My Profile as a Sworn Translator

Graduate Degree in Translation
(Spanish-German / English-German)

During my university studies leading to a Graduate Degree in Translation at the Departments of Romance Studies and English and American Studies of Humboldt-University of Berlin, I attended the specialised language subjects Law, Business and Politics. At the same time, I studied the complementary subject field Political Science, at the Department of Social Sciences, where I attended mainly modules of the International Politics teaching area. In April 2007, I completed my studies with a thesis in Linguistics: ‘The Representation of Homosexuality in Mexican Press: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Press Coverage of Mexico City’s Marcha del Orgullo“ (Scientific supervision: Prof. Dr. Gabriele Knauer. Qualification: 1.0).

I traveled, already during my university studies, for research purposes to Spain and Mexico and translated journalistic texts on a regular basis at Nachrichtenpool Lateinamerika (NPLA), a news platform on Latin America. After my university studies, my interest in the political processes in the countries of Hispanic America led me to the Centre for Research and Investigation Chile – Latin America (FDCL) and the editorial department of Lateinamerika-Nachrichten magazine, where I translated articles from Spanish to German and also wrote own articles.

In 2008, I was sworn in as a translator for Berlin courts and notaries public by the Regional Court of Berlin. Being a sworn translator for the language combinations Spanish-German and English-German, I am authorised to carry out certified translations. This includes a certification of the translations’ completeness and accuracy, providing them with my signature and seal. My certified translations are officially recognised in Berlin and any other German federal state, in many cases also abroad.

I held a permanent position as a German-Spanish and Spanish-German translator at the Consulate General of Venezuela in Hamburg until December 2009, where I acquired an extensive experience in translating documents and other legal and administrative texts. I have been a freelance translator for the language combinations Spanish-German and English-German in Berlin for more than ten years now, with a specialisation in the fields of document translation, Law and Political Science.

Since 2011, I have also been a member of the German Federal Association of Interpreters and Translators (BDÜ), the biggest professional association of interpreters and translators in Germany. The BDÜ not only provides me with information on current developments in our sector, but also allows for a steady interchange with colleagues and for further education. In order to keep myself up-to-date, I attend important educational events, such as the German-wide Conference on Language and Law, as well as courses on IT security and data protection or on specialist terminology of the various fields of Law.

Besides my university studies and my professional activity as a translator, I have always attached great importance to the commitment to human rights. For many years, I worked as a volunteer at the ‘La Tienda’ fair trade store, run by the Society for Solidarity Development Cooperation (GSE) in Berlin-Friedrichshain. Furthermore, I volunteered on a long-time basis for the German section of Amnesty International. I was the Co-Chairperson of Amnesty’s country-wide ‘Expert Commission on Gender Equality and Diversity’ and also organised several events as a member of the Berlin-based „Queeramnesty“ group. This included – together with TransInterQueer association – South African artist Gabrielle Le Roux’ exhibition ‘Proudly African & Transgender’ in Berlin.

I have been invited as a lecturer events about sexual orientation and gender identity in Latin America (Heinrich Böll Foundation, Berlin International Film Festival, Latin American Days Leipzig, University of Cologne, Georg August University of Göttingen).

In addition, I worked for three years as a teacher of German as a Second Language at the ‘Flucht nach vorn’(Education, Support and Counseling for young Refugees) scheme of the Social Pedagogical Institute ‘Walter May’ Foundation (SPI), certified by the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).