CAPSTONE PROJECTS FOR THE MINOR IN TRANSLATION STUDIES: INTERVIEW WITH OLIVIA ALGE

The Minor in Translation Studies gives undergraduates at the University of Michigan an opportunity to explore translation from multiple perspectives, as a movement between languages, media, disciplines, and cultures. 

Students who choose the minor come from a wide range of departments, and they complete a capstone project that allows them to engage translation in various literary and professional settings,including internships, community outreach, and creative collaborations.  

In a series of interviews conducted by the Department of Comparative Literature, students describe their unique capstone projects. They explain why they are interested in translation, how they developed their interests through the capstone project, and what they learned from the experience.  

Olivia Alge ’17 (BS, Informatics) found a way to integrate her studies in computer science with her passion for language. Her capstone project was a paid internship through Lakeside Software Company, where she translated software strings from English to Spanish. As she developed skills in technical translation and technical writing in Spanish, she was able to apply what she had learned in her translation classes to her methods of translating. Throughout her undergraduate studies Olivia also enjoyed participating in the annual U-M Translate-a-thon, and she plans to continue working on literary and technical translations while pursuing her Master’s Degree in Bioinformatics at Michigan.