Editor’s Note:
This is a Web exclusive that works in tandem with the Last Word column that appeared in the print edition of Dickinson Magazine this spring.

The Last Word

Choice College, Choice Career

By Matthew Rodano ’93

Looking back at the choices of colleges I could have attended, I would choose Dickinson all over again. I always was intrigued with the politics, history, art and culture of Europe, especially with that of Italy. I was elated when I discovered that Dickinson had everything that I was looking for in a college education—extensive language courses, study-abroad programs and a renowned political-science department. And with the emergence of the European Union, I knew by the end of my freshman year that I wanted to double major in international studies and Italian.

In my junior year, I studied at the Dickinson Center for European Studies in Bologna, Italy. It was the most enriching experience of my life. It opened my eyes, mind and soul to a whole new way of living, fostering a deeper level of understanding and respect for other cultures. I immersed myself in the Italian language and became fluent to such a degree that I had difficulty speaking English when I returned to the United States. In addition to my extensive travels throughout Italy, I seized upon the opportunity to further broaden my understanding of European culture and history with excursions to France, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands. After my study abroad program ended, I remained in Bologna, for the summer, and worked at Longari & Loman, an international advertising agency, as a market researcher and translator from Italian into English.

Upon graduating in May 1993, I set out to find a career that would utilize my linguistic capabilities and analytical skills. For the first year I had difficulty finding the right career that was going to suit my needs. I worked on a six-month project for the Italian Vice Consulate and even taught entry-level Italian, but I always wondered if there wasn’t something more that I could be doing with the tools that Dickinson gave me. As luck would have it, my life changed in an instant when I responded to an ad in The New York Times for an entry-level position with a start-up translation company.

Now here was an industry that was, if you’ll pardon the expression, “foreign” to me. I was hired as an account executive responsible for the initial growth of the company. During my six-year employment I helped grow the company from four employees to more than 100, with offices worldwide. I moved up in the ranks quickly to vice president of client relations at the age of 27, and the company became one of the fastest-growing translation agencies. But fast growth didn’t necessarily translate into long-term success. There was a high turnover rate at the company, and they were hiring less-than-qualified candidates to fill the employment needs. I felt that the quality of the work was suffering, so I decided it was time to leave.

I took some time off between careers but always knew that I wanted to remain in the translation industry. That’s when a former colleague talked to me about the company he was with, LanguageWorks, and I was hired in September 2002 as director of business development. At LanguageWorks I am constantly being challenged. I deal with a variety of clients from such industries as advertising, pharmaceutical, financial, health care and information technology—each one requiring a customized solution to solve its specific requirements. I’ve had extensive experience managing multilanguage translations and typesetting projects, interpretation assignments, voice-overs for TV and radio spots, cultural consulting and Web localization projects. In addition, I collaborate with the president of LanguageWorks, Kevin Rees, and various vendors in the creation, writing and design of the company’s marketing materials. It’s a company poised for growth, and it is staffed with (I believe) the best linguistic professionals in the industry. Everyone here is very knowledgeable; in fact, on average, a LanguageWorks employee has five to seven years of industry experience.

Being in the translation industry for seven years has taught me a great deal. Not only am I able to use my Italian and analytical skills, for which I am extremely indebted to Dickinson, but I’m now able to proofread and comprehend additional languages, such as French, Spanish, Portuguese and others. I wanted to be challenged, to constantly expand upon my linguistic and analytical skills. Being in the translation industry, especially working for such a dynamic company as LanguageWorks, has met my needs. But I will always remember that I would not have gotten where I am today if it wasn’t for Dickinson College—it will always be a part of my life.

Matthew Rodano ’93 is director of business development for LanguageWorks. To read an essay by his colleague Dina Paglia ’94 about her experience at Dickinson and in the translation business, see page 48 of the spring issue of Dickinson Magazine.

For more information on their company, go to: www.LanguageWorks.com.