Section
Languages

ALUMNI NEWS

What are the graduates of Eastern's Language Program doing now?      

Amy JonesAmy Jones (Class of 2008; Social Work Major and Spanish Minor)
"After graduating from Eastern University, I went on to get my Master of Social Work at the University of Pennsylvania. Currently, I am the Health & Social Services Coordinator at SEAMAAC, Inc, a community-based non-profit organization located in South Philadelphia with a mission to support immigrants, refugees, and their families as they seek access to opportunities, which would advance the condition of their lives in the United States. At SEAMAAC I coordinate programs and activities that strive to improve the health of immigrant communities. We provide and connect immigrants and refugees to Philadelphia resources, while advocating that systemic barriers to services be reduced or eliminated.  Additionally, I support agency and program strategic planning, funding, implementation, marketing, reporting, and evaluation.  I supervise outreach staff, student interns, and volunteers.  I plan health fairs, community workshops, special events, and participate in activities of coalitions and funding bodies.  Prior to my position at SEAMAAC, I spent 2 years in a counseling role working directly with survivors of intimate partner violence, as well as providing community education about teen dating violence.

My experience at Eastern in both the social work and language departments has been invaluable.  The courses instilled concrete skills that I rely on daily, as well as deeply rooted values in faith and justice. Additionally, studying abroad was strongly encouraged, and I was able to participate in the Latin American Studies Program during the Fall of 2006.  This was an incredible experience that expanded my world view, forced me to critically think about controversial issues, improved by Spanish-language capabilities, and enhanced my understanding of cultural diversity, oppression, and privilege.  Regardless of your major, I highly encourage every student to minor in a foreign language, as these skills will be essential to any career path you take.

Brittany O'Reilly (Class of 2010; Spanish Major)

After graduating in May I decided to move to Houston, Texas to really commit myself to being in an environment in which I would be using my Spanish. I packed up my car and drove down without a job or a place to live. But this time in life is for crazy adventures like this! I got a job as a customer service rep in the energy industry in Houston and spoke Spanish every day - all of my co-workers were Mexican and we did a decent amount of business with companies in Mexico so I made client calls and visits speaking only Spanish. I also found the best hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurants and built relationships with people there and attended a Spanish-speaking church for a while. I structured my life here so that most days I actually didn't speak English. I have since moved on to a different position, one that requires my bilingual abilities on a more need-based level. Spanish is something I am so passionate about, something that feels so inherent to me (I often say I feel more "myself" expressing my feelings in Spanish than English) that I made an entire life-change to pursue. And so far I am thrilled with that change!

Erica MierErica Mier (Class of 2004; Spanish Major)

For the past 8 years I have been teaching Spanish at Northley Middle School. I have also kept up with traveling; honeymooning in Mexico, studying in France and Quebec, translating for my pastor in Bolivia, and also getting my international TEFL certification in Seville Spain. As of this May I began teaching English as a Second Language at UPenn. I love traveling and learning about the peoples of the world and I desire to share that with others. For this reason a few years ago, Jill Bednar, a friend and co-worker (an Eastern Masters program alum) and I started the nonprofit 501(c)3 called Las Dos Chicas with the mission to spread cultural awareness and tolerance. We started out by filming educational videos for the foreign language classrooms, completing one in Spain and one in Quebec. These are marketed with teacher production companies such as Teachers' Discovery and Carlex. Our goal was if we can't bring all of the students abroad, why not bring the country to them? However, we realized there was a greater goal ahead. In this economy, Jill and I saw less and less students being able to go on our school's abroad trip leading to cancellation of trips to Spain, Italy and France. At that point Jill and I decided to create the "Pack Your Bags" Scholarship and began fund raising. This spring we were able to offer our first scholarship in the amount of $2,500 to Kaitlin Irwin, of Albright University, who will be studying abroad summer of 2012. Please check out www.lasdoschicas.org for more information on our organization and scholarship. We are also on Facebook. Finally I would like to extend many many thanks to Dr. Aguilar-Stewart who refused to let me drop Spanish because it was, "too hard." Thank you for believing in me. We don't always see the ripple effect of that one stone cast, but know that if it weren't for you, my feet probably wouldn't have ever left American soil. Thanks for addicting me to one expensive habit.

Thomas D'Adamo (Class of 2010; Spanish and Missions/Anthropology Major)Thomas D'Adamo

Eastern gave me the chance to combine two great majors: Spanish and Missions/Anthropology. These studies, with the help of caring professors, equipped and empowered me to see the world through the eyes of cultures far different from my own. This was especially true when I had the opportunity to study in Peru, live with a host family, and return there as a volunteer during my senior year. I can honestly say that this has been the most enriching endeavor of my life.