Jackie Batista was born and raised in New York City. As a child, Jackie’s mother was
sadly diagnosed with cancer. At the time, no interpretation services were made available, and
Jackie had to serve as her mother’s interpreter at doctor’s appointments. Jackie’s mother
eventually passed away from the disease, but a drive to help and interpret was instilled in her
after this hardship. Today, Jackie is a Spanish interpreter for Compass Interpreters, a division of The Center.

Jackie moved to Utica in 2011 and became an interpreter for Compass Interpreters in
2014. When Jackie found out about interpretation opportunities, she knew that it was the right
job for her and wanted to use her Spanish language skills to prevent another child from having
to deliver medical news to their parents like she had to. Jackie was nervous that one thing could
stand in her way — her blindness. Jackie is blind, and, because Compass Interpreters had never
employed a blind person before, she worried that they might not be able to accommodate her
disability. Despite these fears, Compass Interpreters hired Jackie, noting her language skills
and personal experience.

According to Jackie, every interpreting appointment has been an adventure. From
hospitals to jails to home visits and more, Jackie has been across the Utica area offering her
services. Recently, she became a certified medical interpreter and has accomplished her goal of
interpreting for medical appointments so a client's loved ones do not have to. She considers
Compass and The Center family and even credits a recent increase in vision post-surgery to the
prayers of her coworkers.

First and foremost, Jackie loves her work because she is there to help people. She
understands how devastating and difficult a language barrier can be and knows that everyone
deserves respect regardless of whether they can speak English. She uses her skills as an
interpreter to help advocate for Spanish-speaking immigrants and refugees at appointments.
She hopes to keep up with the ever-changing language of medicine to provide the best
interpretation possible to clients during difficult times, and to perhaps work toward learning another
language.

Jackie has found Utica to be a very accepting place for refugees, immigrants, and
people with disabilities. She notes that trust is important when blind. Jackie feels confident that
she can put her full trust in the people of Utica and her Compass Interpreters colleagues. She
urges others to put their trust in the services that she and her fellow interpreters of Compass
provide and to know they are not alone.