WARSAW — A Grace College graduate who was born in Chile has seen his translation services business, Language Matters, continue to grow.

Company CEO Lucas Fonseca came to Grace with a desire to play tennis and ended up starting the company when he was a sophomore.

“I remember going to my dorm room. I was sitting down, and I thought to myself, I love this place, I love the opportunity that I’ve gotten to be here, and so I decided to start a company that would help others to experience the same,” Fonseca said during a recording on In The Know, the pubic affairs show you can hear this weekend on Kensington Digital Media radio stations.

His career started when he began working as a Spanish tutor in 2016, when many communities across the United States were seeing growing language barriers with the rise of immigration.

Language Matters is currently contracted with numerous municipalities, including Warsaw, which has used the services for four years and recently agreed to extend its contract for three years.

Warsaw Mayor Jeff Grose, a former longtime government teacher, applauded what the company has been able to achieve, saying it's helping provide "good government."

“It’s just been a great tool, and it continues to expand because I think people in this community, our county, the surrounding area, they’re trusting Lucas,” Grose said.

Fonseca said they've grown beyond just providing translation insights over the phone.

“We’re not just giving them information they don’t understand. We actually educate them through the process … and we’ve seen that we have helped people become more independent through that,” Fonseca said.

Fonseca and Grose said the services have extended beyond city limits and that the company has stepped in to assist in different scenarios, including medical emergencies.

Fonseca was also recently honored with the Grace College and Seminary Young Alumni of the Year award.

“It was just a very special full circle to come back to campus and to receive such a big recognition,” he said.

On his LinkedIn account, Fonseca posted about the award and wrote (in part):

"Huge thanks to my mentors — Austin Lehman, Rick Phillips, Bob Vitoux, and Mayor Grose — for continually investing in me and challenging me to grow as a leader. A special thank-you as well to my brother, Arturo Fonseca, for being an unwavering source of support and an exceptional business partner.

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In The Know can be heard at the following times:

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Saturdays at 7 a.m. 

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WRSW (107.3):

Sundays at 6 a.m.

Willie (103.5 FM):

Sundays at 6 a.m.

The post Grace College graduate launched growing translation service when he was a sophomore appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW —  The Language Matters call center has been so successful in the city of Warsaw that it’s looking to expand out into the county and other towns.

At Friday’s Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety meeting, Mayor Jeff Grose requested permission to apply for a $42,000 grant from the Kosciusko County Community Foundation to expand the Call Center’s boundaries.

In the second paragraph of Grose’s letter to the Board of Works, which he read, he states, “The city of Warsaw’s call center has served many residents with not only translation and interpretation, but also navigation within the community. Through the growth of the Language Call Center, it has become clear that residents beyond the city of Warsaw have similar navigation needs or needs that cross multiple jurisdictional boundaries. This is one more way to further support my priorities of strengthening intergovernmental relations, earning citizen trust and engagement, and promoting good government communitywide.”

If the grant is awarded, Grose said the project would include introducing other Kosciusko County towns and government entities to the call center.

“Here is what Language Matters can do: It will train those entities to utilize the Call Center, if there’s interest, and educate non-English-speaking community members about the expanded availability of navigation services throughout our entire community, not just Warsaw, but those in Warsaw that leave our jurisdiction; those outside our jurisdiction who come in,” Grose said.

He said it is a grant request, and the grant application has to go through a public entity like the city. Grose said he encouraged Language Matters co-founder and CEO Lucas Fonseca to move forward and supports Fonseca’s efforts to get those grant dollars.

The Board approved the grant application 3-0.

Public Works Department Superintendent Dustin Dillon presented the board with a $121,635.63 pay application from Michiana Contracting for the ongoing traffic signal modernization work at the intersection of Lake and Main streets, completed thus far. The project was approved on Nov. 15 by the Board.

“The project seems to be on the time schedule allotted and moving along very quickly,” Dillon said.

Councilwoman Diane Quance asked when the project will be completed.

Dillon said that according to the schedule Michiana Contracting gave, it’s on the path to be completed by July 10. The poles were delivered last week and they’re moving along, he said.

Quance said she’s received questions from people about when they can use that portion of the sidewalk again.

The pay application was approved 3-0.

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