Around this time of year, it’s not a rare sight to see folks in a cap and gown posing for a photo shoot.
That’s because millions of students in the United States graduate from institutions of higher education each year. And on Saturday, nearly 300 graduated from an institution revered for its translation, interpreting, and localization programs (among others): The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS).
Here are just a few stories from the MIIS graduating class of 2023.
The keynote speaker at this year’s commencement was Uki Maroshek-Klarman, the executive director of the Adams Institute for Democracy and Peace (AIDP) in Jerusalem. In her address, Maroshek-Klarman drew parallels between both MIIS and the AIDP’s focus on international affairs.
“It is a tremendous honor for me to address you all today,” she said. “[In the weeks leading up to commencement], I was struck by the globally oriented school defined by its academic excellence, as well as by its values and guiding principles.”
Leanne Ong graduated from the school’s translation and localization management program on Saturday. Prior to coming to MIIS, she worked as a linguist in Antarctica — she came to MIIS with the goal of further developing her skills as a linguist.
Isela Mosqueira, who also studied translation and localization management at MIIS told MultiLingual that she plans to remain in Monterey with her family while working as a project coordinator at Mother Tongue.
In a post on Linkedin, recent grad Kyle Chow shared that MIIS helped him to both “discover the joys of localization” and to also “grow as a person,” thanks to his peers and educators who pushed him to “look inward and think critically.”
Maroshek-Klarman closed her address to the graduating class with a piece of advice: “If you want a different world, be the change and change yourself. It can be exhausting — and doesn’t always work — to maintain a critical eye. … Most importantly, do your best to preserve and conserve the principles of freedom, solidarity, and equality.”
To watch Maroshek-Klarman’s address and the 2023 commencement ceremony in its entirety, click here.
