ITI Profile: Clarisse Tchatchou Student

I settled in the UK 18 years ago, and for over a decade, my life was mainly focused around nurturing my family — I am a single mother of four children aged 17, 14, 9 and 7. However, my multilingualism (I am fluent in French and English) offered a natural way into translation and in 2020 I decided to enrol in a degree course, so I could gain professional qualifications and thereby embark on a career and earn a living through translation.

I have just completed my BA Translation studies at London Metropolitan university with a first. While studying I discovered a real passion for transmitting knowledge, which has led me to pursue an MA in translation next academic year, and hopefully a PhD in the future. 

I joined ITI because our lecturers told us about the importance of professional bodies who are devoted to establishing the translation profession. I was very fortunate that my university offered free Student membership for a year, but when it came to renewing it was clear there were many benefits to continuing with my membership.

Being an ITI member has given me access to a lot of different resources (the webinars and training sessions are particularly useful) and these contribute greatly to my CPD. Additionally, the opportunity to join my local network and the ITI French Network (which I joined recently) has been a great way of getting the support I need to step out in the industry confidently after graduation.

I am keen on specialising in literary translation, but at the moment I am still exploring different areas of specialisation to be able to make an informed decision.