Advice
from the future
Conversations with alumni of
The Language Flagship
Alumni of The Language Flagship offer their perspectives and words of wisdom to current students. As they reflect on their experiences, they provide practical advice on learning a language, getting the most out of the Capstone year abroad, choosing and navigating a career path, and overcoming challenges along the way.
Meet the Alumni
Meet 14 alumni of The Language Flagship program, working in diverse fields and careers. In this episode, they describe their undergraduate Flagship experiences, and what they’re doing now.
Interviewees
Ava Jamerson (University of Oregon – Chinese), Brendan Hatch (Brigham Young University – Arabic), Brooke Blankenship (University of Maryland – Arabic), Janette Wu (Hunter College – Chinese), Syd Heller (University of California, Los Angeles – Russian), Nicholas Sherry (University of Georgia – Portuguese), Federico Guajardo (University of Arizona – Arabic), Michael Sauers (University of Arizona – Arabic), Erik Thorbeck (University of Oregon – Chinese), Alejandro Espinosa (University of Georgia – Portuguese), Lauren Burns (University of Mississippi – Arabic), Annabelle Qualls (University of Oregon – Chinese), Ashley Cox (Indiana University – Arabic)
Developing Daily Language Practice Before Capstone
Learn about various strategies successful alumni used, such as making friends who speak the target language, seeking out events and clubs related to the target culture, playing video games to connect concepts to words, watching YouTube, and diving into music, podcasts, and news articles.
Interviewees
Nicholas Sherry (University of Georgia – Portuguese), Syd Heller (University of California, Los Angeles – Russian), Annabelle Qualls (University of Oregon – Chinese), Ava Jamerson (University of Oregon – Chinese), Ashley Cox (Indiana University – Arabic), Janette Wu (Hunter College – Chinese), Federico Guajardo (University of Arizona – Arabic)
Tackling Challenges on Your Language Journey
Learning a language is different for everyone. Listen as alumni share their own language learning experiences, challegnes they faced, and how they tackled them.
Interviewees
Federico Guajardo (University of Arizona – Arabic), Janette Wu (Hunter College – Chinese), Alejandro Espinosa (University of Georgia – Portuguese), Brendan Hatch (Brigham Young University – Arabic), Brooke Blankenship (University of Maryland – Arabic), Lauren Burns (University of Mississippi – Arabic), Kathleen Robbins (University of California, Los Angeles – Russian)
Fitting Your Language into Your Life After Flagship
Flagship alumni integrate their language skills into both their personal and professional lives. Learn practical tips for language maintenance and gain inspiration from their experiences of continuous language learning.
Interviewees
Ava Jamerson (University of Oregon – Chinese), Ashley Cox (Indiana University – Arabic), Janette Wu (Hunter College – Chinese), Brooke Blankenship (University of Maryland – Arabic), Erik Thorbeck (University of Oregon – Chinese), Alejandro Espinosa (University of Georgia – Portuguese), Lauren Burns (University of Mississippi – Arabic), Kathleen Robbins (University of California, Los Angeles – Russian), Brendan Hatch (Brigham Young University – Arabic), Brooke Blankenship (University of Maryland – Arabic)
Words of Wisdom from the Alumni
The alumni encourage current Flagship students to overcome fear of mistakes, embrace opportunities, and venture beyond comfort zones. They also stress the significance of language learning as a powerful tool, not only for communication, but also for personal and professional development.
Interviewees
Lauren Burns (University of Mississippi – Arabic), Michael Sauers (University of Arizona – Arabic), Janette Wu (Hunter College – Chinese), Kathleen Robbins (University of California, Los Angeles – Russian), Annabelle Qualls (University of Oregon – Chinese), Syd Heller (University of California, Los Angeles – Russian), Federico Guajardo (University of Arizona – Arabic), Brendan Hatch (Brigham Young University – Arabic), Ava Jamerson (University of Oregon – Chinese), Alejandro Espinosa (University of Georgia – Portuguese)
Public Sector Career Spotlight
Ava, a Language Flagship student and Boren Scholar, is Policy Advisor for Trade at the Department of Commerce. In this episode, she shares how she embraced opportunities that brought her closer to her fields of interest.
Interviewee
Ava Jamerson (University of Oregon – Chinese)
Credits
Project Lead: Suzanne Freynik
Interviewer: Madeleine Achgill
Production: Madeleine Achgill & Brendan Ryan
Postproduction: Eva Cohn, Madeline Black, Margaret Asperheim, Young Chun, Richard Medina, Molly Godwin-Jones.
This project was supported by a grant from the Institute of International Education (IIE), acting as the administrative agent of the National Security Education Program (NSEP), Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO) for The Language Flagship.
The Language Flagship is a national initiative to change the way Americans learn languages through a groundbreaking approach to language education through a network of programs at institutions of higher education across the United States. The Language Flagship graduates students who will take their place among the next generation of global professionals, commanding a superior level of proficiency in one of ten languages critical to U.S. national security and economic competitiveness.
This website has been developed and is maintained by The Language Flagship Technology Innovation Center. The content of this website does not necessarily reflect the position of policy of the U.S. government. No official government endorsement should be inferred.