Meet Sonia Liza Williams of Global Translations & Interpretations Inc. in Boynton Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sonia Liza Williams.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Sonia Liza. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
After I graduated, I lived in SFO, CA and had the opportunity to freelance for different companies as an interpreter. One of my highlights in my career was interpreting for the Governor of Mexico when visiting former Mayor of SFO now, Senator Diane Feinstein. I worked for the Atlanta Olympics in Atlanta and freelance for different international companies doing translations and interpretations which gave me the opportunity to travel, which is another of my passions.

In 1996, living now in Boynton Beach, Fl. I decided to start my own company “Global Translations & Interpretations Inc.”. I hired several freelance translators and interpreters in different languages and started working for law firms, government agencies such as Social security offices, Children and Families department, Motorola, Deloitte & Touche, Unisys, Department of Revenue etc. Thanks to my team of interpreters and my hard work, my company was Awarded “Best Translation Agency” by the Florida Translators and Association then called FLATA. I started doing work in Florida only but after so many years I expanded my company and now we serve nationwide. We specialize in the legal field and do translations and interpretations in all languages. It has been 21 years of hard work but it is paying off. I am a workaholic and like to get involved in every project to provide my clients with excellent service.

Furthermore, I became a court certified interpreter in Florida when they started the certification here and I am happy to say the criteria to be a professional interpreter is more strict now in Florida now to keep the quality of the work. I am a member of ATA, NAJIT, ATIF, Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches etc.

Has it been a smooth road?
It was a long road to get where I am now and it was not easy. First of all coming from another country I had to adjust to the American culture. I miss my family a lot but I came with a mission to improve my knowledge in my career, to learn the techniques for consecutive and simultaneous interpreting so those thoughts kept me going.

When I was in Miami I had to work hard day and night in odd jobs to save money for my trip to CA, to continue my Master studies in my career, however I made good friends who helped me out along the way.

I also adjusted to the food since in Peru everything was fresh and made from scratch as nowadays in America. I remember when going to a supermarket how mesmerized I was looking at all the shelves and seeing how many choices I had for buying any type of food and how after getting home I opened a can of food to eat since I did not have enough money or time to cook, which I enjoy doing as well.

It was also hard having to do everything myself when I had help in Peru to do those things around the house for me. I had to use public transportation and I could not believe how much time it took from getting from one place to another. I think I really live the American dream of every person who comes to the land of opportunities and succeeded and I am grateful for that.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Global Translations & Interpretations Inc. story. Tell us more about the business.
Global Translations and Interpretations Inc. is a company that provides translations and interpretations services in all languages nationwide.

We specialize in the legal field doing work for attorneys, courts, immigration, public defenders, insurance companies, judges etc. We interpret for depositions, mediations, trials, examinations under oaths, immigration cases, etc. We also do interpreting for medical appointments, conferences where we provide simultaneous services, booths and equipment.

In addition we do certified translations in all fields and languages. We do also interpreting over the phone. Private individuals call us to help them translating different documents such as birth certificates, divorce decrees, marriage certificates that need to be done by certified translators.

We interpret for meetings, seminars and conventions. Furthermore we do transcription and translation of videos and audios in different. Languages.

What set us a part is that being a translator/interpreter myself I can help clients to explain what they need to do once they explain the service they are looking for. Also we guarantee our work by using professional translators and interpreters. Our rates are very competitive for this market and we are known for our accuracy, professionalism and punctuality. I am a very picky person so I think this is a must in this type of industry and that is why we won different awards.

Do you feel like our city is a good place for businesses like yours? If someone was just starting out, would you recommend them starting out here? If not, what can our city do to improve?
I think Florida is the best place for this type of business. Everyone knows how international it is and there are always clients needing help since they speak different languages. We are a melting pot. Also for conferences companies love to come to Miami because it is a beautiful and fun place for their clients so I would say definitely this is a great city for this type of business or any other international one. Also our hospitality set us apart.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.globalti.com
• Phone: 561-641-3973
• Email: globalti@aol.com
• Facebook: Global Translations & Interpretations Inc. @ globalti.inc
• Twitter: @ Sonia_globalti

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