Alumni

Alumni Stories

Michael Justich
B.A. (2015)- Foreign Language & International Trade: Chinese

Michael writes:

Since moving to China after graduation I have worked for the U.S. company S&S World Wide (three years in three different Chinese cities) and finished a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Peoples University of China in Beijing. The MPA grogram was a great experience to learn about the internal functions of the Chinese government. It was astonishing to learn about a system that in many ways is so different from ours yet in other aspects very similar. The desire I have for this kind of foreign knowledge is what lured me into the challenging flit program in the first place. The taste of that knowledge and tools for success that I received from flit are what made doing my MPA program possible.

After graduating from the MPA program, I have since moved to Chengdu in the southwestern province of Sichuan, and registered my own consulting company on Nov 11^th, election day last year. It’s a day I will always remember…with mixed emotions.

If any readers would like more info about education, careers, business, politics, or anything else in China, then please free to contact me…Or better yet, come for a visit! 

It may sound funny, but I tell you this: Come to China (one of the most populated countries in the world) to be unique or just come to blend in. Make life what you want it to be!

爱生活，

Michael Justich

贾迈克 

Gina Breen
2006 (BA Spanish), 2007 (BA French), 2010 (MA French)

Featured with her father in the SIU Alumni Magazine (Summer 2015).

After completing three foreign language degrees at SIU Carbondale and serving as a member of the Student Alumni Council, Gina is currently working on her PH.D. at Louisiana State University.

Andrew Jackson
Graduated: 2004- Occupation: Systems Manager - Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences - Washington School of Medicine

Mr. Jackson writes, "Miss my years studying Latin and Greek at SIUC. Happiest days of my academic career and do not regret pursuing my BA in Classics. Fondly remember Greek with Dr. Williams and Latin with Dr. Johnson. Also the course on Plato that Dr. Johnson taught. Still have all my course books."

Thanks, Mr. Jackson. Quite a nice complement for the teaching efforts of each professor.

Dr. Johnson until recently served as the Chair of Languages, Cultures, and International Trade and is still teaching, while Dr. Williams has been retired a few years. 

Bonnie Juul
Graduated 1987- Occupation: Chiropractor

Ms. Juul writes," I've moved back to town this past week and would like to support and reconnect with the German program. 

As far as German goes - I earned my B.A. many years ago, lived in Germany for a short time, then went into teaching ESL. I have recently started brushing up on my German and plan to take the Heilpraktiker exam in Germany so I can have working vacations there. (From what I understand there's a limited number of well-trained chiropractors in Germany.)"

The department wishes you well on your exam and many pleasant trips to Germany to come. Thank you for letting us know.

Aline Davis Wilson

In early May, the department received an update from Aline Davis Wilson, BA 1973, MA 1981 in French.

Aline is a retired Reference Librarian presently living in Florida since 1989. She worked for the University of South Florida, Tampa and received a grant-in-aid in 1997 to study Library Science. Aline earned a MA in Library Science and worked for the Hernando County Public Library in Brooksville, FL for 12 years as a Reference Librarian and Manager of the Reference Department.

She retired in 2012 and is pursuing freelance writing on the Yahoo!Contributor Network. Her latest work is a chapter entitled Job Stress and the Librarian: Coping Strategies from the Professionals (Mcfarland & Co, Inc. to be published July 15, 2013).

Her husband Paul, BA 1981, is still working and their son Michael and his wife live and work in Orlando.

Thanks for sharing, Aline. We wish you continued success in your writing endeavors!

Mr. Gerald Plotkin
BA in French (1964) with a Minor in Biology- Retired Teacher (of 38 years) and French Interpreter

Just recently, Mr. Plotkin contacted our office for more information about the Madeleine Smith Memorial Scholarship offered by the Department of Languages, Cultures, and International Trade. Dr. Smith taught French in our department and he considered her to be one of his favorite professors.

Per Gerald: “I’ve used my French all my life, teaching, interpreting for the State Department, traveling, two years in Peace Corps, and these days taking interested people to France on Sister Cities visits.”

In addition to learning French at SIUC, Gerald received a Master’s in French at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, a few years after attending a language conference during his first year of teaching. The presenter suggested that,” …if you ever get tired of teaching, become a student for a while…”

The presenter also suggested that it might be fun to study another language every few years. Gerald’s love of foreign language study (in the last 50 years) grew to include: Spanish, German, Russian, Hebrew, Jula (in the Peace Corps in West Africa), and Mandarin Chinese for the last dozen years.

Just recently, Gerald was able to use language to solve a communication problem involving a Russian couple in search of their lost car at the parking and transportation department at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville where he is presently employed. Even though his family came from Russia around 1900, he had never learned Russian until he studied it for 3 semesters at the local community college. His co-workers radioed him to translate. He had spoken it so long ago, and didn’t understand much that was said, but he understood “mwi nye znayim” (which translates to “we don’t know”). In the end, through some conversation and detective work, he was able to determine which lot the car was parked at and was rewarded when the remote beeped when pressed. “All’s well that ends well, and you never know how knowing another language can save the day.”

