Michelle Garay

INTERPRETATION AND TRANSLATION COORDINATOR
INTEGRATED COMMUNITY

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO

My name is Michelle Garay Born in Peru and raised in Colombia, I moved to the United States at a very young age with my family and got the chance to live and study in New York while growing up. I was raised by my grandparents, which took a spin in my life at such a young age because of how I saw my grandmother struggle with the language barrier. I soon realized how much I enjoyed helping those like my grandmother when struggling with communication and tried to incorporate the same passion into studying this profession of interpreting. I understood how much our people were battling with communication to express themselves. I saw that impact at an early age and so, I took it upon myself to dive into this profession wholeheartedly. I became a certified national Interpreter after finishing high school while working for an interpretation company at the beginning of fall in 2018. I am currently working towards becoming an International Certified Interpreter. I discovered that helping all those families is an important part of giving back to my people. Now my main motivation is helping others benefit from my experience through any source of expression like art, music and different kinds of motivations. That is why in 2022, I moved to Steamboat and started working at Integrated Community. I loved how inclusive they were and all the different programs they had to offer our community. I knew I was passionate about my work and my ability to help communicate to those who couldn’t. It helped me to always keep my roots grounded and where they came from. I love to spend time with my friends and family, I admire art in every form, and I also appreciate different cultures around the world.