Globelink acquisition of older, bigger language center called “Fantastique!”
 

For information call: Fadia Zaki-Gnoske at 719/532-0300

When Fadia Zaki-Gnoske founded Globelink Language and Cultural Services in her Colorado Springs home in 1999, she didn’t know she would replace her larger and older competitor.

Globelink’s acquisition of The Foreign Language Center was completed in August. Now Fadia says the new and improved Globelink Foreign Language Center’s enhanced range of products and services is simply “Fantastique!”

For Fadia, running Globelink is the culmination of a globe-spanning, multicultural life.

“I was born in Egypt and lived in Italy and Scotland before coming to Colorado Springs 13 years ago,” says Fadia, who speaks five languages. “My parents worked for the United Nations, so for me conversations in three languages were normal.”

Today, more and more Colorado Springs businesses and government agencies conduct business here and abroad in multiple languages. These local clients have propelled Globelink’s growth, and today the company works with more than 200 trained contract linguists who help hundreds of clients translate documents, study foreign cultures, or speak any one of 50 foreign languages, from Arabic to Zulu

“Colorado Springs is becoming more of an international city,” says Fadia. “We’ve helped that trend by providing cultural awareness training to Ft. Carson soldiers who were shipping out to Iraq, translations of business documents for local companies working in other countries, simultaneous interpretation of courses for international cyclists at the U. S. Olympic Training Center, and language classes for workers at Ingersoll Rand and Compassion International.”

The Springs is also home to a growing number of people for whom English is not their first language. Globelink helps local agencies that serve these residents, providing language skills testing for El Paso County Department of Human Services employees, whose pay is tied to their language abilities.

The company also helps growing numbers of families and individuals who want to understand other countries and languages before traveling overseas for education, personal enrichment or short-term service.

“It’s like Thomas Friedman points out in his book The World is Flat,” says Fadia. “Our shrinking world is flattening out as more people conduct more activities around the globe. Our goal is to help them do so more successfully.”

Fadia knows how simple language missteps or more complex cultural blunders can create problems for businesses, government agencies and travelers.

“So when employees of the Office of Public Affairs at NorthCOM were getting ready to visit Mexico, we briefed them on the country, its people, its history, and its customs,” says Fadia. “It’s more than language, it’s the many subtle do’s and don’ts that can determine if a cross-cultural relationship flourishes or flounders.”

For Fadia, the work of Globelink Foreign Language Center is more than a profession; it’s a passion.

“Since I was a child I have loved languages and been surrounded by languages,” she says. “And thanks to my parents I grew up with a wide spectrum of family and friends all over the globe. This made it natural for me to accept a wide variety of languages and cultures into my life.”

Today Fadia and her team at Globelink help others experience the same kinds of cross-cultural moments.

“It’s a thrill for us to help people break down walls,” she says. “That’s really what Globelink is all about.”

For more information about Globelink Foreign Language Center or an interview with Fadia, please contact her at 719/532-0300.