Department Close-up: Modern and Classical Languages

Language arts

When students choose majors like chemistry, computer science or music, their path to a related profession can be fairly straightforward.

But what about students who study the language arts?

We sat down with five seniors who soon will graduate with majors or minors from the Modern and Classical Languages Department. The students are:

Emma Brooker
Major: Communication arts
Minors: Spanish and mathematics
Melinda Buker
Major: Spanish
Minor: Women’s, gender and sexuality studies
Kalyssa King
Majors: Spanish and international studies
Maura Matvey
Majors: Psychology and Spanish
Jenna Sandala
Major: Biochemistry
Minor: French

Here’s what they had to say about how their language arts education changed their outlooks and helped to shape their futures.

How has studying a foreign language benefited you?
Jenna: Taking a language broadens your perspectives. When you take a language at Allegheny, you also learn a lot about cultures. It’s really something you don’t get to do in other classes.

Kalyssa: When you’re studying a language, it’s so much about developing you as a person. You also really get to see a much deeper side to your professors because of the way the classroom setting is. You get to hear a lot more about their experiences.

In addition, due to smaller class sizes, you get a sense of comradery among each other because you’re all learning together, and you get to know everyone on a deeper level.

Maura: In addition to studying Spanish, I also took classes in Arabic here. It was one of the most wonderful experiences of my entire life. It’s so different; it has opened my eyes so much. And I’ve learned so much about a different part of the world just through the language. I feel like I’ve become a better person through the studying of Arabic.

Describe any study abroad experiences you have had.
Kalyssa: In fall 2013, I studied in Argentina. I feel there’s so much value in a person’s native language; it’s such a huge part of their identity and their perspective. Learning the language from native speakers was crucial to me. It gives you so much insight into their culture and history and everything that surrounds that. I couldn’t imagine not studying Spanish and international studies. After that experience, I knew I loved the culture that I had learned about associated with Latin America.

Melinda: I studied in Spain in fall 2013. I enjoyed coming back and talking to Kalyssa about her experience because we were in different countries. Now, because of the accent I picked up from being in Spain, people will say to me, “Did you study abroad?”

How has your major or minor in language arts helped you on your career path?
Maura: The fact that I have a second major in Spanish is opening up a lot of job opportunities for me, such as working in research labs that deal with languages.

Melinda: After graduation, I will be doing Teach for America, where I’ll be teaching Spanish in North Carolina. Since Spanish is my major, I’m so glad to have work in that field. Majoring in Spanish was great in marketing myself to get a job. For me, learning another language also strengthened my English skills. It helped me to develop parallels between the structures in the languages. It definitely helped me with my grammar, too.

Emma: In the past, I have worked summer camps for the Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania. I’m hoping to gain full-time employment there after I graduate. Knowing Spanish has been helpful because some of the children speak two languages.

The five seniors agree that studying a foreign language at Allegheny changed their lives for the better. To learn more about the Modern and Classical Languages Department, visit https://sites.allegheny.edu/modlang/.

Phi Sigma Iota

Seniors Emma Brooker, Melinda Buker, Kalyssa King, Maura Matvey and Jenna Sandala are all members of the Alpha Chapter of Phi Sigma Iota, the highest academic honor in the field of foreign languages.

The society recognizes outstanding accomplishment in the study or teaching of any of the academic fields related to foreign language, literature or culture. These fields include not only modern foreign languages, but also classics, linguistics, philology, comparative literature, bilingual education, second language acquisition and other interdisciplinary programs with a significant foreign language component.

“It’s an honor to be a part of this organization, because it means you have reached a certain point in your language development,” King says. “It’s cool to be part of an organization where even though everyone has studied a different language, they have all really excelled in that language. It’s nice to have that sense of comradery.”

Did you know?
Phi Sigma Iota was founded in 1922 at Allegheny by Dr. Henry W. Church, members of his department of languages and advanced students who were meeting to discuss linguistic and literary matters. The Department of Modern and Classical Languages at Allegheny now serves as Phi Sigma Iota’s international headquarters.

There are approximately 250 chapters of Phi Sigma Iota at institutions of higher learning in the United States, Mexico and France. To learn more, visit phisigmaiota.org.

Photo, left to right: Seniors Jenna Sandala, Kalyssa King, Melinda Buker, Maura Matvey and Emma Brooker.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research