Masters Alumni

David Balmaceda
MA, Spanish '17

I am currently a doctoral student in Applied Linguistics at Washington University in St. Louis. Some of my research interests include language teaching and learning, language teaching material development, and Computer-Assisted Language Learning. In the future, I plan to work as a professor, and I also hope to start my own language school in Nicaragua.

Paula de Salazar León
MA, Spanish '16

Currently, I live in Spain and I run my own academy, Centro de Estudios Poliedro, where a group of teachers help teenagers with their studies. Also I am learning French and planning to study a PhD next year in Instructional Technology.

Diego Diaz
MA, Spanish '16

Currently, I work as a Spanish and English teacher at Francisco Morazan National Pedagogic University (UPNFM), the only teacher training school in my home country, Honduras. In the future I plan to pursue a doctorate degree in education.

Sara Rico Godoy
MA, Spanish '16

I´m currently working as an English and Spanish Professor at my Alma Mater UPNFM in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I´m planning on continue with my studies in Hispanic Literatures, pursuing a Doctoral Degree in the US. I would also like to continue my career in Education, teaching and doing research in the field.

Manuel Alejandro Sánchez Cabrera
MA, Spanish '16

Right now, I am a PhD student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  I am interested in decolonial thinking, critical theory, performance, and film in/from Latin America. I hope to teach and do research in a top research University. I am also hoping to travel and learn from different communities and scholars around the world.

Josh Troester
MA, Spanish '16

Currently, my wife and I are living and working in Southern Illinois. I am working as a medical interpreter and translator for a hospital system. I also do some freelance literary translation work, specializing in non-fiction and poetry. I am extremely thankful for my years at SIU. I learned vital skills for second language acquisition, translation, and interpretation that will help me in my professional and personal life. In the near future, I hope to work on fluency in new languages to grow my interpretation and translation work.

Jessica Joy Stowe
MA, Spanish '15

I am currently teaching Spanish at Graves County High School in Mayfield, Kentucky. I hope to continue to learn from my students on how to become a more effective teacher. My overall goal is to instill a love for language and culture into future generations.

Holly Villines
MA, Spanish '15

I am currently a PhD student in Spanish at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. I am specializing in Modern and Contemporary Iberian studies, with a special focus on literature related to the Spanish Civil War and Spanish feminism.

Richard William Cisneros
MA, Spanish '14

Once a Saluki, always a Saluki. Once I finished my studies in Spanish, I returned to my home country of Panamá and began working as a professor of literature and linguistics. I plan to carry out research about the culture and literature of Panamá. I highly recommend studying something you really enjoy and if your passion is Spanish and Hispanic literatures and linguistics, SIU has a great program for you. I am so happy to have studied at SIU.

Grace Darmour-Paul
MA, Spanish '14

I completed a second Masters, a Masters of Arts in Teaching, from SIU. (I also got married and had a child)! I currently teach high school Spanish at Anna Jonesboro High.

Diana Pacheco
MA, Spanish '14

I am currently a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley in the Graduate School of Education with a specialization in Language Literacy and Culture. Additionally, I work as a graduate student instructor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

Maiella Hernández
MA, Spanish '12

In May 2013, my daughter was born and I worked at home just few hours a week as a Spanish teacher and translator for a Canadian company in Querétero, Mexico. In 2015 my husband, daughter, and I moved to Sherbrooke (Canada) where I work as Early Childhood Educator and I teach Spanish at “École
Montessori Magog”. Next year, I am planning to get my Montessori Certification at Canadian Montessori
Teacher Education Institute.

Catalina Rojas Blanco
MA, Spanish '12

I have been working independently, doing literary workshops, tutoring in Spanish and Literature, translating, and writing poetry, stories, and books for children.  This spring (2017) I am starting my PhD in Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures at University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Upon completing my PhD I plan to teach Spanish and Hispanic literature at the university level.

Ashley Cline
MA, Spanish '11

I'm a National Sales Manager at Samasource and I do Consulting for a company in the Dominican Republic (Voice Team). I plan to continue in the BPO (outsourcing) space and establish myself as an expert in the field.

Nicole (Goestenkors) Gomez
MA, Spanish '11

I finished my Ph.D in Spanish at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville with a dissertation entitled “Nepantla as her Place in the Middle: Multilingualism and Multiculturalism in the Writings of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.” I currently work as an Assistant Professor of Spanish at University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

Jason M. Stinnett
MA, Spanish '10

I completed my PhD at University of Tennessee, and am currently working as a Visiting Assistant Professor at St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas. My research focuses on the relationship between gender and power dynamics in Hispanic convent writing from the late Medieval through the Early Modern period.

Brianna Janssen Sánchez
MA, Spanish '09

I completed a PhD in Second Language Acquisition with the FLARE program at the University of Iowa and now work as the director of the university’s media center. On a personal note, since graduating SIUC I married my college sweetheart and had two little girls.

Marcela Angel
MA, Spanish '07

Right now, I’m an English Language Fellow (program sponsored by the US department of State) teaching at Mataram University in Indonesia. The program lasts 10 months and I will have the option to renew. If I don’t renew my fellowship, I will probably go back to teaching English at the Center for English as a Second Language at SIU.