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Rhode's Biography
Rhode Thomas was born and raised in the Dominican Republic.
Upon completing her studies in arts and sciences, Rhode worked as an art teacher in her hometown of Rio San Juan. She taught 3rd through 12th-grade classes ranging from arts, and crafts, to etiquette in her native language, Spanish. Throughout her rewarding teaching career, Rhode had a positive and influential impact on students by forming young independent community agents of change.
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From teaching to traveling in 1989, Rhode traveled to California, Puerto Rico, Canada, and New York City. She then embarked on her linguist journey at the New York English Academy. During her time at the Academy, Rhode was captivated by living in a city immersed in vast diversity and cultures. Meeting citizens across the globe from India, Japan, Latin America, Russia, China, the Middle East, and Indonesia, Rhode witnessed the communal power of the English language in bringing the world together.
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In addition to encountering countless nationalities, Rhode was blessed by meeting Mark, her future husband. They married in 1991, started a family, and embarked on many adventures. In 1995, they relocated to the Netherlands, a country enriched in cultural diversity and languages. During her time in Holland, Rhode worked as an English-to-Spanish translator and traveled extensively throughout Europe. As an interpreter and translator, she noticed the need for hosting international students in a welcoming home to help them flourish and grow. Rhode opened her home to students from China, Germany, Spain, France, Dominican Republic, and Ecuador. Continued interaction with international people and languages enriched her and her family immensely.
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As Rhode continued to master her linguistic ability, she discovered interpreting and translating is both an art and a science. Her strength is in simultaneous interpretation as her short-term memory allows her to listen and communicate the message in the target language at the same time as the speaker. During her career, Rhode has been recognized by healthcare providers and educators as a cultural broker with great communication skills and professionalism. Rhode is a teacher at heart, she enjoys providing professional development training to educators in collaboration with interpreters. Rhode is also passionate about sharing her knowledge by training novice interpreters and coaching them.
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