Staff Writer
She had a good job and a house at the beach, but that enjoyable life began to fade away as the breeze from the Gulf of Mexico turned from pleasurable to unbearable.
Estela Mendoza has moved from her home in Pensacola Beach to Jacksonville to escape the smell of the Gulf of Mexico after oil spewed into the Gulf from the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion on April 20.
“With my allergies, I just couldn’t handle the smell anymore,” said Mendoza, who is a native of Cuba. “So, I put my house on the market and moved to Jacksonville.”
The move may have been made to improve her quality of life, but she believes it will also benefit her career as an interpreter. She is a certified court interpreter by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. She is one of two in Jacksonville to hold the certification, the other being Davor Zidovec.
Mendoza provides in-person and telephonic interpretation, translation of documents and presentations on reaching the Hispanic market.
“The requirements for federal certification are much more demanding than those for state certification,” said Mendoza. “Federal certification requires a superior knowledge, understanding and handling of both Spanish and English.”
Before moving to Florida for the warmer climate, Mendoza was the only federally certified interpreter in the 8th Federal Judicial District from 1999-2003. The district includes Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and North and South Dakota.
During that time, she also created Arkansas Interpreters and Translators Inc. and sold the business in 2007 to Interpreters Unlimited. During her ownership of the business, Mendoza was recognized with the Small Business Administration Arkansas Minority Small Business Person of the Year award.
She is excited about the opportunity to continue her business in Jacksonville.
“There is a larger Hispanic community here than in Pensacola and it continues to grow,” said Mendoza. “There is a constant influx of more people coming into the country, I look forward to serving the legal community.”
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