ALUMNI INTERVIEW: ELEONORA MOLLOVA

1-Hi Eleonora. Good to see you. You graduated last year from the SCI at the Sofia University St Kliment Ohrisdki. Could you tell us more about you experience at SCI as a student?

 

Hi, it’s good to see you, too. I am glad to be here. I have wanted to be an interpreter ever since I got the chance to interpret for a tour group in Romania, when I was in the eighth grade. The tour guide spoke only in English and I remember at that time that my dad told me ‘Well, go on – interpret, otherwise, I am stopping your English lessons.’ And since this was my favourite subject at school, there is no need to say what happened next. So, in a way, SCI helped me to realize a lifelong dream of mine.

I picked this degree, because it is more practical in comparison with the other ones that are taught at the university. It really helps you to put the skills that you gain in practice. The professors are really helpful, they are always ready to answer all of your questions, no matter how trivial they might seem. Another thing that I enjoyed about this program was that we had the opportunity to visit the European Parliament and the European Commission, so it gives you a chance to really see how things are done in Brussels. Not many programs offer this nowadays. As a whole, I am really glad that I gave this program a chance. I met some wonderful professionals with whom I want to work in the future and I think that this degree also helped me to grow as a person. 

 

2-What does the diploma in conference interptreting represent to you?

 

This diploma is only the beginning of the road for me. It is the initial push that my career needed, but my practical experience has taught me that I still have much more to learn. At the same time, it is also one of the fruits of my labour. It is a reminder that a person can achieve anything, as long as they put their mind to it.

 

 

3-Tell us more about your professional carrer today? What do you do?

 

At the moment I am working for a translation agency, which has given me the opportunity to realize both my skills as a translator and an interpreter. I mainly interpret for the Ministry of Culture, the National Assembly, different ambassadors and events connected to Creative Europe, Europanostra and others. I have even had the chance to interpret during the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU. As a whole, each event for me is an opportunity to meet new people, to discover new possibilities and to enrich my language skills, as there is always some new terminology to learn.

 

4-In your view, what are the things that AlimniSCI network of professional conference interpreters can bring to the freshly graduated SCI interpreters?

 

I think that AlimniSCI can help novice interpreters like myself to get to know the guild better, to expand our connections and to help us learn about interpreting events near us and job opportunities. One of the problems among different professional communities nowadays is the lack of information. In my opinion, AlimniSCI is a chance to tackle such issues. At the university, you only speak with your professors and colleagues, whereas AlimniSCI gives you the opportunity to get to know your colleagues outside of this circle, to exchange tips, ideas and even speeches, which is great.

Before I go, I’d like to say that in my opinion, AlimniSCI is a wonderful project, I wish you the best of luck with this venture and I hope that we will have the chance to work together in the future as well.