Student-Run Group Helps Local Residents Who Lack English Fluency
By Melissa Newcomb
It may be a Spanish speaker who needs help navigating a doctor’s appointment, a Korean-born couple attending a parent-teacher conference, or an immigrant from Ukraine aiming to access local food resources. Whatever the scenario, Cornell’s Translator Interpreter Program is ready to help.
Known as TIP, the student-led social justice organization trains and coordinates multilingual volunteers who provide translation and interpretation services throughout the local community, free of charge.
A student presents in front of a smart board to other students sitting around circular desks during an info session.
A training session for students aiming to become interpreters.
“I’m an immigrant myself, and trying to navigate something that’s not in the language you normally speak can be very vulnerable and isolating,” says Amy Kim ’28, a global and public health science major in CALS who’s both a co-president and a Korean-speaking volunteer for the group.
“What we do is beyond simply translating; it’s offering reassurance and comfort that they can advocate for what they need.”