TRANSLATOR/INTERPRETER

ABENET ESSAYAS

*** *. * ** # ***, Lompoc CA 93436

Cell: 571-***-****

e-mail: adzgq3@r.postjobfree.com

Language Skills: English <> Amharic ( Ethiopian)

English <> Tigrigna (Ethiopian & Eritrean)

PERSONAL SUMMARY: By profession I am a journalist, having obtained my BA degree in journalism from the University of Washington, Seattle. By birth, I am an Ethiopian. By nationality, I am an Eritrean which gives me the opportunity to speak, read and write well in both languages, Amharic and Tigrigna. In both countries, Ethiopia and Eritrea, I worked as a journalist and produced radio and TV programs in both Amharic and Tigrigna languages and was also the Editor of the English newspaper, The Eritrea Profile. I am, therefore, fluent in the three languages, Amharic, Tigrigna and English. In my capacity as a journalist, I had ample experience in translating and interpreting and therefore became a reliable & talented translator with a proven ability to translate written documents from a source language to a target language. I am also a good interpreter and have done so for several companies here in the US.Though I am currently a freelance translator and interpreter, my goal is to work as a translator/interpreter for a successful and ambitious company that offers great opportunities for career development and progression.

WORK EXPERIENCE: I am a member of the ATA (American Translators Association) and have been working as a freelance translator and interpreter for various companies and public schools, hospitals, charities and also individual clients for several years now. I have, therefore, been translating documents/letters from Amharic/ Tigrigna to English & vice versa. I also do review and proofread Amharic, Tigrigna and English texts. I do face-to-face and telephone interpreting. In my studies as a journalist, I had minored in English and I was chief editor of an English newspaper, the Eritrea Profile, which included retrieving articles from newspapers, magazines & the internet & translating them into Amharic and Tigrigna. I also used to translate the daily Eritrean newspaper to English from page to page for the Red Cross. I, therefore, have excellent English speaking and writing skills as well. Some of the few companies/agencies for which I did translations/interpretation this year in the US/Canada include: Consortra Translations, New York; Translations Links, Denver, Colorado; ION Translations, Berkley, California; Elite Translations, Ontario, Canada ; CulturalLink, Indianapolis, Indiana, Fox Medical Case Management, PA., Spring Institute, CO, The Bridge-WLC, MN, Nationalities Service Center, PA, Spanglish Bilingual Agency, Cumming, GA… etc

KEY SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES Familiar with translation software tools. Able to fluently speak, read and write Amharic, Tigrigna, and English. Excellent communication and social skills. I am Able to work to tight deadlines. Highly skilled in Word, Excel and Microsoft Outlook.

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS: BA degree in journalism from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

REFERENCES – Available on request.