World Languages Department

Meet Our Alumni

• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2769-andrea-pasillas"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/39,241,1387,1589/6540_Pasillas.rev.1562876147.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/39,241,1387,1589/6540_Pasillas.rev.1562876147.webp 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/39,241,1387,1589/6540_Pasillas.rev.1562876147.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/39,241,1387,1589/6540_Pasillas.rev.1562876147.jpg 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/39,241,1387,1589/6540_Pasillas.rev.1562876147.jpg" alt="Andrea Pasillas" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/39,241,1387,1589/6540_Pasillas.rev.1562876147.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/39,241,1387,1589/6540_Pasillas.rev.1562876147.jpg 3x" data-max-w="1348" data-max-h="1348" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2769-andrea-pasillas"><p> Andrea Pasillas is a Spanish teacher at Powell High School in the Knox County (Tennessee) school system.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Andrea is passionate about her teaching. She is dedicated to making the Spanish-speaking world accessible to every student by using comprehensible language acquisition theory and authentic cultural resources while emphasizing interculturality and celebrating multiculturalism.</p><p> The 2019-20 school year marks her sixth year teaching and she has spent all six years at Powell High School. “Over the last few years, I have learned that teaching is not for the faint of heart. Every day has a different struggle; however, every day presents itself with new opportunity: a new opportunity to interact with so many young minds and to play even the smallest role in shaping their view of the world. That interaction is one of the most rewarding aspects of this profession to me.”</p><p> In addition to facilitating language acquisition, she also sponsors the Spanish Club, Junior Class Fundraising, the Annual Winter Semi-Formal Dance, and trips abroad with students. She says she is most proud of the work that her students do in Spanish Club. “With the service-learning mindset that I experienced while at E&H, my students and I volunteer with Knoxville’s Hora Latina to help with the annual Hola Festival, have sponsored the Pulsera Project at Powell, we volunteer for Work Days at the Beardsley Community Farm, and host cultural events at Powell to bring Hispanic culture to our community.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2769-andrea-pasillas" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/707-martin-stiles"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,300,300/357_static1.squarespace.rev.1500388585.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/png" srcset="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,300,300/357_static1.squarespace.rev.1500388585.png 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,300,300/357_static1.squarespace.rev.1500388585.png" alt="" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="300" data-max-h="300" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/707-martin-stiles"><p> International Studies Inspired a future in Water Conservation </p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> His interest in water resources led Marty to pursue a career working in water policy.</p><p> Martin, known to his classmates as Marty, graduated in Spring 2013 from Emory & Henry College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in French. After two years of graduate–level research at Northern Arizona University, he took a job at the Arizona Department of Water Resources. He currently works as a Water Resources Specialist where he takes an interdisciplinary approach to water resources management. Marty has always been interested in anything related to environmental science. When asked for his interests, he immediately listed “eco-systems science, water availability and regulation, and environmental policy.”</p><p> During his undergraduate studies at Emory & Henry, Marty traveled to 15 different countries including Turkey, Morocco, Greece, Italy, Andorra, Germany, Austria, Spain, England, Wales, Iceland, and France, where he studied for 6 months. He said, “International experience drives my interest in water conservation because access to clean drinking water is a human right.” Currently, he is conducting research on the decomposition of leaf material by microbes in streams and the transfer of nutrients to the aquatic food web. To Marty, one of his most memorable experiences in the Emory & Henry Honors Program is the thesis writing process. He said, “it helped to shape my understanding of science writing and is what got me to where I am today.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/707-martin-stiles" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/712-kaitlyn-mcnabney"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,300,200/362_KaitlynMcNabney.rev.1500389806.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,300,200/362_KaitlynMcNabney.rev.1500389806.jpg 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,300,200/362_KaitlynMcNabney.rev.1500389806.jpg" alt="" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="300" data-max-h="200" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/712-kaitlyn-mcnabney"><p> Using a Love of Language and Culture to Drive Her Future </p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Her love for languages and culture has taken her to France, Belgium, Scotland, Ireland, and Brazil. Now, she hopes to use her new found language skills as she works towards earning her Master’s Degree.</p><p> Kaitlyn graduated a semester early with a Bachelor of Arts in both Political Science and French. She wants to pursue a career with an NGO to promote the humanitarian cause. In January 2015, she traveled to Brazil to obtain an internship, learn Portuguese, make connections for possible future job opportunities, and teach English. She has served as Summer Scholars Counselor for the <a href="/summer-programs-camps/summer-scholars-institute-leadership-program/">Emory & Henry Summer Scholars Program</a>, Global Ambassador, Orientation Leader, Peer Mentor, and Peer Tutor. In addition, she was involved in Habitat for Humanity, Rotaract, Pi Sigma Kappa Sorority, and Pi Delta Phi National French Honors Society. One of her favorite experiences at Emory & Henry is being one of the Global Ambassadors. She said, “I love getting to know other people and incorporating those cultures and diversities into our campus life.” </p></div><a href="/live/profiles/712-kaitlyn-mcnabney" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/702-jessica-daddio"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/352_c756fe0a8310d2eb4ac6320e5f487579_f1238.rev.1500385431.webp 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/352_c756fe0a8310d2eb4ac6320e5f487579_f1238.rev.1500385431.jpg 2x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/352_c756fe0a8310d2eb4ac6320e5f487579_f1238.rev.1500385431.jpg" alt="" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1000,666/352_c756fe0a8310d2eb4ac6320e5f487579_f1238.rev.1500385431.jpg 2x" data-max-w="1000" data-max-h="666" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/702-jessica-daddio"><p> Jessica Daddio, Class of 2013</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Jessica Daddio has turned her sense of adventure into an exciting career. As travel editor for <em>Blue Ridge Outdoors</em> magazine, Daddio writes articles, shoots photos and produces videos covering travel and adventure opportunities throughout the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.</p><p> Daddio’s current job seems like an extension of her experience at Emory & Henry, where she participated in the Outdoor Program, leading other students on hiking, kayaking and rock climbing excursions at nearby attractions such as the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area and the Appalachian Trail. She also studied abroad in the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil through the National Outdoor Leadership School. These travel and outdoor activities became a key focus of projects Daddio completed for her personalized interdisciplinary major in creative communications, which combined coursework in mass communications, photography and creative writing.</p><p> “I’m doing something I love—something that’s truly important to me,” says Daddio, who also received a double major in French literature. “Emory & Henry prepared me in every sense of the word. There was a supportive community of people who inspired me and encouraged me to chase my dreams and my passions, no matter how far-fetched they seemed. They inspired me to follow my passion and do something I love.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/702-jessica-daddio" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>