This is Nilsen’s second gold medal win competing via steno machine, voice writing and QWERTY keyboard
Patricia Orsini Nilsen, ’95, displays the pair of gold medals she won at the Intersteno Congress held in Katowice, Poland
From Alfred State College,
ALFRED, NY, Aug. 12, 2024 – Patricia Orsini Nilsen, ’95, represented the United States and brought home a pair of gold medals at the Intersteno Congress in Katowice, Poland. Nilsen competed and took first place in both the speech capturing and Realtime competitions.
Representatives of twenty-nine countries gathered at the bi-annual event. The Intersteno Congress embraces professional reporters, secretaries and parliamentary reporters using any technological method of fast writing. While informational conferences are held, the contests are the highlight of the event.
The speech capturing contest consists of fifteen minutes of dictation at increasing speeds. The final minute reaches a speed of 412 syllables per minute (roughly 295 words per minute). The text was dictated in ten different languages, and forty-five competitors from fourteen different countries attempted to first take down the words in their native languages via written shorthand, QWERTY keyboard and steno machine, and then transcribe their shorthand into text. Nilsen was the only competitor to make it to the fifteenth with the allowable errors.
The Realtime contest has a similar format with 10 minutes of dictation at increasing speeds, but the focus is on accuracy with no editing allowed. The goal is to record every word correctly in real time as it is spoken, including punctuation. There were thirty-five participants in this contest from eight countries competing via steno machine, voice writing and QWERTY keyboard. Nilsen tied for first place with Italian Daniele Casarola.
The gold medal was the second for Nielsen. She won her first in 2005 in Vienna, Austria.
Nielsen continued her success at the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) Conference & Expo in Louisville, KY. She won both the speed contest and Realtime contest.
In the speed contest, she placed fifth in literacy, first in legal opinion, and first in the Q&A, with an overall 99.05% accuracy. This is the second straight year; Nilsen took home the title. In the Realtime contest, Nilsen earned gold with a 97.25% accuracy.
After graduating from Alfred State, Nielsen started her career in Binghamton, NY and worked in the court systems of the Bahamas, England, and Ireland before settling into a position, held for fourteen years, as a federal official in the Southern District of New York. She currently works as a freelance reporter in Tennessee.
More information on the Intersteno Federation
Release from the Journal of Court Reporting
