News & Events
Student Achievements
SPRING 2023
recent grad and Fulbright Scholar Margaret "Margo" Maliwat teaches English in Spain
March 2nd, 2023
Margaret (Margo) Maliwat, a recent graduate from the USF College of Arts and Sciences with a bachelor’s degree in World Languages and Cultures, has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program English Teaching Assistantship to Spain.
Originally from Largo, FL, Margo has served as an English teacher and mentor at the Hispanic Services Council. In Galicia Spain, Margo will teach at either the elementary or high school level. She is one of 41 U.S. students to teach English in Galicia, Spain through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Source: USF College of Arts & Sciences
SUMMER 2022
OUR GRADUATE, BRIAN MALONEY, WILL JOIN THE ERASMUS+ NETWORK ON HUMANITARIAN ACTION (NOHA) AND PURSUE HIS GRADUATE STUDIES IN EUROPE
July 22nd, 2022
We are very proud to announce that one of our graduates (with a B.A. in World Languages & Cultures with a concentration in German) has been admitted into a very prestigious and highly competitive graduate program in Europe.
Brian Maloney will join The Erasmus+ Network on Humanitarian Action (NOHA), which is an international MA program sponsored by the European Commission that invites global participants to study in Europe. The purpose of this program is to educate, train, and invite research and study projects to be conducted with the EU pertaining to Humanitarian Action.
As part of this program, Brian will be attending the graduate program at the Ruhr-Bochum Universität's (Germany) Institute of International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict and then continue his studies in either Dublin, Ireland or Bilbao, Spain.
Congratulations, Brian!
SPRING 2022
ph.d. student yaqian jiang graduates with a position as an adjunct professor in the Department of English at Middle Tennessee University
May 23rd, 2022
"The Ph.D. in LALS program is very successful at fostering a collaborative and mentoring relationship between advisors and students. Because of this student-centered advising approach, I had many opportunities to work with faculty members on research projects, during which I received a tremendous amount of support and further improved my research and writing skills. I also want to give a huge shout out to my major professor, Dr. Camilla Vásquez, for her continuous guidance, support, and encouragement.
I am currently working as an adjunct professor in the Department of English at Middle Tennessee University. "
- Dr. Yaqian Jiang
ANNA STEPANYAN RECEIVES PROVOST'S AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING TEACHING BY A GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT
April 18th, 2022
We would like to congratulate one of our graduate TAs, Anna Stepanyan, on receiving one of the four Spring 2022 Provost’s Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Teaching Assistant! (Awarded by the USF Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning (CITL)).
Great job, Anna!
DEFENSE OF A MASTER'S THESIS: SARAH MONSALVE
(March 8th, 2022)
Congratulations to Sarah Monsalve on successfully defending her Master's Thesis titled, Inés María Mendoza: del magisterio a la escritura en la Fortaleza de San Juan de Puerto Rico.
In the photo, from left to right, are: Dr. Brescia, Sarah, Dr. Camara, and Dr. Arbesu. In the back screen is Dr. Quiros.
Go, Sarah!
Kristy Snow Receives a Prestigious Fellowship in Korea!
Our Applied Linguistics graduate student, Kristy Snow, received a prestigious fellowship to teach English abroad as part of the English Program in Korea (EPIK) program! Very exciting!
Our Graduate Students and Faculty Present Their Papers at a Virtual Student Symposium Held At the University of Bremen
Some of our faculty and graduate students presented their papers at a virtual student symposium held at the University of Bremen! The full program and Zoom links can be found here.
Antonella Gazzardi: “Authority claims, language ideologies, and sociolinguistic discourses on YouTube: the debate about Italian-English code-mixing”
Dr. Judith Bridges: “Talk about talk: What mansplain and other wordplay in social media can tell us about society”
Yaqian Jiang: “Identity construction in English learning vlogs on Douyin”
Sheldon Cooper: "Identity Disputes on 4chan"
GERMAN STUDENT AWARDED FULBRIGHT TO AUSTRIA
Noemi Rosario Martinez, a student in WLE’s undergraduate World Languages and Cultures-German section, has been awarded a Fulbright to Austria for the 2020-2021 academic year. As part of the Fulbright Austria program, Noemi will teach English in an Austrian secondary schools.
GRADUATE STUDENTS PRESENT AT SCFLLF CONFERENCE
Elizabeth Jaquez, Marlon Cáceres, and Bermaries Velez each presented a paper at the SCFLLF conference in St Petersburg, FL, on march 6. Elizabeth gave a refreshing new interpretation of Unamuno's short story Mecanópolis, Marlon compared works of science fiction (film and literature) produced in Spain with counterparts made for the English language market, and Bermaries showed us how a baroque play written in the Spanish Golden Age can take on new meaning when read through the lens of contemporary literature.
SOUAD BOUHAYAT ACCEPTED INTO THE PHD PROGRAM IN FRENCH STUDIES AT CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
Our warmest congratulations to Souad Bouhayat, a recent MA French graduate! Souad has been accepted with generous support into the PhD program in French Studies at City University of New York. She began her doctorate program in Fall 2019.
