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Lalita Lawrence
NAATI Certified Thai-English Translator and Interpreter
Hi! My name is Lalita Lawrence or Gade (Thai nickname). I’m a Thai-English interpreter translator certified by NAATI (National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters) in Australia. Here’s a bit about my history in terms of education and work experience and how
I ended up becoming an interpreter and translator today.
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I have enjoyed learning the English language since I was in junior high school. I didn’t just like English, I liked studying other languages too. Back in those days, there was no internet (at least where I was). I used to exchange letters with penpals and get really excited when I received letters from them. It was a hobby that made me very happy. Not long after that, when internet became available, I began writing to penpals via email. Nowadays, I’m still in contact with 2 of them. When we were kids, we used to talk about what we wanted to study and what our dreams were. Now we have all grown up, have our own families and have continued to be friends without ever having met each other!
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When I was in high school, I used to absolutely love listening to English music. I only understood it partially, but I enjoyed transcribing songs and then looking up vocabulary in a dictionary. When I was in high school, I enjoyed studying with foreign teachers, as I got to practise my English with native speakers. I liked to practise speaking English with them, sometimes finding an excuse to talk with them. I liked learning English idioms and watching TV programs that taught English. I have a very good memory, so I have memorised a lot of vocabulary over the years. From a primary school kid who disliked studying English, I became one of the top students when it came to English subjects (and also others). I graduated high school from Sacred Heart Convent School and received an academic award as the first runner-up in my field.
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I always did well at school but I really started putting an effort into studying in high school, so I was always in the top two in my classes. When I got into high school, of course I chose to specialise in languages (English-French major). I participated in the national entrance examination, like many other students, and my final scores ranked high enough to get into the Faculty of Arts at Chulalongkorn University (one of the top universities in Thailand). However, I decided to accept a full scholarship from Assumption University (originally Assumption Business Commercial College - ABAC) to also study in the Faculty of Arts, majoring in Business English. While studying, I was also an English tutor and engaged in some translation work. As I achieved a high GPA, I was automatically permitted to enrol in an extra subject each semester, which allowed me to graduate within 3.5 years from a 4-year program. Apart from graduating early, I also graduated with Summa Cum Laude (First Class Honours) with the highest GPA amongst 1,000+ other graduates within the faculty. I felt so proud and it was well worth the hard work.
Before graduating from ABAC, I sent resumes to all the embassies I wanted to work for. After my graduation, I was shortlisted for a job interview at the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok in February 2006 and was successful in obtaining the Political and Public Affairs Assistant position. Approximately one year later, I wanted to pursue my studies in Criminology, so I began doing some research on the topic. I decided to undertake a Master of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Griffith University in Australia and graduated in 2009 with Griffith University’s Academic Award of Excellence.
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After graduating from Griffith University, I worked for an organisation dealing with child protection matters. Through my role, I dealt with a lot of court orders and family court matters as well as liaison with government agencies. After that, I continued working in the industry in a government organisation responsible for juvenile criminal justice, in a role similar to a Probation and Parole Officer, managing children’s cases. I took time off for a while after having my first child and started a small kids clothing business, selling online and at markets (I had A LOT of fun!) When my daughter was a bit older, I returned to work for the same government organisation but, this time, I started in a juvenile detention centre. I worked in various settings: detention, community, watchhouse and court. I took on various roles to gain additional experience and my last secondment was heavily involved with the courts. With the years of experience working in the industry, I have accumulated not only a knowledge of legal terminology, but also of the Australian criminal justice system.
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Despite all of the above, I knew it in my heart that I wanted to be my own boss, running my own business. Because of this, and a number of other factors, I decided to look into obtaining NAATI certification to become a NAATI certified translator and interpreter.
Nowadays, I absolutely LOVE what I do. I enjoy both translation and interpreting. With translation, it constantly challenges your brain and you always learn something new. Knowing the languages isn’t enough to be able to translate. You have to understand the topics well to translate properly. For instance, if you want to translate a document on business and investment, you have to undertake research on the topic, as different fields have their own specific terminology. With respect to interpreting, I feel a sense of fulfilment and contentment because I get to help people. I am an interpreter because I really love the job. Every time I complete an interpreting assignment, I feel good and happy.
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For my life outside work, there isn’t much apart from my family. I have 2 beautiful daughters, aged 10 and 1, and one husband. They keep me really busy 😊