We recently connected with Marixendra Alvarez and have shared our conversation below.

Marixendra, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

I found a problem and wanted to solve it. The only way I could do that it’s by obtaining those credentials. I knew I needed to obtain my medical interpreter certificate and my court certificate. So then, I took the courses and completed them. Then I thought I wanted to do it for other interpreters as well. That idea in mind was what first started the concept of CJS translation services. I wanted to do what others had turned a blind eye to. That was to provide training to interpreters working for our agency prior to their first assignment. So our vision as a company is to provide professional qualified interpreters who will make a difference to the integrity it holds to provide efficient and quality interpretations across all fields. Connecting organizations and individuals and advocating for our community. I believe in improving patient care, and I believe in the power of education and knowledge. Once I had formed the company, our team, and our training. Then we started looking for clients. In the first months, we started with one client, and now closer to a year, we serve several clinics and lawyers in Wichita, KS. Our most recent accomplishment is being under contract with the City of Wichita Municipal Court.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Who is Marixendra Alvarez? I am a professional freelance translator with a passion for serving those with barriers to the English language and with devotion to making a difference. I have years of experience Interpreting for medical, court, and personal settings as a freelance interpreter. Soon to be a BYU graduate in Business Management and a mother of 3 kids, who are the inspiration for the name of the agency. CJS stands for my children’s names: (C)esar, (J)udilena, and (S)ebastian followed by Translation Services, as it is most commonly known to all people of different backgrounds when referring to Interpretation or Translation. They are my inspiration in everything I do. When I am not outgrowing my business and training our interpreters, I am attending community events and volunteering with non-profit organizations. I like meeting new people and contributing back to my community.

What sets us apart is our vision and mission- CJS Translation Services, LLC aims to provide trained interpreters in all languages that will efficiently interpret meanings and be a voice for all LEP (Limited English Proficiency) individuals. My goal is to have certified interpreters throughout the medical and law field. I am beyond proud and honored to be a pioneer in providing training and certification for both medical and legal to all interpreters in-house. We are passionate about what we do, and it really hits a soft spot the integrity it holds to be that communication link and doing it the right way.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Due to things in life, I had no choice but to assume the role of a single mom. And I’m not telling this to throw a pity party. Nor to share how hard it is to be brave and multi-task both work and this life thing. Not to share how hard is to add on top of all this my persistence to keep trying to study a few credits at a time, so I can maybe graduate with my oldest son with my undergrad. But to get to the core of my story, and why each achievement in the birth and growth of this agency means so much to me. I have been faced with many challenges to name a few:

1. Little to no support for a start-up company to offer my training/certification workshop
2. Being seen as a Risk to others not addressing the problem
3. Not being a professor or having any training whatsoever in teaching

All of these challenges were solved by being persistent and having faith in creating a better quality service for the very difficult task of being an Interpreter. How it all started was by putting myself through a 40- Hour Medical Course, and then assembling my very own medical workshop in-house. This set the foundation of this agency, my vision is to start with the one thing no one had ever done in more than 20+ years of serving the local area. What is more astounding is that no one had really recognized this big issue. Can you imagine getting a communication need (Interpretation) by someone who has no idea what they are doing? Only sent out to service based on the fact that they are bilingual. Medical interpreting goes way beyond just being able to speak both languages, there is terminology, Code of ethics, and Standards to be learned. I started giving these workshops from a home office, and then at a reserved conference room. As it is very challenging to finance this course as a start-up. We now count more than 20 Interpreters who have completer our course and are certified. The clients I serve love the idea of getting quality professional services, from certified interpreters. We are now serving clinics in the area, lawyers, and most recently the Municipal Court. We are very excited about the future of CJS Translation Services, LLC, and the collaboration with many non-profits who support our beliefs.

How did you build your audience on social media?

This was a no-brainer I wanted to be able to direct traffic to CJS Translation Services, LLC page on Facebook. So what I did is created a regular Facebook account and named it CJS Interpreting, where I could add friends I knew, met or wanted to connect at some point. Then send them an invitation to like my Facebook page. The other thing i did when opening all social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok is to create the same handle. It is just easier to direct people to all social platforms and be found with one name.

The other very important piece is to create content, I shoot for daily as possible, but at least twice a week. There’s so much going on in our community, that a simple share doesn’t take long. So I take the opportunity to post important events and information to help my community.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cjsts.net
• Instagram: @cjstranslationservices
• Facebook: @cjstranslationservices
• Linkedin: @cjstranslationservices
• Twitter: @cjstranslationservices
• Youtube: CJS Translation Services
• Yelp: CJS Translation Services, LLC

Image Credits
Credits to Marixendra Alvarez and Syed Bari