J.LIVE TALK 2018 FINALIST
Rida Mughal, an Accounting student in Japanese V, has been selected as one of the top 3 finalists in Category I (intermediate low to intermediate-mid level speaking proficiency) to compete at the J.Live (Japanese Learning Inspired Vision and Engagement) Talk 2018, a TED talk-style speech competition that emphasizes a comprehensive range of learned communication skills, held at the George Washington University in Washington D.C. on November 11, 2018. Another student in Japanese V, Paige Livingston (an International Studies major and Linguistics minor student) was selected as one of the 6 semi-finalists for the same competition and is currently one of the alternates of the Category I finalists.
Congratulations, Rida-san and Paige-san for your accomplishments! The Japanese section wishes Rida-san all the best at the competition in November!
CHINESE BRIDGE INTERNATIONAL PROFICIENCY COMPETITION 2018
John Klumpp has completed USF's third year Chinese courses and has participated in USF's Chinese Learning in the Culture summer study abroad program in China. He began preparing to participate in the Chinese Bridge International Proficiency Competition last summer and this past spring won the competition held by USF's Confucius Institute. On July 10th, John finished first in the competitions quarterfinals and successfully moved on to the nationally televised semifinals. The semifinals concluded 7/26 with John finishing first in the Americas group and moving on to the finals. There John will compete as one of the top 15 participants from around the world. Congratulations John!
Hayley Jayson, French MA student and TA, has enrolled in Brown University’s PhD in French Studies program. Her offer of admission includes five years of full funding support and opportunities to teach or research in France.
CAMWS INTERNATIONAL LATIN TRANSLATION CONTEST WINNERS
The Classics section congratulates our students Eric Carson, Michael Mortellaro, Somiyah Mughni, and Melanie Trump for their award –winning performances in the CAMWS International Latin Translation Contest (https://camws.org/CollegeTranslationContest). The contest, which measures Latin attainment across diverse institutions, textbooks, and teaching methods in the United States and Canada, placed our students among the top 10% of participants.
Kudos also goes to Dr. Robert (Buddy) Hedrick, our Latin magister, for training such a great group of scholars. Another strong year for Classics!
LAW SCHOOL ACCEPTANCE
Juan Andrés Mata, a former World Languages Student of Dr. Latowsky in French, has been accepted Washington University in St. Louis with a generous scholarship. The school is ranked #18 in the nation and has incredible programs/faculty geared towards international law.
WORLD LANGUAGES RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM 4/13/18
Corin D. Newman
Fabio Suárez Garcia
Jenny A. Caro
Eileen Valdés
Marcy Brandt
Olga Martinez Manso
Luisa F. Villamil
Jessica Giovanni, LALS Ph.D. student, has been selected to be a 2018 A.W. Mellon Fellow in Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL). She received a $1,500 award to attend a summer workshop at Carnegie Mellon University to explore various technologies used for language learning and the skills required to apply them in order to achieve better learning outcomes. Congratulations Jessica!
On March 29, 2018, Addie Sayers China successfully defended her dissertation, “Beyoncé as a Semiotic Resource: Visual and Linguistic Meaning Making and Gender in Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest.” Addie’s committee included Dr. Nicole Tracy-Ventura, Dr. Camilla Vásquez (chair), Dr. Amy Thompson, and Dr. Michelle Hughes Miller. In August, Dr. Sayers China will begin her new position as an Assistant Professor of English at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. We wish her all the best!
On Oct 24, 2017 Yunhyun Lee successfully defended his dissertation, “Lexical Stress Features Affecting the Recognition of English Loanwords in Korean by Native English Hearers”. The committee included Dr. Amanda Huensch (chair), Dr. Sanghoon Park, Dr. Amy Thompson, and Dr. Nicole Tracy-Ventura. Congratulations Yunhyun
The LALS doctoral faculty congratulate Ph.D. student, Judith Bridges, on the publication of her first solo-authored article! Judith's article, which appears in the journal, Discourse, Context and Media, explores gendered metapragmatics on Twitter. (Coincidentally, an article about humorous Chat posts on Tumblr, co-authored by MA Alumni, Samantha Creel, and Applied Linguistics professor, Dr. Camilla Vásquez, also appears in the same issue of the journal.
LALS Ph.D. student, Ramona Kreis, recently published two solo-authored articles: one in the Journal of Language and
Politics and the other in Discourse & Communication.
Ramona's research addresses political discourse in social media. Great work Ramona!
2017 Ph.D. graduates, Yi Zhang and Jelena Vuksanovic, have recently accepted faculty positions. This fall, Yi will be starting a position as Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and TESOL at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and Jelena will be a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Idaho. Congratulations, Yi and Jelena - and best of luck to you both in your new positions!
Kathryn Ashmore, who graduated with a BA in German Studies in 2016, received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Fellowship at Gymnasium Melle in Germany. Kathryn will start her ETA assignment in the fall of 2017. Congratulations, Kathryn!
