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COMMUNITY OUTREACH TALK

COMMUNITY OUTREACH TALK

April 10, 2023

Dr. Alicia Rita Rueda-Acedo

Associate Professor of Spanish Translation and Literature at The University of Texas at Arlington

Successful community outreach: how to incorporate community translation and service-learning in language courses

This presentation explores the impact that incorporating service-learning and community translation has for language students seeking to develop professional experience before graduation. Furthermore, it explores how this experience is very rewarding for faculty, community members and partners, and students alike allowing them to have professional experience before graduating and impacting their surrounding community.

Different examples on how to create and implement service-learning components and internships where community translation and experiential learning opportunities are provided to students will be presented to demonstrate how these activities evoke sympathy and discussion among students and diverse community members, a feeling of belonging, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility.

Different collaborations with community partners such as Proyecto Inmigrante, a non-profit organization for immigration counseling and legal representation services, or Stories to Our Children, a program sponsored by the Arlington Public Library to promote literacy and family storytelling among Latino families, will be described. A curricular model that could be beneficial for other institutions to implement will be presented.

Dr. Alicia Rita Rueda-Acedo is an Associate Professor of Spanish Translation and Literature at The University of Texas at Arlington where she created and directs the Spanish Translation and Interpreting program. She received her Ph.D. in Hispanic Language and Literatures from the University of

California, Santa Barbara, and she holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Seville and a B.A. in Translation and Interpreting from the University of Granada, Spain. Dr. Rueda-Acedo is the Community Outreach Coordinator for the Department of Modern Languages and the recipient of the College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Teaching Award in 2014. She was inducted to the UTA Academy of Distinguished Teachers in 2015 and named 2016 College of Liberal Arts Professor of the Year on behalf of the Arlington Sunrise Rotary Club. In addition, she received a Certificate from the House of Representatives of the State of Texas in commemoration of receiving the Excellence in Higher Education Award from Arlington Sunrise Rotary. She received the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2020, and she was selected the UTA Piper Professor Nominee in 2021. She received the UT Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award in 2021. Dr. Rueda-Acedo has published widely on 20th and 21st century Transatlantic Literature, on topics such as literary journalism, women authors, and history. She is the author of Miradas Transatlánticas: el periodismo literario de Elena Poniatowska y Rosa Montero (Purdue UP, 2012). She integrates community translation/interpreting and service learning in her courses. Her students regularly collaborate with several organizations, including with Proyecto Inmigrante, Stories to Our Children (Arlington Public Library), Children’s Medical Center Dallas, Genesis Women’s Shelter and Support, Toys for Tots, Human Rights Initiative, etc. Mentis profile: https://mentis.uta.edu/explore/profile/alicia-rueda-acedo

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