World Languages

The American Sign Language club is a student-led organization that gives students in our ASL courses opportunities to practice using the language outside of class. Students meet regularly to bond and socialize, as well as organize presentations by Deaf presenters. Since 2019, students have attended presentations including Deaf History Month with Nico DiMarco, LGBTQIA+ in the Deaf Community with Blake Culley, LatinX in the Deaf Community with Ivy Velez and many more. The ASL club has also hosted social events like game nights, trivia, yoga, and paint nights all in ASL. Since it was started in 2019, the ASL club has helped students to progress in their ASL comprehension and production, as well as their understanding of Deaf culture.

After graduating from the American Sign Language/English Interpreting concentration in 2021, Emily Pacheco immediately began pursuing state-level interpreting credentials while holding a job at Perspectives Corp. in Rhode Island as Interpreter Coordinator. She became an approved state-screened interpreter by fall of the same year, which allowed her to become licensed to work in the state of RI.  Unlike most newly-minted interpreters who attempt national interpreter certification after working for several years, Emily attempted the National Interpreter Certification exam within 3 months  Her exemplary skills are partly due to her life-long exposure to American Sign Language as a child of Deaf parents. 

During her time at FSU, Emily took a semester abroad at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she was bitten by the research bug. Upon graduating from FSU, Emily began investigating graduate programs with a goal of undertaking research related to interpreting. She was accepted as a graduate student at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia where she is beginning her studies this spring. She received a scholarship from the Demers Foreign Language Fellowship Program of the Rhode Island Foundation and an additional generous scholarship from the American Australian Association Graduate Education Fund which is covering all her expenses. Her research interests include the concept of language and culture brokering as performed by children of Deaf adults, with an emphasis on the brokering carried out by children whose Deaf parents have immigrated from elsewhere.

We couldn’t be more proud of this alumna! 

Check out a brand new podcast! HOLA FSU is a podcast hosted by Professor Beatriz Alvarado from the World Language Department and students from her Survey of Latin American Literature course. Students will be sharing their perspective on the writers that they study in their course. Following this, Professor Alvarado will interview members of the greater LatinX community. The podcast is available now on Anchor, Spotify, and Google podcast. The first episode, La configuración del mundo hispanoamericano, includes an interview with our very own President Cevallos. Be sure to follow us and give it a listen! 

¡Presten atención a este nuevo podcast! HOLA FSU es un podcast dirigido por la profesora Beatriz Alvarado del Departamento de Lenguas y estudiantes del curso Survey of Latin American Literature.  Los estudiantes compartirán sus reacciones acerca de los autores analizados en el curso y por su parte, la profesora Alvarado entrevistará a diversos miembros de la comunidad LatinX. El podcast está actualmente disponible Anchor, Spotify, y Google podcast. El primer episodio, La configuración del mundo hispanoamericano, incluye una entrevista con nuestro presidente la universidad, Dr. Cevallos. ¡Asegúrense de seguirnos y escucharnos!