Recent Applied Linguistics MA graduates are ready to embark on new adventures. Jessica Giovanni will begin her doctoral studies with us in the new LALS (Linguistics and Applied Language Studies) PhD program starting this fall.
Samantha Creel is a recipient of a Critical Languages Scholarship as well as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Fellowship! Samantha will continue her intensive study of Arabic in Oman this summer, and will begin her ETA assignment in Bahrain in the fall. Congratulations to both!
Anne Marie Shaughnessy, a graduate of the M.A. Linguistics:TESOL program, was recently granted a U.S. Fulbright Scholarship as an English Teaching Assistant in the country of Colombia. Ms. Shaughnessy is very excited to begin her work in Colombia this summer, and the Applied Linguistics faculty send her off with very best wishes!
ADRIANNE SPOTO GOES TO NYU SCHOOL OF LAW
Adrianne Spoto, a 2017 graduate with a French minor, will pursue her J.D. at New York University School of Law. She is planning to focus on constitutional and civil rights law. Congratulations Adrianna!
ERIC WILLIAMS WILL JOIN THE PEACE CORPS!
Eric Williams, a 2017 graduate with a French minor, will join the Peace Corps as a Health Extension Volunteer in Benin, a French-speaking country in west Africa. His primary goals will be centered on improving maternal, neonatal and child heath with a focus on nutrition and disease prevention. Eric will be there for 27 months, after which he plans to return to the US and attend medical school. Good luck Eric!
Laura Badertscher has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) grant to Germany
The Fulbright ETA program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. An Honors College student, Badertscher graduated from USF in May 2011 with a BA in German Language and Literature, a BA in International Studies and a minor in Economics. She will spend nine months teaching English in Germany. Badertscher has always been fascinated with German society and has devoted much of her studies to learning the language, history and culture.
Kira Harding & Phillip Hurley Rresent At the Undergraduate Research & Arts Colloquium
April 6th, 2017
Kira Harding and Phillip Hurley presented their work on the long-term benefits of study abroad at the Undergraduate Research and Arts Colloquium. Kira and Phillip worked with Dr. Nicole Tracy-Ventura as part of a year-long research mentorship through the Office of Undergraduate Research. Excellent work Kira and Phillip!
Students from the LIN 4721 CREATTE class also presented their work on the perception of second language fluency at the Undergraduate Research and Arts Colloquium. They worked with Dr. Huensch and Addie Sayers-China on this project. Congrats Javier Benitez, Ennis Cruz Gonzalez, Ivan Herenchak-Jones, Chelsea Lo, Kara Marin, Daniel Sarmiento, Tyler Sponder, and Patricia Claire Tate!
WHYNTER MORGAN WAS ACCEPTED TO WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY'S LAW SCHOOL
French BA graduate Whynter Morgan has been accepted to Washington University’s Law School with substantial support. Congratulations, Whynter!
TWO USF FRENCH STUDENTS RECEIVE TAPIF AWARDS FROM THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT
The French faculty is pleased to announce that two advanced students of French have received TAPIF awards (Teaching Assistant Program) from the French government. Melissa Ortiz and Chris Ogando will be teaching English in France for 7 months beginning in October. These are paid teaching positions with insurance. Melissa will be in Toulouse and Chris in Lille. Congratulations!
STEPHANIE SANDOVAL PURSUES A M.F.A. IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
Stephannie Sandoval, graduate of USF with a BA in French and English (Creative Writing), is now pursuing a Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing at American University in Washington, DC.
2015 Chinese Bridge Competition Southern US finals!
Two USF Chinese program students represented USF by participating in the 2015 Chinese Bridge Competition Southern US finals in Dallas, TX on April 26th. Nabil Smith finished in second place overall while Lindsey O'Brien finished in third place. These are outstanding achievements for two students who are currently only in second year Chinese. Nabil Smith will be going to the finals in China in July as the top runner up from the southern US region. Click HERE for more (in Chinese). Congratulations!
FRANCIS HOGSTON SERVES IN THE PEACE CORPS IN MADAGASCAR
BA French graduate Francis Hogston is currently serving in the Peace Corps in Madagascar as of June 2015. He is serving in Mahasoabe, Madagascar as a TEFL secondary teacher for 27 months and also completing secondary projects which include public health, gender equality, and malaria prevention.
CLAUDINE BUELL STUDY/WORK IN PARIS
French MA student Claudine Buell went with Advertising Studies students in Paris and Cannes, on a four-week odyssey from June 3rd in central Paris to June 29th, 2015 at the world renowned Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. Working in tandem with Program Director Debra Smith, Claudine's roles included translator, interpreter, travel agent, Paris Metro and airport coordinator, EMS liaison, as well as working closely with the various hotel, museum, and advertising agency staffs.
KEVIE DEFRANC SEMESTER ABROAD AT SCHOOL OF BUSINESS IN FRANCE
French major Kevie Defranc writes of his successful semester abroad at the ESC Rennes School of Business Program in Rennes, France, that he studied Human Resource Management, European Geopolitics, French Culture, French Language, and Business. He graduates in December and is applying to pursue a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning.