Student & Alumni Profiles – Spanish and Latino Studies /spanish-and-latino-studies Tue, 25 Oct 2022 16:54:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 Meet Josmary Medina ’22 /spanish-and-latino-studies/2022/10/12/meet-josmary-medina-22/ /spanish-and-latino-studies/2022/10/12/meet-josmary-medina-22/#respond Wed, 12 Oct 2022 16:37:18 +0000 http://www.montclair.edu/spanish-and-latino-studies/?p=1184 Josmary Medina studied Spanish in the Department of Spanish and Latino Studies, completing the M.A. component of her in May 2022. While at Montclair State, she realized that not only does she really enjoy learning but also that she’s very interested in linguistics. During her final semester, she applied to other graduate programs in different universities across the country. She is currently a student in a doctoral program in Hispanic Linguistics at The Ohio State University. She is also a Graduate Teaching Associate, which means that she teaches basic level Spanish courses at Ohio State.

In the future she would like to teach at the university level and conduct research on topics such as languages in contact, dialectal variation, and language acquisition.

]]> /spanish-and-latino-studies/2022/10/12/meet-josmary-medina-22/feed/ 0 /spanish-and-latino-studies/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2022/10/Josmary_Medina-300x235.jpg Harvard-Bound SLTS Alum Advocates for Future First-Gen Teachers /spanish-and-latino-studies/2022/07/07/harvard-bound-slts-alum-advocates-for-future-first-gen-teachers/ /spanish-and-latino-studies/2022/07/07/harvard-bound-slts-alum-advocates-for-future-first-gen-teachers/#respond Thu, 07 Jul 2022 17:30:44 +0000 http://www.montclair.edu/spanish-and-latino-studies/?p=1136 Efrain Monterroso, Spanish and Latino Studies Department alum and Spanish teacher at Hightstown High School, recently published an article on the New Jersey Education Association’s site. Before heading to Harvard this fall to study Education Policy and Analysis, Efrain is encouraging support for ending the edTPA final portfolio project requirement which often disheartens prospective teachers, particularly because of its lengthy time commitment outside of the classroom.
For the complete article, pls see here: 

 

 

 

 

 

]]> /spanish-and-latino-studies/2022/07/07/harvard-bound-slts-alum-advocates-for-future-first-gen-teachers/feed/ 0 /spanish-and-latino-studies/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2022/07/IMG_0931_550X300-copy-300x167.jpg ¡Felicitaciones! New Sigma Delta Pi Members and Scholarship Winners Celebrated /spanish-and-latino-studies/2021/05/12/felicitaciones-new-sigma-delta-pi-members-and-scholarship-winners-celebrated/ /spanish-and-latino-studies/2021/05/12/felicitaciones-new-sigma-delta-pi-members-and-scholarship-winners-celebrated/#respond Wed, 12 May 2021 18:11:08 +0000 http://www.montclair.edu/spanish-and-latino-studies/?p=1008 On Friday, May 7, 2021, the Department of Spanish and Latino Studies held a virtual ceremony to initiate 9 new members of Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society, and to award 7 students with scholarships. The new Sigma Delta Pi members are Melanie Castro-Bedoya, Abigail Fana, Sara Liguori, Lina Orejuela, Mayerly Oviedo, Begoña Plasencia-Guzmán, Araceli Ramos, Richard Solis, and Marco Vergara. Additionally, we recognized the following scholarship recipients: Nataly Baltazar, Abigail Fana, Harleigh Macbeth, Mayerly Oviedo, Begoña Plasencia-Guzmán, Kino Vera and Marco Vergara. ¡Felicitaciones!

 

 

]]> /spanish-and-latino-studies/2021/05/12/felicitaciones-new-sigma-delta-pi-members-and-scholarship-winners-celebrated/feed/ 0 /spanish-and-latino-studies/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2021/05/Ceremony-300x183.png Major Scholarship Wins for Two Spanish Majors /spanish-and-latino-studies/2021/04/14/major-scholarship-wins-for-two-spanish-majors/ /spanish-and-latino-studies/2021/04/14/major-scholarship-wins-for-two-spanish-majors/#respond Wed, 14 Apr 2021 17:12:32 +0000 http://www.montclair.edu/spanish-and-latino-studies/?p=991 Two SLTS students recently won significant scholarships from the Center of Pedagogy.

