I am a Translator and Interpreter for the Austin Independent School District in Austin, TX, and the sole proprietor of Melissa González Translation Services.
I was born of Peruvian parents in the US, but grew up in Venezuela. I also lived in Sweden and speak Swedish. I have studied Chinese, French, Japanese, and Turkish. In 1999 I graduated Cum Laude and Valedictorian with a BA in Mass Communications from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Caracas, Venezuela, and returned to the US to obtain an MA in Writing from the University of Texas at Austin with a minor in Latin American Studies.
I have worked as a news reporter and cultural promoter for university newspapers. I also worked as a TV screenwriter in Venezuela, and as a proofreader in the US.
I had the opportunity to serve Spanish-speaking populations as a translator and interpreter at a shelter for victims of domestic abuse, at the Red Cross of Central Texas, and worked for 8 years as a bilingual teacher serving economically disadvantaged children and piloting the dual language program. I worked as an English as a Second Language teacher at my local church, and as Chair of International Liaison at the Red Cross International Festival in Austin, TX.
I finally decided to start my own translation business, and making good use of my close relationship to the field of Medicine throughout my life (many of my relatives are doctors, including my father), I chose to specialize in the Medical field and started working as a Medical Interpreter at Seton Healthcare Network in Austin, TX. After a few months I became certified by the American Translators Association as an English>Spanish Translator. I was promoted to Sr. Interpreter in the Children's Comprehensive Care Clinic, and a couple of months later I was awarded by the National Board of Medical Interpreters the credential of Certified Medical Interpreter - Spanish. Later, I became a Sr. Interpreter in charge of Language Access for all of Seton's Clinical Enterprise.
I am also a staff translator for a blog on spinal cord injury and stem cell research. I then obtained my ATA Certification as a Spanish<>English translator, being now certified both ways in this language pair. In 2017, I decided to return to the Education field, and accepted a position with the local school district as both a translator and interpreter.