Translating the American Dream

Featuring
Alejandra Montano, Lead Associate, Customer Experience Design Team, and Stephania Valencia, Associate, Affordable Lending Team

Translating the American Dream at Fannie Mae

When Fannie Mae created HomeView®, a free, comprehensive education course for first-time homebuyers, it soon became a requirement for people to qualify for certain kinds of mortgages. Since more than 40 million people in the U.S. speak Spanish at home, translating HomeView into Spanish was a top priority in advancing Fannie Mae’s mission to create greater access to homeownership for everyone across the country.

That’s why Fannie Mae brought together a special committee of Spanish-speaking employees to ensure the course’s content spoke to the hearts and backgrounds of Spanish-speaking audiences.

A committee that understands the experiences of a Spanish-speaking audience

Helping people, especially those whose primary language is Spanish, achieve the American Dream of homeownership is one reason committee member Stephania Valencia loves working at Fannie Mae.

Stephania was delighted to join the committee to review HomeView content. “Working from home, I got to learn more about what we do and also collaborate with people across Fannie Mae,” she says. But as importantly,

“I felt a strong connection to this mission as someone who has navigated similar challenges.”

Her family had moved to the U.S. from Colombia when she was a teen, and she experienced the housing struggles of her parents who lost a home to foreclosure in 2008. Stephania was able to help the committee craft empathetic but empowering educational content that people with her background could trust.

Stephania overcame hesitancies on homeownership stemming from her parents’ difficulties and purchased her own home after beginning her career at Fannie Mae. Because her experience was something people seeking out HomeView in Spanish might have gone through, Stephania says, “Being asked to translate, I was like, wow, I really see why this is so important.”

Helping millions of people like you — that’s a special kind of impact

Committee member Alejandra Montano feels the same way about Fannie’s Mae’s mission and translating HomeView for Spanish speakers. She explains that because of their backgrounds, it may be difficult for some people to trust the financial system when homebuying. “I was excited to see that our mission included making sure Latino consumers have access to as much homebuying education as the general market,” Alejandra says. “But there are many things about the U.S. financial system that don’t translate perfectly into Spanish.”

For Latino people, she says, homebuying can mean so much. “It’s where you hold a lot of your value, your legacy — a home is about family, what you can pass down. We had to make sure the language evoked that kind of emotional reaction and understanding.” Fannie Mae works hard to be that trusted resource that helps millions of people achieve a life goal. “That’s something I’m really passionate about,” Alejandra says.

A company where you can bring your personal experience to your profession

As Fannie Mae continues bridging the gap to make sure educational and other content are presented inclusively by adding more languages, the approach of bringing together employees of diverse backgrounds and career paths to help with translation will flourish.

Stephania reflects that, “Being part of this committee really opened my mind about the impact we can have as individuals. There’s an inclusive environment where managers support you. New ideas are always welcome.” Alejandra adds,

“This project let me bring my own personal experience to the professional. There was a lot of collaboration — it was a lot of fun.”

If you want to make an impact, enjoy being authentically you, and want to advance your career, learn more at Fannie Mae careers.