My life, education, and career have always had an eye to internationalization. From an early age, I was fascinated by other languages and could often be found listening to Berlitz tapes and memorizing the accompanying phrase books instead of watching TV. I have come to realize that my love of languages stems from always having been curious about and embracing other people and other cultures. As soon as I could, I began to travel on my own, exploring new cultures not only through language but also through their music, dance, and foodways.
In school, I studied international relations, international organizations, languages, and linguistics—mostly in the United States and France, with a few stints in Germany. My dissertation research is on the salience of language in the makeup of national identity, and my current project explores the interplay of language and nationalism/national identity in twentieth-century language primers from the Balkans.
It is both an honor and a pleasure to work in the Office of Global Engagement at Boston College to help build bridges to other people and other cultures around the globe and to promote international collaboration and cooperation. Through this kind of engagement and partnership, our students and our community are enriched by what we can learn from each other; but what’s more, we can also learn to better address the many challenges that confront us around the world today.
In addition to my work with Global Engagement, I am also a personal trainer and group fitness instructor at the Margot Connell Recreation Center here at Boston College.
