See the Benefits of School Outreach

ATA's School Outreach Program encourages professional translators and interpreters to share their passion for language with students—in person or virtually.

Attention Teachers and Students!

ATA provides resources to help students of all levels discover the exciting and rewarding careers within the language industry.

Virtual School Outreach

Watch this video to see a sample presentation for students, teachers, and parents to learn about careers in translation and interpreting.

Ready for School Outreach?

You can easily request a School Outreach presentation for your classroom, either in person or virtual.

School Outreach Contest

Giving students a peek inside the profession is fun and rewarding. By sharing your story, you could win a free registration to the ATA Annual Conference!

2022 School Outreach Contest Winner: Aída Carrazco

The winner of ATA’s 2022 School Outreach Contest is Aída Carrazco, an ATA-certified English to Spanish freelance translator based in Mexico. Aída spoke to 11- and 12-year-old students at Instituto…

Read More

2021 School Outreach Contest Winner: Majlinda Mulla-Everett

The winner of ATA’s 2021 School Outreach Contest is Majlinda Mulla-Everett, an Albanian, Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian, and Macedonian interpreter. In June 2021, Majlinda presented a weeklong class to students at…

Read More

2020 School Outreach Contest Winner: Giovanna Lester

Giovanna won the contest for her virtual presentation to students from Farmington R7 School in Missouri. She spoke to the 22 students aged 8 to 14 through the school’s language…

Read More

2019 School Outreach Contest Winner: Denise Fisher

ATA Member Denise Fisher, a Japanese<>English interpreter and translator based in Orient, Ohio, is the winner of this year’s School Outreach Contest. She won a free registration to ATA’s 60th…

Read More

2018 School Outreach Contest Winner: Jessica Sanchez

Jessica Sanchez, a Spanish interpreter and interpreter coordinator for the Fayette County Public School District in Kentucky, won a free registration to ATA’s 59th Annual Conference in New Orleans (October…

Read More

2017 School Outreach Contest Winner: Marybeth Timmermann

Marybeth Timmermann, an ATA-certified French>English translator, is the winner of the 2016–2017 School Outreach Contest. She won a free registration to ATA’s 58th Annual Conference in Washington, DC for an…

Read More

2016 ATA School Outreach Contest Winner: Rika Mitrik

This year’s ATA School Outreach Contest winner showed her audience how language professionals can save the day! Rika Mitrik, a Japanese<>English interpreter and ATA-certified English>Japanese translator, is the winner of…

Read More

2015 ATA School Outreach Contest Winner: Molly Yurick

ATA member Molly Yurick, a Spanish>English translator based in Oviedo, Spain, won a free registration to ATA’s 56th Annual Conference in Miami, Florida. Molly won the contest for the photo…

Read More

2014 School Outreach Contest Winner: Jenny Stillo

The 2014 School Outreach Contest winner was Jenny Stillo, a Spanish interpreter and translator based in Crested Butte, Colorado. Jenny took an interactive approach in her presentation including reenactments of…

Read More

2013 ATA School Outreach Contest Winner: María Elena Gaborov

A photo taken during a presentation at the University of North Carolina (UNC) won the 2013 ATA School Outreach Contest. María Elena Gaborov said that while she entered the contest…

Read More

The ABCs of School Outreach

Get tips on what to say and how to say it, customizable presentations, handouts for teachers, and ideas to go beyond the classroom.

Making the Grade

For each grade level, you’ll find scripts, slides, handouts, and exercises for making it fun and interactive.

Find All Resources

Get the Experience

Listen to members share their careers in classrooms around the world and get tips on winning a conference registration.

Earn ATA CEPs

Earn 1 CEPs for each 1-hour presentation, up to 10 CEPs for each reporting period. Refer to Category E: Volunteerism.

You may combine the total minutes of several presentations to reach the 1-hour mark.

Record Your CEPs

Why is School Outreach Important?

In classrooms from grade school to graduate school, you can find the next generation of language professionals and the next generation of clients. The more these future doctors, lawyers, and business owners know about our field, the more likely they'll appreciate the importance of our work.

Keep Reading