How a basketball game in China changed this SHMS student’s life course

Sometimes we never know where life will take us. Incredibly, Jessie found that her skills in English and international experiences combined with her hospitality studies has placed her in a role she could never have imagined for herself. In between her studies at SHMS Jessie works as the Official Translator for the Jiangxi Women’s Tennis Open in China.

How did she land such a role and where does she hope it will take her? Find out in her interview below.

How did you originally become a translator?
Last year there was a basketball game in my home city in China. Canada was playing against the Chinese team and there was a dispute between the Chinese referee and the Canadian coach over a call that was made. There was a translator at the match but he was not able to express clearly the arguments from each side. I was in the audience and couldn’t hold myself back. I stepped in and assisted with the translation solving the dispute. Following this, the Basketball Tournament invited me to be the approved translator for their organization.

How did this lead to the role with the Jiangxi Women’s Tennis Open?
As my reputation as a translator got around, I was recruited by the Jiangxi Women’s Tennis Open as the English Host and Translator.

 

“Next year the tournament is expected to grow and I have been offered the role of Official Translator of the Tournament with my own team that I will recruit. I will translate during the live press conferences and interviews on television.”

 

What qualities will you look for in your recruited team of translators?
I am looking for strong English skills paired with international experience. It is important that the volunteers have had exposure to different accents and have some familiarity with cultures outside of China. Secondly I would like my team to have a strong concept for service.

 

“I will be looking to recruit my classmates from SHMS next year as translation volunteers, as I can be confident that they will have all of the skills I am looking for.”

 

How has your Swiss hospitality studies helped you as a translator?
Learning the Swiss approach to guest satisfaction has helped me in my role as a translator. In my work, I implement a customer service attitude to ensure that my clients are satisfied with the translation experience every step of the way.

How do you prepare as a translator for a tournament?
Google! I spend a lot of time searching for past press conferences with the players in order to get used to their accents. To give you an idea of how much time it takes, I actually spent an entire afternoon listening to one 5-minute interview of Serbian tennis champion Jelena Janković before I worked with her.

What is your biggest challenge as a translator?
One of the biggest challenges is being put in potentially awkward situations when translating for a reporter that has clearly not prepared. I remember an interview with Janković where the reporter was asking a question about Serbia that was a bit insensitive. I look at my role as a cultural ambassador in addition to being the translator and adjusted the question ever so slightly to make sure she would not be offended.

Do you dream of becoming a full time translator after graduation from SHMS?
I think translation will be a part of my life on a part time base only. It would be too exhausting to do this full time!

 

“My dream is to work for a 5 star hotel in my home city in China. But first I hope to gain a bit more international experience in different parts of the world.”