Kyler Johnson
Co-president
Bursting with energy and passion, Kyler Johnson has the goal to bridge the world together through the power of language. For the Translate Iowa Project, his language of translation will be Portuguese, although he is also a student of Mandarin, German, and French. A writer, a linguist, and a hopeful future educator, he seeks bursts of adventure in a life of continuous reflection and learning.
Sophie Perez
Co-president
Sophie Perez is a third-year Screenwriting Arts major and also is pursuing minors in Cinema, Spanish, and Translation. She mainly studies Spanish, but she was also exposed to Portuguese growing up as well. Translation is important to Sophie because she feels it unifies us and is how cultural, social, and language barriers can be addressed and crossed. She loves to write screenplays, plays, and poetry. In her writing, she is most inspired by nature, her life experiences, and music.
Carmela Furio
Translation Coordinator
Ciao a tutti! I’m sophomore at the University of Iowa studying publishing and Italian. I have a strong love of the Italian language, despite it's many articles, as well as all things literature and publishing. Translation is especially exciting as it merges these. If interested, you can find me speed-thinking (read: walking with my music too loud) around the Iowa River. Outside of translation and publishing, I enjoy writing too-personal essays and jamming to songs I don't know the words to. For this, I highly reccomend CL, Priestess, and Fall Out Boy.
Valerie Burke
Translator
Valerie Burke is a third-year English and Creative Writing major following her passion for writing. Missing the language that reminds her of home and her family, and wanting to get involved with campus organizations, Valerie joined Translate Iowa to be exposed to languages again. Her translation language is Spanish.
Meet Our Team
Courtney Cooke
Translator
Courtney Cooke is a second-year studying English and Creative Writing. She is interested in translating to and from Japanese because it is part of her lineage. The challenges of the language are what make it beautiful. Some of Courtney’s favorite things are dogs, the color pink, and the BabyStar ramen snacks.
Antoinette Rose Goodrich
Translator
Antoinette Rose Goodrich is a fourth-year student at the University of Iowa majoring in English and creative writing and Spanish as well as pursuing minors in translation and gender, women, and sexuality studies. She thinks translation is incredibly powerful, and loves to write, translate, and combine her two passions whichever way she can. Whenever she has time, she enjoys playing board games with her friends, choreographing color guard routines, and discovering new books and tv shows. More than anything else, Antoinette loves her dog, Helios.
Sophie Granger
Translator
Sophie Granger earned her BA in French Language and Literature in May 2020 and has since returned to the University of Iowa to finish out a BS in Biochemistry. She absolutely loved being a part of the Translate Iowa Project and contributing to the 2017 Boundless publication. She is beyond excited to have the opportunity to jump back in, read and translate unique and powerful works, and continue to help maintain linguistically and culturally inclusive platforms at the University of Iowa.
Rain Hurst
Translator
Rain Hurst is a senior at the university and a double major in French and English And Creative Writing, along with a minor in Translation for Global Literacy. She enjoys nature-themed poetry, all things cats, and etymology. Her favorite fiction genre is horror, and she is a big fan of shows directed by Mike Flanagan. In their free time, they are learning Czech, so they hope that next year, Czech will be available for Boundless!
Tessa Ramsden
Translator
Tessa Ramsden has been learning Chinese since she was five years old. She is really proud that this is a part of her life, and is excited to put her bilingual skills to good use! As a freshman, her favorite part of being on campus is all of the different people she has met, some of them through TIP. 谢谢你们让我翻译你的写作! Thank you for letting her translate your writing!
Marissa Schooley
Translator
Marissa Schooley is a fourth-year student double majoring in International Studies and Chinese and minoring in Translation. A lifelong passion for books and language has brought her to the University of Iowa to study translation, which she hopes to apply to a future career in literary translation.
Elisa Torres
Translator
Elisa Torres is a sophomore majoring in Cinema with a minor in International Studies. She recalls that her first story was The Little Headbox, a story that she wrote on her dad's office when she was 7. Eleven years later, she strives to write her own literary work, whether it be a novel or a poem. She loves chocolate, especially Nutella, and her lucky number is 1981.
James Transue
Translator
James Transue is a third-year Creative Writing major with a minor in Spanish. His translation language is Spanish: he was inspired by two excellent high school teachers to continue speaking and writing in Spanish and to continue seeking fluency beyond graduation. James believes translation is one of the most fascinating and valuable skills writers have and that it is an art in and of itself. When he's not developing his skills in that art, he's at home in central IL playing with his dog, Phoebe.
Raquel Valladolid
Translator
Raquel Valladolid is a third-year student studying Spanish and English and Creative Writing. Her translation language is Spanish, which always she forgets is her first language, and practices it anytime she can. She loves reading, writing poetry, cooking for her friends, and taking aimless walks around downtown. In the future, she hopes to be an editor or a translator, so she can help people communicate better with others.
Mizuki Wittmer
Translator
Mizuki Wittmer is a fourth-year student majoring in Environmental Science and Spanish doing translations in Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. Translating has been an important part of her life, especially since she has been surrounded by multiple languages both inside and outside of her home. Some things she enjoys doing in her free time are hiking, photography, and visiting parks.