Could you tell us a bit about your professional background?

After graduating in Modern Languages and Linguistics (with German and Italian) at the University of Salford in 2004, I moved to Vicenza, Italy where I taught English at a language school for a few years before moving to America in 2009. Vicenza is also where I first started my translation journey, I worked on various projects which at one time took me to the car show in Bologna which was a great experience for someone just starting out! I have been working as a freelance translator, proofreader and QM ever since on a practically full-time basis and this year joined the Institute of Translation and Interpreting as an affiliate member with the aim to further my career.

What services do you provide and in what areas?

I provide translation, proofreading and quality management services from German/Italian into English currently in the field of clinical trials but would love to expand this to other areas in the near future. I also work with machine translation technology on a daily basis and consider myself to be very confident with this new development.

What makes you stand out?

I consider myself to be a very client-oriented translator being well-versed in complying with client style guides and glossaries and I always put the client first. I pride myself on being very meticulous and always strive to deliver the best translation possible in terms of both content and presentation while staying true to the source text. My many years of experience have equipped me with the knowledge necessary to perform my role well and as a translator I appreciate the importance of keeping my knowledge and language abilities up to date.

What do you like most about your job?

Obviously, I love working with languages, but I also enjoy the flexibility this job offers, meaning that you can work while also having time to do the other things you love. It also opens you up to different worlds that you otherwise wouldn’t have access to if you didn’t speak those languages, like foreign language books, films, tv etc. It never stops being special to me.

What do you do when you’re not working?

A lot of my time is spent on ‘mum’ duties as I have two very active boys and two dogs. We are lucky to live in the country and quite close to the beautiful Norfolk beaches, so we spend a lot of time walking and exploring the countryside. Lockdown led us to discovering geocaching and, dare I say it, Pokémon Go which we dabble in from time to time! We are also a family of swimmers, both boys swim competitively and I am a qualified swimming official, so I get to officiate at their galas which I love!

What’s your favourite part of East Anglia?

This is tough but I love the beaches, there is something about walking along the beach at the far end of Great Yarmouth or Winterton and being followed by the seals watching you from the sea that is just so special. There is also a vast amount of history in the area and wherever you go you can get glimpses of the past. We are lucky to have a very beautiful and varying coastline, it’s definitely a must for anyone visiting the region!