Rodriguez, Stephanie A.Lives in Translation (LiT) is a community-based interpreting and translation program at Rutgers University-Newark, educating and training undergraduate students through a combination of structured coursework and experiential internships. LiT’s pedagogical model combines theoretically informed coursework with experiential learning through structured, community-based internship placements. The present study provides the first empirical evaluation of the LiT program, reporting findings from a survey completed by 18 undergraduate students who participated in semester-long internships involving Spanish interpreting assignments with community partners, specifically focused on public service interpreting. The survey assessed students' overall satisfaction with the academic program and internship, and their development of professional and performance skills through self-assessments. Results of the quantitative analysis show high student satisfaction with the overall academic program and, more specifically, internship experiences. Students reported significant perceived growth in competencies essential to effective public service interpreting, particularly in consecutive interpreting and management of professional boundaries. These findings underscore the value of integrating strategically designed coursework with experiential learning in public service interpreting, offering an adaptable model for institutions aiming to effectively prepare qualified public service interpreters and address growing multilingual demands in their communities.application/pdfhttps://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/latic/article/view/39101engDepartment of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting, Ionian Universityhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0Copyright (c) 2025 Stephanie Rodriguez2241-7214International Journal of Language, Translation and Intercultural Communication2241-4304International Journal of Language, Translation and Intercultural Communication; Τόμ. 9 (2025): Special Issue on Public Service Interpreting: Paving the Way to Social Justice Through Professionalization (Early Access)International Journal of Language, Translation and Intercultural Communication; Vol. 9 (2025): Special Issue on Public Service Interpreting: Paving the Way to Social Justice Through Professionalization (Early Access)public sector interpretinginterpreter trainingmultilanguage interpretingcommunity interpretingPublic Service Interpreter Training: Evaluating the Experiential Learning Approach of the Lives in Translation Internshipinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion2025-04-02Δημοσίευση σε περιοδικόPublication in journalΓλώσσα και ΓλωσσολογίαLanguage and Linguisticsisi - Language & Linguistics covers resources relating to theoretical, literary and historical linguistics as well as stylistics and philology.isi - Linguistics covers resources relating to all theoretical and applied aspects of linguistics, including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. The category also includes resources dealing with language as a social phenomenon such as sociolinguistics, language acquisition and education, psycholinguistics, computational linguistics, corpus linguistics, semiotics and the relationship between memory and language.Επιστημονικό άρθροScientific articleΤμήμα Διοίκησης Επιχειρήσεων/Τεχνολογικό Εκπαιδευτικό Ίδρυμα ΗπείρουGreek Aggregator OpenArchives.gr | National Documentation Centre (EKT)