On Nov. 6th, seven UW alumni who graduated with degrees in various foreign languages came to campus to take part in a panel discussion to offer advice and answer questions about their careers and how studying a language can impact one’s career and life post-graduation. French & Italian Studies advisor Sabrina Tatta, organized the event along with Spanish & Portuguese Studies, Slavic Languages & Literatures, Scandinavian Studies, Near Eastern Languages & Civilization, Asian Languages & Literatures, and the Certificate of International Business Program.
Of the panel discussion Sabrina notes that “it was reassuring, though not surprising, to hear the alumni on the career panel for foreign language students attribute their job success to a humanities-based education. A broad liberal education, rather than a narrowly focused education, gave the panelists greater range when exploring and securing careers. We saw this in the diversity of positions held by the panelists in tech, the public sector, the federal government and the arts. Our panelists are appreciated in their work place for their humanities background and in turn have an appreciation for the liberal arts when looking to hire.”
Thank you to our panelists, co-sponsoring language departments, and student volunteers.
Please see the list of the esteemed panelists below.
- Kenneth Barger/ French BA 2014/ Translator & Interpreter, Self-employed
- Alicia Sabovik / French BA 2011, French MA 2019 / French Lecturer , University of Washington
- Alex Minami/ BA in German Cultural Studies 2010/ Community Engagement Manager, Seattle Opera
- Capri Burrell/ MA in NELC, 2010/ Senior UX Researcher, Google
- Tim Riley/ MA in Slavic Linguistics 1993, PhD in Slavic Linguistics, 1999/ Intelligence Analyst, Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Noelle Ericson/ BA in Spanish & International Studies 2011 / Program Manager, Amazon
- Garrett Weinberg / BA in Marketing & International Business 2017 / Chinese Teacher, ExcelMandarin