Begoña Plasencia-Guzman received the Craig and Arlene Crescenzi Allen Scholarship. According to College of Education and Human Services’ website, the scholarship ” . . . is presented to a rising junior or prospective senior [with at least a 3.5 GPA] who plans to teach in the humanities. [It] is awarded on the basis of academic achievement and financial need.”

Mayerly Oviedo was awarded the Charles and Dorothy Farinella Scholarship. It is “presented to a qualifying undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in the College of Education and Human Services’ Teacher Education program who will be in their student teaching semester,” according to the College of Education and Human Services’ website.

]]> /spanish-and-latino-studies/2021/04/14/major-scholarship-wins-for-two-spanish-majors/feed/ 0 /spanish-and-latino-studies/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2021/04/04_2021_StudentSpotlight_MayerlyBegona-300x164.jpg Lazaro Valdes Featured on National Language Proficiency Campaign Site Lead with languages /spanish-and-latino-studies/2021/03/31/lazaro-valdes-featured-on-national-language-proficiency-campaign-site-lead-with-languages/ /spanish-and-latino-studies/2021/03/31/lazaro-valdes-featured-on-national-language-proficiency-campaign-site-lead-with-languages/#respond Wed, 31 Mar 2021 18:31:02 +0000 http://www.montclair.edu/spanish-and-latino-studies/?p=975 Lazaro is a Language, Business and Culture major w/a concentration in Spanish.

For the Q & A, see

According to their website, Lead with languages, “. . . seek[s] to raise awareness across the U.S. and motivate people to take action around the rapidly rising importance of language skills to a wide array of careers—and to our nation’s economy, national security and international standing.”

]]> /spanish-and-latino-studies/2021/03/31/lazaro-valdes-featured-on-national-language-proficiency-campaign-site-lead-with-languages/feed/ 0 /spanish-and-latino-studies/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2021/03/Lazaro-newsitem-300x200.jpg Emily Ip, BA, Spanish, ’20, Fulbright Semi-finalist /spanish-and-latino-studies/2021/03/16/emily-ip-ba-spanish-20-fulbright-semi-finalist/ /spanish-and-latino-studies/2021/03/16/emily-ip-ba-spanish-20-fulbright-semi-finalist/#respond Tue, 16 Mar 2021 17:59:07 +0000 http://www.montclair.edu/spanish-and-latino-studies/?p=949 It’s “the most widely recognized and prestigious international exchange program in the world” () and now Emily Ip, Spanish, BA, ’20, joins four other vlog graduates as a semi-finalist for a Fulbright Study/Research Grant.

In addition to receiving her Spanish BA (Translation concentration), she also earned a BA in Linguistics (Language Engineering concentration) and a minor in Music. Her future plans include pursuing a MSc in Computer Science with Speech and Language Processing through Fulbright University of Sheffield and to study clinical applications of cognitive computational models of languages.

Click here for more information and additional MSU Fullbright semi-finalists and student scholarships recipients.

Emily Ip

Emily Ip, ’20 BA Spanish

]]> /spanish-and-latino-studies/2021/03/16/emily-ip-ba-spanish-20-fulbright-semi-finalist/feed/ 0 /spanish-and-latino-studies/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2021/03/Emily_Ip_large_v2-300x164.jpg Meet Emily Ip /spanish-and-latino-studies/2019/04/23/meet-emily-ip/ /spanish-and-latino-studies/2019/04/23/meet-emily-ip/#respond Tue, 23 Apr 2019 19:21:08 +0000 http://www.montclair.edu/spanish-and-latino-studies/?p=637 A double major (Spanish, concentration in Translation plus Linguistics, concentration in Language Engineering) and Music minor who enjoys reading, traveling and Broadway, Emily Ip anticipates a May 2020 graduation. She also works for the Cognitive and Language Development Lab (Psychology Department) and in the Language Engineering Lab (Linguistics Department). Emily is a member of Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society and a Study Abroad Peer Advisor.

