Selene Zapata turns bilingual skills into a career in language access

Selene Zapata, a communications consultant and translator at Columbia Basin College in Richland, Washington, is being featured for turning nearly three decades of bilingual work into a mission of language access and community support. Her story highlights how interpretation, mentorship, and education can expand opportunity for students, families, and multilingual communities.

Why it matters: - Selene Zapata’s work shows how language access can affect education, family services, and community trust. - Her career highlights the growing need for trained interpreters and translators in multicultural communities. - Her path also underscores how bilingual professionals can help people navigate systems that are often difficult to access in one language.

What happened: - Zapata is a communications consultant, translator, and interpreter with nearly three decades of experience serving multicultural communities. - She now works as a Communications Consultant and Translator at Columbia Basin College in Richland, Washington. - Influential Women is featuring Zapata for her career in language access and advocacy. - Zapata is fluent in English and Spanish. - She has built her career around helping students, families, and organizations overcome communication barriers.

The details: - Zapata spent 16 years as a paraprofessional translating Individualized Education Plans and supporting students and families across multiple school districts. - She later expanded into interpreting and translation work for Child Protective Services, the Department of Social and Health Services, and Labor and Industries. - Her areas of practice include English and Spanish interpretation and translation, educational translation, language access services, community outreach, ESL support, interpreter training, and cultural competency. - Zapata earned her bachelor’s degree while raising three sons as a single mother. - She said she arrived in the United States without knowing the language, learned it over time, and later returned to school after an earlier college path was interrupted by immigration circumstances. - She had earned a full scholarship after high school but could not attend college right away. - Zapata credits her parents for teaching her the value of hard work and sacrifice. - Her stepfather raised her and her siblings as his own and worked in the fields every morning to support the family. - Zapata made sure her sons earned college degrees, and she completed her own degree as well. - A middle school ESL teacher helped her see bilingualism as a strength rather than a limitation. - Linda Roberts, one of the founders of the Student Leadership Program for Migrant Youth in Washington State, helped introduce Zapata to leadership development and college opportunities. - Zapata has volunteered for more than a decade as a chaperone and mentor with the Student Leadership Program for Migrant Youth. - She says her work is grounded in gratitude, perseverance, service, and appreciation for the sacrifices others made for her.

Between the lines: - Zapata’s story is as much about mobility as it is about language skills. - Her career reflects a broader shift in which bilingual workers are increasingly central to public services, education, and family support. - Her emphasis on cultural context and ethics suggests that translation work is not just technical. It also requires trust, judgment, and empathy. - Her mentoring work shows how personal experience can become a pipeline for helping the next generation enter the same field.

What's next: - Zapata hopes to start her own interpreting and translation company. - She also plans to mentor future language professionals. - She expects demand to keep rising for skilled interpreters who combine fluency with cultural competence. - She says the future of the field depends on professionals who can make people feel understood, respected, and empowered.

The bottom line: - Zapata turned personal obstacles into a career centered on access, advocacy, and opportunity. - Her work continues to help families and students communicate more clearly when the stakes are highest. - More information is available through Selene Zapata's Influential Women profile.