El Campesino’s Claudia Cuellar honored by Perry Police Department

PERRY TWP. – Claudia Cuellar may be best known locally as a sound businesswoman in the restaurant industry.

But it’s been Cuellar’s continuing assistance to the Perry Police Department that earned her a tip of the hat from township trustees, as she was honored with an honorary plaque for providing Spanish translation assistance to authorities when called upon.

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“I never expected this. It was a nice surprise and exciting,” Cuellar said receiving the honor last week. “I was very touched by it.”

Cuellar, an assistant manager of El Campesino restaurant at 4048 Lincoln Way E, has been helping authorities on a volunteer basis by translating English and Spanish for about a dozen years. Mainly, she assists police who need to interview suspects for traffic violations and on rare occasions, missing persons.

Language barriers can be difficult to overcome, and Cuellar occasionally experienced those situations firsthand while growing up in Stark County. Her parents helped open El Campesino in 1996 after moving to the area from Georgia.

“I grew up translating for my parents and often saw their struggles (understanding English),” recalled Cuellar, 31. “I’ve also been in that situation myself at school, or with (my parents) at the bank and grocery store. “

Interim Perry Police Chief Chad Guist called Cuellar someone who has been counted on many times as an asset to the Police Department over the years. Her calm demeanor, temperament and gentle communication approach often helps to put at ease those who are being interviewed by the police, he said.

“She’s been good, and we keep coming back to her,” the interim chief said.

Perry Trustee Lisa Nelligan said she admires Cuellar’s efforts to step up and help the community.

“I appreciate her willingness to help our residents and our Police Department,” she said. “I’m glad we recognized her for her efforts.”

Spanish speaking individuals who may be from Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba or Puerto Rico can appear scared or disoriented when dealing with authorities at the police station, Cuellar said. In some situations, they think they’re being sent back to their home country.

“They might not understand what’s going on and think they’re in really big trouble,” Cuellar said. “A lot of times their view of police changes (to more positive) when they know what’s going on.”

Perry’s Claudia Cuellar is pursuing a nursing degree at Aultman College

Cuellar, a 2010 graduate of Perry High School, is attending Aultman College to earn a nursing degree. Her younger brother, Hector, 25, the manager of El Campesino, also assists Perry Township police with English and Spanish language translation from time to time.

Cuellar said she’s proud of her son, Iker, 10, a fifth grader at Phieffer Intermediate School, who occasionally helps classmates and teachers with Spanish and English translation.

“You could say he’s the next generation for our family’s (language assistance),” she said.

The choice to pursue a nursing degree is related to volunteering with police on language translation, said Cuellar, noting that there’s a “growing need for more bilingual nurses” almost everywhere.

“I really enjoy being part of the community and connecting with people,” she said.

Reach Steven at [email protected]. On Twitter: @sgrazierINDE

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