Make-A-Wish Idaho, a nonprofit that provides meaningful experiences for children facing life-threatening medical conditions, recently partnered with 22 students from Boise State’s Spanish 381 Introduction to Court Interpretation class to translate 30 forms and documents into Spanish.
The organization’s forms had been available only in English, limiting the number of families who could use Make-A-Wish services.
The students translated the documents free of charge. Instructor Fatima Cornwall from Boise State’s World Languages Department approved the translations that had been proofread by other students.
“You are truly making an immediate impact on our local wish families,” Sarah Baynes Shinn, Make-A-Wish president and chief executive officer, told students. “The need for translated documents is a pervasive need throughout the Make-A-Wish enterprise as a whole. Your work will help children here in Idaho, but will also be shared with other Make-A-Wish chapters to help us communicate with wish kids across the U.S.” Students reflecting on this community-based experiential learning opportunity said:
“I value the experience I gained through this project that was uniquely allotted through my college coursework and appreciate that I could be of service to my community,” said student Ashley Potzernitz.
Student Erik Guerra agreed that the project was meaningful because of its real-world application, connecting people to services they need.
“This project was beneficial to my learning and my community; something that one doesn’t get from being in college that often. Hopefully, future students who take Spanish 381 will have the opportunity to do this kind of project, whether it’s for organizations like Faces of Hope, Fair Housing Act attorneys or other groups that provide services to underserved communities in our state.”