School Outreach

See the Benefits of School Outreach

ATA's School Outreach Program encourages professional translators and interpreters to share their passion for language with students—in person or virtually.

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Attention Teachers and Students!

ATA provides resources to help students of all levels discover the exciting and rewarding careers within the language industry.

Virtual School Outreach

Watch this video to see a sample presentation for students, teachers, and parents to learn about careers in translation and interpreting.

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Ready for School Outreach?

You can easily request a School Outreach presentation for your classroom, either in person or virtual.

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School Outreach Contest

Giving students a peek inside the profession is fun and rewarding. By sharing your story, you could win a free registration to the ATA Annual Conference!

2021 School Outreach Contest Winner: Majlinda Mulla-Everett

The winner of ATA’s 2021 School Outreach Contest is Majlinda Mulla-Everett, an Albanian, Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian, and Macedonian interpreter. In June 2021, Majlinda presented a weeklong class to students at Portland High School in Portland, Maine. When she submitted her photograph and story to the ATA School Outreach Contest, Majlinda shared the following details: “I…

2020 School Outreach Contest Winner: Giovanna Lester

Giovanna won the contest for her virtual presentation to students from Farmington R7 School in Missouri. She spoke to the 22 students aged 8 to 14 through the school’s language and culture program. A passionate veteran of ATA’s School Outreach Program, Giovanna has a long history of presenting at her daughter’s schools over the years.…

2019 School Outreach Contest Winner: Denise Fisher

ATA Member Denise Fisher, a Japanese<>English interpreter and translator based in Orient, Ohio, is the winner of this year’s School Outreach Contest. She won a free registration to ATA’s 60th Annual Conference in Palms Springs, California, for her photo taken during a visit to the University of Michigan, where she spoke to graduate students in…

Jessica Sanchez explains the difference between translation and interpreting to students at Harrison Elementary School’s Career Day in Lexington, Kentucky.

2018 School Outreach Contest Winner: Jessica Sanchez

Jessica Sanchez, a Spanish interpreter and interpreter coordinator for the Fayette County Public School District in Kentucky, won a free registration to ATA’s 59th Annual Conference in New Orleans (October 24–27, 2018) through ATA’s School Outreach Contest. Jessica won the contest with a photo taken during her career day presentation at Harrison Elementary School in…

2017 School Outreach Contest Winner: Marybeth Timmermann

Marybeth Timmermann, an ATA-certified French>English translator, is the winner of the 2016–2017 School Outreach Contest. She won a free registration to ATA’s 58th Annual Conference in Washington, DC for an all-smiles photo taken during her presentation at Greenville High School in Greenville, Illinois, where she spoke to students in the school’s advanced Spanish class about…

2016 ATA School Outreach Contest Winner: Rika Mitrik

This year’s ATA School Outreach Contest winner showed her audience how language professionals can save the day! Rika Mitrik, a Japanese<>English interpreter and ATA-certified English>Japanese translator, is the winner of this year’s School Outreach Contest. She won a free registration to ATA’s 57th Annual Conference in San Francisco, California, for a colorful photo taken during…

2015 ATA School Outreach Contest Winner: Molly Yurick

ATA member Molly Yurick, a Spanish>English translator based in Oviedo, Spain, won a free registration to ATA’s 56th Annual Conference in Miami, Florida. Molly won the contest for the photo taken during her visit to the Instituto de Educación Secundaria Cuenca del Nalón in Asturias, Spain, to speak to students in the English/Spanish bilingual program.…

2014 School Outreach Contest Winner: Jenny Stillo

The 2014 School Outreach Contest winner was Jenny Stillo, a Spanish interpreter and translator based in Crested Butte, Colorado. Jenny took an interactive approach in her presentation including reenactments of real-life scenarios and a competitive game of Family Feud. Jenny is passionate about showing students the importance of bridging cultures and languages. “We need to…

2013 ATA School Outreach Contest Winner: María Elena Gaborov

A photo taken during a presentation at the University of North Carolina (UNC) won the 2013 ATA School Outreach Contest. María Elena Gaborov said that while she entered the contest wanting to win a free ATA Conference registration, the experience itself was more than worth her time. Her 20-minute talk stretched to 90 minutes as…

2012 ATA School Outreach Contest Winner: Birgit Vosseler-Brehmer

Birgit Vosseler-Brehmer, winner of ATA’s 2012 School Outreach Contest, recalls that the idea of speaking to an 11th-grade English class at the Kurfürst-Salentin Gymnasium was daunting. But she was committed to getting translation career information in front of the students. “I remembered myself when I was young and didn’t have enough personal input on choosing…

Want to enter the School Outreach Contest?

Enter the Contest

Want to offer a School Outreach presentation?

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The ABCs of School Outreach

Get tips on what to say and how to say it, customizable presentations, handouts for teachers, and ideas to go beyond the classroom.

Making the Grade

For each grade level, you’ll find scripts, slides, handouts, and exercises for making it fun and interactive.

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Get the Experience

Listen to members share their careers in classrooms around the world and get tips on winning a conference registration.

Earn ATA CEPs

Earn 1 CEPs for each 1-hour presentation, up to 10 CEPs for each reporting period. Refer to Category E: Volunteerism.

You may combine the total minutes of several presentations to reach the 1-hour mark.

Record Your CEPs

Why is School Outreach Important?

In classrooms from grade school to graduate school, you can find the next generation of language professionals and the next generation of clients. The more these future doctors, lawyers, and business owners know about our field, the more likely they'll appreciate the importance of our work.

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Prepare the next generation of language professionals and the next generation of clients.