Feb. 18, 2026
When Patricia Shaw builds college courses, she brings more than lesson plans. She applies her work experiences from courtrooms, hospitals, and community agencies where language access is not optional, but essential. As Department Chair of Education, Languages and Justice at the Community College of Aurora (CCA), Shaw is helping shape the next generation of professional translators and interpreters through one of the college’s workforce-aligned career and technical education programs.
Shaw knows this work firsthand. After growing up bilingual and earning both her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in education, she moved to Aurora and expanded her career and technical education at CCA. She earned her translation and interpretation certificate and went to work at Aurora Public Schools where she established language services for the district. She trained more than 100 interpreters to support families, students, and staff across multiple languages.
I brought all that experience to CCA, including the work I did as a translator and teacher, and I put everything into the curriculum here,
Shaw said. My work at CCA now is to make sure that translation and interpretation students are learning these skills. The programs are designed to prepare them for success if they pursue national certifications like I did in medical interpreting. Everything that I’ve learned, everything that I’ve done out there, I’ve put into use here so they’re learning everything they need.
This is the foundation of career and technical education, sometimes referred to as CTE by educators. The goal of CTE is to prepare students for the workforce by equipping them with the modern technical skills of their industry, and CCA is a leader in doing so because of work like Shaw’s. It’s why the Colorado Department of Higher Education designated CCA as a career connected campus last fall. February is CTE month, and the experience-based technical skills Shaw builds into her translation and interpretation curricula is worth celebrating.
CCA’s Translation and Interpretation pathway is the only offering of its kind by a Colorado community college. The pathway prepares students for professional roles in healthcare systems, courtrooms, schools, and community agencies using their heritage language to bridge cultural and communication gaps. In those spaces, language access is essential. This creates demand for certified interpreters in many languages, especially in Aurora, the most diverse city in Colorado. Shaw prepares CCA students for the field by building hands-on experience into the curriculum.
In CTE, we see themes of learning and earning, and that’s a tried and true structure,
said Jim Delung, CCA’s Dean of Academic Success in Career and Technical Education. There are opportunities for folks to not only make some income while they’re in the program and work in their field, but also add to their knowledge base. When you’re getting that practical knowledge, that experiential learning, it makes what you’re doing in the classroom so much easier to process and understand.
CCA’s Translation and Interpretation program also benefits from federal dollars, commonly called Perkins V funding. The product of several iterations of lawmaking in congress over the past century, the funding expands access to professional tools and resources for learning in the classroom. In 2025, Shaw secured funding to hire a work-based learning coordinator who expanded on-the-job training opportunities for students with local partners like Children’s Hospital Colorado, Professional Interpreting Services, the Colorado Judicial System, Regis University, and Adams 12 School District. The coordinator helps place translation and interpretation students in these workplace environments.
That workforce-first approach reflects the core of career and technical education at CCA. Through intentional curriculum design, strong employer partnerships, and investments like Perkins V funding, the Translation and Interpretation program continues to expand access to professional tools, certification preparation, and real-world learning opportunities for students entering the field.
For Shaw, earning her own certificate at CCA and now shaping the very programs that prepare students for today’s workforce brings the work to a full circle. In a region as diverse as Aurora, she sees Translation and Interpretation not only as a career pathway, but as a critical public service.
During career and technical education month, CCA celebrates the faculty and programs that turn learning into livelihood. Through Shaw’s leadership, the Translation and Interpretation program equips students with the skills, experience, and professional preparation needed to serve diverse communities and enter the workforce with confidence. It’s a demonstration of how CTE at CCA creates pathways that matter for students and the region alike. The Community College of Aurora (CCA) provides high-quality instruction and student support services to Aurora, Centennial, and Denver, Colorado. With a vision to aspire to be a college where every student succeeds, CCA is the most diverse college in the State of Colorado. Focused on creating social and economic mobility for its students, the college offers courses on three (3) campuses, online, and through its high school concurrent-enrollment programs. For more information, visit www.ccaurora.edu. Courtney ButlerOur students are getting real real world experience starting in their first semester. I think that’s one of the strongest things we provide for translation interpretation students,
Shaw said. I have a very strong advisory board. I work hard with my partners to make sure that we provide those experiences every day. I believe in CTE, I love CTE, and I think that’s the strongest thing that you can give anyone – real experience.
About the Community College of Aurora:
Contact:
Executive Director of Strategic Communications and Special Initiatives
Strategic Communications and Alumni Engagement
P: 303-340-7201 | E: [email protected]