the online courses orCCHI, for someone that maybe is
in a similar position such asyours.
Walk us through how youadvocated for yourself.
Now, with a little bit moreexperience working with
individuals that didn't know howto appropriately offer
(42:37):
accommodations for a diagnosis,such as yours, walk us through
that experience.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
Absolutely.
When I was at the rehab center,we had sessions where we
learned how to advocate forourselves as blind and visually
impaired people, not just on thestreet or in a store, but also
in our workplace or even in aneducational setting.
(43:06):
For me, when I enrolled inthose courses, they were online
courses and so there wasn't toomuch to be worried about had the
(43:29):
finals, since we were takingmedical interpreting.
We also had to take anatomy andphysiology classes, but the
challenge for me was they wantedus to memorize the body parts,
memorize how they look, theirlocations, because during the
finals they were going to bringus diagrams and photos of those
body parts and we had to labelthem so they could see if we did
(43:50):
actually memorize them and knowthem.
That was very hard for me andalmost impossible.
I spoke with the coordinator.
I explained my situation to herand, to her credit, she was
very thoughtful andaccommodating.
She told me you know what?
Just skip those questions inthe exam and you'll do a role
(44:13):
play test with one of ourinstructors and we'll consider
it.
You know, grading you on thatbasis instead of just labeling
pictures.
Speaker 1 (44:24):
So that was a great workaround in terms of being
able to find some sort ofaccommodation for your specific,
different ability right.
So that's great, because what'sdemonstrated is the advocacy
piece right being able toactually say something and it's
so great to hear that in thisparticular program they gave you
(44:48):
those tools to be able toadvocate for yourself.
It sort of reminds me oftraining for interpreters, when
we're basically teachinginterpreters how to advocate for
their roles for themselves aswell, Just giving them those
tools to be able to do so whenthe situation arises.
(45:09):
So you end up doing your CCHIand at some point you decide
what with regards to theprofession, Fast forward to now.
Where are you currently withregards to interpreting and the
profession?
Speaker 2 (45:27):
Right now I'm doing two things I have a full-time
job as an over-the-phoneinterpreter and also I recently
started my own business, andit's a translation business and
I'm working on improving it andmaking it go global.
(45:49):
I have those aspirations andambitions and I'm taking it step
by step.
I named the business or companyA-plus Translations, where the
name, I think, speaks for itselfthat we provide high quality
and excellent qualitytranslations.
(46:09):
Just by looking at the A+, solooking at the landscape, when I
was making the decision tostart this, I saw that in the
translation and interpretationfield it's a bit different from
other professions where you haveto mostly rely on freelance
(46:33):
work and attracting a hugeclient base to have a reliable
source of income in the long run.
Having full-time jobs oremployment opportunities on a
full-time basis for interpretersand translators is just, I
think, starting to develop atthe moment.
But in the grand scheme ofthings, I think it's, all in all
(46:57):
, a freelance kind of job andyou have to build yourself from
the ground up if you want to besuccessful and at the top of the
industry.
Speaker 1 (47:08):
I find your story, ahmed, very inspirational the
fact that at a very young age,you came across some pretty
serious challenges that perhapsfor many individuals, it would
have been a challenge thatultimately decided their fate in
(47:30):
terms of just aspirations andbeing to be able to overcome
challenges.
Or even if we don't overcomechallenges, we learn to navigate
(47:57):
around them, and you're a greatexample of someone that not
only navigated around theirchallenges, but you also
basically added more justaspiration.
You were thinking ahead.
It wasn't like you just said aslong as I get here, I'm done
and I'm okay.
(48:18):
That's it.
I'm just going to get this far.
You continued creating morethings, more opportunities for
yourself and simply learning tonavigate that, and I think
that's such an inspirationalstory for anyone, regardless of
whether they share the sameexperience as you or simply come
(48:40):
across some specific challenge.
It's a great demonstration, Ithink, your story of resilience,
of being able to pursue as longas you're clear in what it is
you're pursuing, being able topursue despite of what's in
front of you.
(49:03):
We close, having taken all ofthese experiences now through
your life's journey and whereyou are currently, what would be
something that you would liketo share with our audience as
far as a takeaway that you wantthem to remember.
Speaker 2 (49:21):
I would say this nothing is impossible for those
who believe and focus on theword believe, because you have
to start by believing inyourself, believing that,
despite what's happening in yourlife, you can do what you want
to do.
You just have to believe inyourself, believe in the process
(49:45):
, believe in the vision or goalsthat you set for yourself.
Don't let anything hold youback.
At the end of the day, nobodysaid life was going to be easy.
And those people who you seeare successful out there, most
of them had to go through a lotof struggles and hardships to
(50:06):
get to where they are.
Like the old saying goes,nothing beats hard work.
But on top of hard work youhave to add resilience and inner
strength to continue tonavigate through whatever
challenges that come your way.
And I think, and inadvertently,I've always had that belief,
(50:31):
that mindset, ever since I waslittle, because, even as a child
, my childhood wasn't easy,never mind my vision and the
difficulties or challenges Ifaced academically.
But also let's take intoaccount the social aspects of
(50:52):
things.
I want to briefly tell thestory of myself when I was in
first grade, of myself.
When I was in first grade, wehad a GE or sports class and
usually us boys would playsoccer or football.
Almost every time I wasprobably the last person the
(51:13):
other kids would pick on theirteam.
There was one time that nobodypicked me me and I was upset
about it, even though I was agood soccer or football player.
I asked them you know, whydidn't you pick me?
Why didn't anyone pick me?
They said we're worried thatyou won't be able to see the
(51:34):
ball or won't have enoughreaction time if we pass it to
you, because you can't see it,even though I could see
everything clearly to a certaindegree.
