Where Are They Now? Catching Up With Language Education Alumni
We’re always thrilled to hear career updates from our TESOL graduates. Read on to learn what these alums are doing now.
Jane Koné MATESOL, ‘18 took a new position as the lead adult ESL specialist for the Arlington Education and Employment Program (REEP) in January 2022. REEP is a dynamic, multi-faceted, English as a second language program for adult English language learners who live or work in and around Arlington, Virginia. As the lead adult ESL specialist, Jane coordinates classes and organizes program-wide professional development and training for teachers. Previously, Jane taught intermediate to advanced English classes with the program.
Daurie Mangan-Dimuzio MATESOL, ‘14 started a new job at the National Marine Fisheries Service last year. She is responsible for setting the learning and development strategy for NOAA Fisheries. She leads a learning council with representatives across 20 offices and manages a portfolio of professional development programs.
Agata Pellerito-Adely MATESOL, ’99 is currently completing her PhD in linguistics at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. The working title of her dissertation is “Portraits of Sicilian-Australians: Exploring Identity Through the Repertoire.” She embarked on her studies to better understand how others of Sicilian background grappled with multiple heritage languages especially when languages such as Sicilian are often viewed as having a lower status when compared to Italian.
Dr. Joyce Kling MATESOL, ’88 is completing her year as the president of TESOL. We asked her what it was like to be the leader of such a large, international association. Here’s what she had to say: “Serving as president of TESOL International Association has been professionally challenging and rewarding. As the association has been slowly emerging from the shadow of the pandemic, my experience over the past year made it clear to me that the work of professional associations is rapidly changing. A key lesson I learned is that for TESOL to stay contemporary, it must be agile and flexible. With little business as usual, I have drawn heavily on the expertise of our associations’ capable staff and our volunteer leaders to begin to chart a new course for the coming years. I am grateful to have worked with an excellent team of colleagues on the board of directors. I look forward to the coming year when I will continue to serve as TESOL past-president.”
In June 2022, three Institute TESOL grads crossed paths at a regional TESOL event in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. David Chiesa MATESOL, ’10 was one of the keynote presenters and focused on his ongoing textbook project here; Joyce Kling MATESOL, ’88 opened the symposium as the current TESOL International president and a specialist working with a group of teachers from the region; and Jenn Uhler MATESOL, ’05 was there on behalf of the State Department in her current regional role. Jenn noted, “Such good energy and great professionals. I felt lucky to be in such good company.”
Ramon Mislang MATESOL ’13 has been serving as a Fulbright TEFL advisor in Taiwan. Read more here.
Tarana Patel Chatterjee MATESOL ’01 and Shahid Abrar-ul Hassan MATESOL ’08 contributed to a 2022 edited book titled English for Specific Purposes Project Leader Profiles: The Leadership Communication of 55 ESP Project Leaders.
In June 2022, Debra Solomon MATESOL ’93 was appointed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certificate Faculty Fellow in the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS). According to the announcement, selected fellows “have an impressive track record of creating DEI course content, building diverse educational programs, and advancing equity & inclusion both in the WTCS and throughout our communities.”
Several TESOL/TFL alumni played key roles in Kathi Bailey’s fall 2023 seminar on leadership in language education. Read more here.
In 2022, Sky Lantz-Wanger MATESOL ’12 completed his doctorate in Educational Leadership at the University of Dayton. The title of his dissertation was “Paths to Pathways: Exploring Lived Experiences of International Students to and through Third-party Pathway Programs.”
Two recent TFL graduates, Lauren Wilmore MATFL French ’22 and Giulia Beccarelli MATFL French ’22, completed TFL specializations in addition to their TFL degrees, preparing them to teach two foreign languages after graduation. They were the first students to do this combination of degrees and specializations. Read more here.
