Check out current and past events in the Spanish & French Studies department!
Careers in Language and Linguistics Series
In 2021, Profs. Bolyanatz and Shelton created the "Careers in Language and Linguistics" speaker series, and we've been fortunate to have several alums and other folks join us to talk about how they incorporate language/linguistics into their chosen careers. Please reach out if you'd like to be a featured speaker!
2026 Series
Noah Yee Yick (‘22): Paths You Don’t Plan: Letting Curiosity Shape Your Future
Group Language (Spanish & Linguistics) and DWA Double Major
April 6th, 4 pm
Noah graduated from Oxy in 2022 with a B.A. in Group Language (Spanish & Linguistics) and Diplomacy & World Affairs, driven by a curiosity about language, people, and how the world works. After Oxy, he spent a year in Costa Rica as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant, where he learned just as much outside the classroom as in it. Now, he works as a researcher and policy advocate at the in San Diego, working to ensure that everyone in the region has what they need to thrive. In this talk, Noah will reflect on how Oxy opened doors he didn’t even know existed, and how you don’t need a clear path if you allow your passions and skillset to guide you.
Evan Poirson (‘09): Careers in Conservation: How Biology and Languages Open Global Pathways
Biology Major, French minor
February 17th, 4pm
After graduating from Occidental in 2009, Evan joined the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic, where he served from 2010 to 2012. Following his Peace Corps service, he earned a Master of Environmental Management degree from Duke University in 2014. Since 2015, he has worked in the forestry program at SCS Global Services, an independent certification body based in California. At Oxy, Evan majored in biology with a conservation emphasis and minored in French, studying primarily under Professor Susan Grayson. He has had a lifelong love of Romance languages—particularly French, Spanish, and Portuguese—the latter two of which he has used extensively throughout his career in forest conservation and certification.
2025 Series
Lena Smith ('16): From Linguistics to Conversational AI
Group Language Major (French & Linguistics)
April 14th, 4pm
Lena is a Solutions Engineer at Boost.ai, a Norwegian Conversational AI company. At Boost, she uses her linguistics background in a wide range of roles. She designs interactions between computers and humans, getting to put her writing, syntax, semantics, translation, and computational linguistics skills to use-and has fun doing it, even if she sits too much. In this talk, Lena will share how her linguistics and language training shaped her path into conversational AI, what it’s like to work in the field, and how studying language can lead to unexpected and exciting careers.
Vanessa Robinson-Kim ('07): Why Language Learning Matters: The Perspective of a Middle School French/Spanish Teacher
French Studies Major, UEP minor
April 1st, 2pm
Vanessa has been teaching French and Spanish in independent schools for 15 years and is currently a faculty member at Marlborough School, an independent girls' school serving grades 7-12 in Los Angeles. In 2023, she played a key role in designing Introduction to World Languages, an innovative course aimed at preparing seventh-grade students for their future language studies. This course allows students to explore languages through a study of the interconnectedness of languages and cultures globally. Through her teaching, Vanessa strives to inspire an appreciation for linguistic and cultural diversity, helping students recognize the value of engaging with other languages and cultures. In this talk, she will share some of her experiences at Oxy and beyond that ultimately brought her to the classroom.
2022 Series
Isadora Zanon ('13): It’s About the Journey: How Learning Languages Can Lead You to Unexpected Fields
April 14th, 4 pm
Isadora Zanon graduated from Oxy in 2013 with a B.A. in Group Languages (Spanish and Linguistics). After graduating, she lived in Europe for eight years teaching English in Spain, France, Germany, and Italy. She also earned a M.A. in National and Transnational Studies during her time in Germany, where she wrote a thesis on community theater work with refugees. Now back in her hometown of New York City, Isadora is working as a producer on the TV show, “Afro-Latino Travels with Kim Haas”. Her talk will focus on how a passion for languages has led to a life of adventure, even when she wasn’t always certain what her next steps would be.
Lucy Malloch ('16): Taking Chances Professionally
March 24th,12 pm
After graduating in 2016, Lucy did an Americorps year of service in an inner-city Boston middle school. She later pursued an M.Ed. in Curriculum in Teaching at Boston University while teaching Spanish at a Boston high school, and is now teaching English at a primary school in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In this talk, Lucy will discuss the opportunities she took to advance her career (even if they were risks!) and how teaching language was the underlying force through it all.
Sarah Bailey ('00): Acting Globally: Why Language Matters
Feb. 10th, 3 pm
Sarah focuses on improving support to people impacted by conflict and disaster. From delivering relief assistance in the Democratic Republic of Congo to presenting on social protection frameworks in Madagascar, French has played an important role in her career in the humanitarian sector. In this talk, Sarah will explore how language is a door opener and critical skill for working in international development and similar fields.
2021 Series
Hannah Grant, M.A., CCC-SLP ('15): Speech-Language Pathology: Getting into the Field from Oxy, and Working in the Public Schools
Hannah graduated from Oxy in 2015 with a BA in Group Language (Spanish & Linguistics). The following year, she completed a post-baccalaureate program in Communication Sciences & Disorders at Chapman University. She worked as a speech-language pathology assistant (SLPA) during the 2016-2017 school year, and then attended San Diego State University for her MA in Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences, graduating in 2019. This is her second year working as a speech-language pathologist in San Diego Unified School District. Her current caseload ranges from preschool to 6th grade, and the majority of her students are bilingual in both Spanish and English.
Dexter Blackwell (Oxy '17): Why Study a Less-Commonly Taught Language?
Dexter Blackwell graduated with a BA in Group Language from Occidental College in 2017, focusing on linguistics and Russian language. After receiving Ukrainian language training at Indiana University's Summer Language Workshop, he spent a year as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in the Donbas region of Ukraine. As a Master's student at Indiana University's Russian and East European Institute, Dexter is currently writing his MA essay on the fight against Russian disinformation in Ukraine. In the talk he shared with us in April 2021, Dexter shared his experience studying language and linguistics, and
Cindy Blanco, Ph.D., Duolinguo: Language Experts in Industry: Where You Fit In
Dr. Cindy Blanco is a senior learning scientist at Duolingo, where she works to develop better ways to teach languages with technology. She earned her MA in Spanish linguistics at Penn State and her PhD in linguistics from UT Austin, and she worked as a postdoctoral researcher in cognitive psychology at Northwestern University. Her research used experimental methods to investigate language learning, accents, and bilingualism in infants, children, and adults. Dr. Blanco studied Spanish, Russian, and French as an undergrad, and she has also learned Catalan, Italian, American Sign Language, and Portuguese to varying degrees and through a range of methods. She now gets to share her enthusiasm for languages and language learning with over 500 million learners worldwide! In this talk (Feb 2021), Cindy taught students/alums how identify the marketable skills they have developed as language experts and how they can communicate their experiences to future employers. She used different jobs at Duolingo as examples of the kinds of work that language experts do, including curriculum design, localization, language assessment, and communication. Some helpful tips Cindy gave were about the qualifications and preparation needed for each role, how to build up your resume, and how to network to find opportunities related to your interests.