Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics
St. Cloud State University
I attended University to study music and foreign languages. Ultimately, my studies in German, French, Japanese, Spanish and Russian led to my pursuing the field of Linguistics.
In my first semester, I engaged with on-campus leadership opportunities, by volunteering for the student activities office, UPB, and deejaying at the campus radio station, KVSC. I continued these activities throughout my tenure.
I performed with both the men’s choir and the world percussion ensemble. I was elected to leadership roles in student advocacy organizations such as Students for Sensible Drug Policy and AniMent Action, an environmental and animal rights advocacy group. These diverse leadership roles were the reason I was selected to participate as a student representative on the campus conduct committee, which served as a panel to hear cases of extreme academic or interpersonal conduct violations.
In the summer between my junior and senior years I went to Ukraine with my Russian professor to study the overlapping culture and history of Ukraine and Russia via the Russian Orthodox Church and the Soviet Union.
I worked one or more concurrent jobs during my undergraduate studies, often full time or in excess, including service roles at hotels and offices, creative roles in graphic and web design, as a copy editor and contributing reporter for the campus newspaper, and in event planning and PR through my work as the late night festival and events coordinator and Vice President of Member Relations.
For my dedication to my academics and the campus community, I was awarded both the President’s Volunteer Service Award and the University Award for Excellence in Leadership.
During my final year, I worked with the ESL department on my capstone project: a vocabulary management and assessment application students could use in their browsers to collect and practice words they wanted to learn. The German department adopted it the following year.