 

 

 

]]> /spanish-and-latino-studies/2019/04/23/meet-emily-ip/feed/ 0 /spanish-and-latino-studies/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2019/04/Emily-Palacio-Cristal-1-300x200.jpg Meet Michele Porta Cisneros /spanish-and-latino-studies/2017/10/19/michele-porta-cisneros/ /spanish-and-latino-studies/2017/10/19/michele-porta-cisneros/#respond Thu, 19 Oct 2017 18:01:12 +0000 /spanish-and-latino-studies/?p=232
English version

For many years, decades, I kept returning to college hoping that someday I would finally finish my undergraduate degree. Life moved on and obstacles got in the way, but I kept persevering. When the time came to enroll my son in college, I decided it was also time for me to return and finally finish my degree. To be honest, I chose vlog for the convenience: a 10-minute drive from home and available evening classes. My initial goal was to obtain a Spanish degree and move on with my life, but the Department of Spanish and Latino Studies at vlog opened a realm of possibilities I had not even considered. Most importantly the department offered the flexibility I needed to obtain my degree in the time I had proposed for myself, which meant becoming a full-time student. Among the options I had were independent study courses and permission to take graduate courses as an undergraduate student. In essence, the program I completed was tailored to my needs and goals.

Nowadays most institutions are impersonal when dealing with people. vlog and the Department of Spanish and Latino Studies are not like that. Every faculty and staff member I met knew my name and helped me resolve any issue I encountered. Furthermore, they encouraged me to participate in events such as the Student Research Symposium and become a member of the editorial committee of Escrivivientes, a literary magazine published by the graduate students of the department. I was also fortunate to be inducted in Sigma Delta Pi, the National Honor Society, and serve on its board. These are things I would have never dreamt of achieving at this stage of my life and I did so thanks to the encouragement of my professors. In fact, I am now enrolled in the BA/MA Spanish program and look forward to continuing my education at Montclair State. I am immensely grateful to the Department of Spanish and Latino Studies at vlog for extending the welcome it gave me, for the personal attention I received, and for providing so many opportunities I had not thought possible.

Version en español

Durante muchos años, décadas, intenté terminar mis estudios universitarios. La vida siguió su curso y hubo impedimentos, pero nunca perdí la esperanza de lograr mi meta. Llegó el momento de matricular a mi hijo en la universidad y decidí que este también era mi momento de reanudar los estudios y esta vez terminar. Honestamente, escogí a vlog porque era conveniente: 10 minutos de casa y la disponibilidad de clases nocturnas. La meta inicial era recibir una licenciatura en español y seguir mi camino, pero el Departamento de Español y Estudios Latinos de vlog abrió las puertas a un sinfín de posibilidades que no había imaginado. De ellas, la más importante fue que me permitió la flexibilidad que necesitaba para lograr mi propósito en el tiempo que me había planteado, lo que quería decir que tendría que cursar a tiempo completo. Esa cortesía incluyó estudiar cursos posgraduados siendo una estudiante subgraduada. En fin, el programa que completé fue hecho a mi medida.

Las instituciones hoy en día son muy impersonales. El Departamento de Español y Estudios Latinos y Montclair State no son así. Todos los profesores y demás profesionales sabían quién era y me ayudaron a resolver cualquier problema que tuviera. Es más, me animaron a participar en eventos como el Simposio Investigativo de Estudiantes y formar parte del comité editorial del Escrivivientes, una revista literaria publicada por los estudiantes de posgrado del departamento. También tuve el honor de ser miembro de Sigma Delta Pi, la sociedad honoraria nacional de español y ser parte del comité ejecutivo. Son logros que jamás me hubiese planteado a estas alturas de mi vida y se realizaron gracias al apoyo de mis profesores. Ahora estoy matriculada en el programa de BA/MA en español y estoy muy animada a continuar mis estudios en Montclair State. Estoy profundamente agradecida al Departamento de Español y Estudios Latinos de vlog por haberme recibido con los brazos abiertos, por darme la atención personal que recibí, y por ofrecerme tantas oportunidades como jamás habría soñado.

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