But they just didn't understandmy vision and that really hurt
me.
I ran away from everyone, Icried on my own and I thought
(51:59):
that life was going to be verytough for me and I wasn't going
to make it.
But then, being a young,cheerful me who was crazy, I
looked up at the sun.
I saw its bright light and Ithought that there's always
light in the darkness and Ichoose to be a light.
(52:21):
So I raised my fist towards thesun and I told myself that
someday, you know, I want tobecome a legend and I'll show
everybody at school I'm thestrongest ever.
That way, everybody will stopdisrespecting me and show me the
respect I deserve.
I'll show everybody thatthey've got a hero.
(52:42):
Fast forward to our graduation.
I was the first student in ourschool's history to receive the
Student of the Year Award and Igot a standing ovation not just
from my friends or classmates,but also from my teachers and
(53:03):
the parents attending.
And those classmates andfriends most of them were the
ones who doubted me when I wasyoung and I earned.
They appreciated me and theyrespected me.
At the end of the day, Powerfulstory.
Speaker 1 (53:22):
Offman, thank you so much for sharing that.
I absolutely believe that thatgave everyone that's listening
goosebumps and that absolutelybelieves that that had been the
case and you were so young then.
Again, a great demonstration ofjust resilience and what we can
do to change our own mindssometimes because sometimes it
(53:47):
is our own minds that is tryingto work against us and how we're
able to make that changementally in order to do things
differently so that we couldhave our own better results.
So thank you so much for havingshared that powerful story of
(54:07):
resilience and the ability forone to be able to change the way
that we are encountering theworld maybe, or maybe the way we
think we're encountering theworld.
Just making that change is soimportant the mental aspect of
it.
So thank you for sharing that.
If you could give individualsthat have a similar condition to
(54:34):
yours if not the same, if notthe same words of advice when it
comes to being able to eitheradvocate for themselves, or
maybe let's concentrate onindividuals that are also
considering becoming a languageprofessional in the industry
with a similar condition whatwould you recommend to them
(54:58):
specifically?
And then my other question iswhat would you recommend to
individuals, such as myself thatcan do something to create a
more inclusive environment forpeople with visually impaired
conditions.
Speaker 2 (55:17):
Those are very good questions to begin answering for
people who have a similarcondition to me and trying to
get into the language industryto become interpreters and
translators.
I would tell them that if youwant to do it, then go ahead and
do it.
(55:37):
You have to believe in yourselfand believe in the process and
the journey you're about toembark on.
If it's something that you like, something that you're
passionate about, do it.
And you have to, of course,advocate in yourself, because
this journey isn't going to beall flowers and roses.
(55:58):
It's important that, yeah, youdo advocate for yourself in
every aspect, whether it's atyour workplace, whether it's in
class, if you're takinginterpreting courses similar to
what I did with the coordinatorof the program I was in when I
was learning medicalinterpreting.
(56:18):
I was in when I was learningmedical interpreting and just in
general, like if you do getinto the profession and you have
an on-site assignment, you knowit's going to be an unfamiliar
territory for you, so you haveto learn how to ask for help
when you need it, if you want to, if you need assistance
(56:38):
navigating around the facilityor the school you're in, and in
terms of what professionals suchas yourself in the field can do
in general.
I think all of us together needto just start considering and
(57:00):
acknowledging that, yes, thereare interpreters and translators
who have a visual disability.
We have to start byacknowledging that and then we
need to think and startunderstanding how can we make
the playing field more equal,how can we provide these
(57:21):
interpreters and translatorswith tools that can put them on
the same competitive level astheir counterparts, like, for
instance, when it comes totranslation?
I think we are at a disadvantage, considering that almost all
the CAT tools that we know areinaccessible for translators in
(57:45):
terms of their incompatibilitywith screen readers like
VoiceOver, jaws, which is jobaccessibility with speech and
other screen readers.
So it makes it hard for us towork inside those programs or
those tools and it makes thetranslation process for us much
(58:07):
slower and it puts us at adisadvantage, especially if we
have a big translation projectswhere we have to translate at
least 5,000 words.
So the client in this case isgonna prefer someone who does
have access to those tools andknows how to use them.
So that puts us at adisadvantage and, in terms of
(58:29):
interpreting, I would mainly saythat the focus should be more
on on-job assignments in termsof like, let's say, at hospitals
or schools.
I would say maybe puttingBraille signs or Bluetooth
devices that we can utilize toknow where we're going to or
(58:53):
where we should go to.
That would make us moreindependent and rely less on
people who are at the setting.
Speaker 1 (59:01):
Excellent, Excellent advice.
Thank you so much, Ahmed, onceagain for the opportunity to
share your story on the Brandthe Interpreter podcast.
I very much hope that anyonelistening has enjoyed Ahmed's
story and, of course, if youwould like to connect with Ahmed
, I'll have all of hisinformation in the episode notes
(59:25):
.
Ahmed, are you anywhere onlinesocial media?
Do you have a website that youwould like to share with this
audience if they'd like toconnect with you?
Speaker 2 (59:33):
Yes, if anyone would like to reach me, I'm available
on LinkedIn.
You can also contact mepersonally.
Maria, I'll give you permissionto also provide that detail in
the notes.
I'm also on Instagram, but interms of a website, I'm still
working on developing thewebsite for my business at the
(59:55):
moment.
Speaker 1 (59:57):
Very well.
Well then, you've heard it here.
Folks, I'll make sure toinclude all the links to be able
to connect with Ahmed and ifthere's anything further that
you would like to ask, pleasefeel free to connect with him
directly.
Thank you so much, Ahmed, forthe opportunity once again.
Speaker 2 (01:00:15):
Thank you, Maria.
Thank you for having me.
It was really a pleasure and anhonor.
I really enjoyed it.
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