Retired military officer wins translation prize at McGill
After a 24-year career in the Canadian military, Hélène
Desnoyers was awarded the McGill Associates Prize in Translation
(English to French) at the 2008 Spring Convocation. This prize is
awarded annually to the student with the best academic record over
the entire Certificate in Translation Program.
Desnoyers’s career in the armed forces began after her graduation
from the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean in 1985. Having
served some time as a Public Relations Officer and Official
Languages Coordinator during the early days of her career,
communication and language were clearly never far from her
concerns. This trend continued on through her last posting with the
Canadian Forces Management Development School, where she was
involved in the delivery of management and business planning
courses.
Her recognized competence in both official languages led her to
work on translations of specialized texts in a variety of areas
including aircraft maintenance, business planning and leadership
development. In addition to that, Ms Desnoyers found time to
volunteer her services to charitable organizations by translating
advertisements, website information and promotional
materials.
With that experience under her belt and motivated by a love for
words, Desnoyers enrolled in McGill’s translation program in
January 2005.
Some three and a half years later, her experience, her mastery of
English and French and her new-found translator competence have
allowed this dynamic retiree to embark on a new and promising
career path.
“Desnoyers’s commitment to bilingualism and professional
communication are the characteristics that, when coupled with
translation competence, set apprentice translators like her apart
as valuable players in Canada’s rapidly expanding language
industries”, commented Translation Studies Director, James
Archibald.
Ď㽶ĘÓƵ offers a Certificate and a Graduate Diploma in
Translation for apprentice translators interested in the language
professions.