During its February 2008 meeting, the Board of Directors of the Carolina Association of Translators and Interpreters, hereinafter referred to as the CATI Board, decided to establish the "Learning the Ropes" (LTR) Program in an attempt to encourage translation and interpreting (T&I) knowledge exchange among CATI members. The goal of this Program is to promote the leadership of more experienced CATI members by making themselves available to student members or less experienced CATI members who are presently working or are planning to work in the fields of translation and interpreting.
LTR intends to serve as an informal safety net for beginners in the fields of translation and interpreting.
LTR participants include the coordinator: a focal point of contact for this initiative, mentors: CATI members with a minimum of 5 years of T&I work experience, who are willing to share their time and wisdom with individuals recently initiated into the professions of translation and interpreting and mentees: CATI regular or student members in need of professional support.
Program Implementation
LTR shall abide by the following high-level guidelines:
- Sandra Aidar-McDermott has been appointed coordinator for LTR by the CATI Board.
- The coordinator will oversee the mentors and, if necessary, manage their assignment to the mentees.
- The coordinator will keep a record of all mentor/mentee partnerships and report this information to the CATI Board on a quarterly basis.
- A request for mentors will be forwarded to the membership. Any experienced CATI member, see above under “Mentors,” will be encouraged to become a mentor. Once approved by the coordinator to become one, the mentor will remain in this capacity for at least 1 calendar year.
- Depending on the demand for mentors, a request for additional mentors will be broadcast to the membership twice a year.
- The mentor will provide the mentee with advice on: real-life professional situations, educational opportunities, networking contacts as well as helpful hints and tips.
- The pace and exchange of communications in the mentor/mentee relationship, as well as its duration, will be ultimately agreed upon by each individual partnership. As a guideline, this mentor⁄mentee relationship should last a minimum of 6 months and could be carried out virtually.
- Partnerships will be encouraged to share their experiences with the membership through the CATI Quarterly, Annual CATI Conference or any other channel of communication deemed appropriate by the CATI Board.
- The mentor will not be held liable, or in any way responsible, for any consequences arising from the advice provided to the mentee. All advice is offered in good faith.
CATI Members interested in participating in the Learning the Ropes program as a mentor or mentee should contact the LTR Coordinator Sandra Aidar-McDermott
Disclaimer: The above information intends to set the boundaries for the “Learning the Ropes” Program; however, the information contained in this document isn't comprehensive and does not cover all the situations in a mentor⁄mentee relationship under LTR. Anybody who willingly participates in this program does so in good faith and at his⁄her own risk.