Meet Our Team: Maria Sanchez

Meet Maria Sanchez, Interpreting Project Manager for Language Network.

Maria’s first language was Spanish and she often acted as her parents’ interpreter growing up. She would interpret for them throughout daily life, even at school meetings. Maria remembers feeling awkward with the attention teachers placed on her at parent-teacher conferences, along with her ability to change the teacher’s feedback for her parents. She recalls times when she was able to tell her parents that her teacher was praising her when the teacher was actually trying to explain that she had been talking too much. She and her family were unaware of their right to language services and she has loved now being able to work in this industry, providing these services for others. Maria enjoys being able to bridge the gap for other families like hers. She has realized the importance of Spanish and works on keeping it up, always improving in order to better help her parents.

One of the things Maria is most proud of is her son and his outstanding character. She has been able to teach him some Spanish and decided to enroll him in a dual-language program at his school. Along with spending time with her son, some of Maria’s favorite things to do include DIY projects and gardening. She enjoys relaxing at home and getting creative, and absolutely loves plants! Like many of us at Language Network, Maria is also a big fan of coffee and finds it to be an essential part of her day.

She values kindness as one of the most important traits one can possess, and tries to always remember that she doesn’t know everyone’s story. She is careful to judge others’ reactions and opinions, realizing that there is a reason for everything that people do and think, and recognizing that she doesn’t always know or see that reasoning.