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News > Life After Hymers > Daniel's Interpreting Career

Daniel's Interpreting Career

Daniel Pashley (OH 1980-90) is an EU conference interpreter with broadcast journalism experience
Daniel interpreting for the former President of the European Commission Jacques Delors
Daniel interpreting for the former President of the European Commission Jacques Delors

Daniel Pashley studied at Hymers College from 1980 until 1990.  He is an EU conference interpreter and a qualified broadcast journalist with newsroom experience at ITV News, he speaks a number of European languages and knows his way around the EU institutions.

We spoke to him to find out more about his career:


Did you always enjoy learning languages at school?

I did. I was always interested by languages, including English, but learning foreign languages had an additional escapist element. It seemed to be a key to unlocking new cultures and new experiences.

Who was your favourite teacher?

I don’t have a favourite teacher as such, but I do have fond memories of many teachers, in particular Mr Tordoff, Mr Nichols and Mrs Powell (all modern languages teachers).

Did you keep in touch with anyone from Hymers?

I am friends with a few members of my year on social media and I enjoy seeing the updates that they post.  

What do you remember most about Hymers?

I remember most the feeling of impatience; waiting to get out and see the world beyond (a feeling which I think must have taken hold in the last couple of years). I also remember the many music concerts I was involved in.  

Were you involved in extracurricular activities?

I sang in the choir and played clarinet in the orchestra and wind band, which I very much enjoyed. I remember the Christmas carol concerts with particular fondness.

What did you do after leaving Hymers?

After leaving Hymers I went to Kings College London to study French and German. After that I spent a few years working in publishing and marketing before deciding to do an MA in Interpreting and Translating at the University of Bradford. After this I passed a freelance accreditation test at the European Commission to become a conference interpreter, and a few years later I was taken on as a member of permanent staff at the European Parliament. I have since worked for the interpreting services of the three major institutions; the Parliament, the Court of Justice and the European Commission, where I currently work.

Can you tell us more about your new role as a Swedish Interpreter?

I am actually an English interpreter. I work from my four other languages (French, German, Dutch and Swedish) into English. But there is also a managerial part to my job, since I took on the role of managing the Swedish interpreting unit in 2020. My career has always involved languages to some extent (when I worked in publishing it was always for multilingual publications in one way or another), but in 2002 I took the decision to focus more intensively on my languages and become an interpreter. I have never regretted the decision.

What have been your career highlights?

My career highlights have been working as an intepreter at a number of high profile EU summits, which really give you a “fly-on-the-wall” experience, listening to the EU’s leaders talking to one another in quite a candid way, which is fascinating. I also have travelled all over the world with the European Parliament, which has taken me to Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia, China and Suriname, to name a few places.

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