Student Assistants
Natalie Cruz (Web Design and Japanese Language Assistant) is a junior Baylor Business Fellow studying Accounting, Management, and Japanese. She is passionate about learning other languages and expanding her knowledge of other cultures. She looks forward to serving others through the iMLC and promoting the exposure of different languages to her peers. Her tip for students learning a new language is to regularly meet with a classmate outside of class and have conversations using the topics you have learned in class. This will help you get to know one of your classmates in addition to increasing your fluency.
Sophia Fulton (Design and Arabic Language Assistant) is a senior Business Fellow studying Finance, Economics and Arabic. She loves connecting culture and economics on a national, business, and human level. She believes that students should keep their eyes and hearts open to experience other cultures. She loves to participate in Arabic events on campus, and she looks forward to promoting these through the iMLC. Additionally, after working with startup companies in app, web, and graphic design, she loves using these skills at the iMLC.
Genevieve Lyeth (Italian and Latin Language Assistant) is a senior Latin major and Linguistics minor. She lived in Italy for four years and speaks Italian. Living overseas opened her eyes to languages and how closely they relate to culture. Her tip for students learning a new language is to watch movies they are familiar with in the target language they are learning. Since you already knows the storyline for these movies, watching them in a different language helps you learn more about that language without trying to figure out the movie plot.
Evan McKinney-Larkin (Senior Tech and Japanese Language Assistant) is a senior Management Information Systems major and Japanese minor. He has been interested in the Japanese language and the culture since he was kid, his interest only growing the more he began to study Japan. Learning Japanese has allowed him to experience a culture vastly different from his own, and has spurred him to move forward with further understanding the language in hopes of using it in his professional career. He likes participating in Japanese events like ‘ocha no jikan’ or ‘Tea time’ - which is great way to hone your Japanese skills- and is the vice-president of the Japanese Honor Society at Baylor. His advice for learning a language is to find one that not only interest you, but one that you know you can have fun learning. For Evan, he loves the fact that the more he learns Japanese, the more he’s able understand the Japanese manga and anime he loves to read an watch. So when learning a language, try having fun and apply it to something that you like doing.
Victoria Nelon is a senior Apparel Design and Product Development major. The language she loves more than anything is French, and she also loves French culture. Her advice on learning a new language is to talk in that language as much as you can, and if there is an opportunity throughout the week for a language club, then take it! At Baylor there is La Table Française and it was a helpful tool for her for speaking, even as a beginner.
Erin O'Connor is a third year BusinessVictoria Nelon is a senior Apparel Design and Product Development major. The language she loves more than anything is French, and she also loves the French culture. Her advice on learning a new language is to talk in that language as much as you can, and if there is an opportunity throughout the week for a language club, then take it! At Baylor there is La Table Française and it was a helpful tool for speaking even as a beginner. Major. Her language of choice at Baylor is Spanish, but she also loves sign language. She hopes her time at the iMLC will help other students gain exposure to many languages and their cultures as well as discovering which language is best for them to study while at Baylor. Her tip for choosing a language: when speaking a language, close your eyes and imagine you are in a country that speaks that language...does it feel right? Then it's the one for you!
Jorge Armando Ramirez Vazquez - is a Sophomore Pre-Med Biology major. He has lived in Mexico City, Mexico. He speaks Spanish and is currently learning Japanese. Jorge believes that learning new languages is key to expanding our minds and a tool to connect with other cultures. He hopes that at his time in the IMLC he can help people connect with others. When learning a new language he recommends spending an hour of the day using the language, whether that be reading, hearing, or speaking it; the more comfortable you are in a new language, the easier it’ll be to learn it.
Sophia Santos is a freshman International Studies major and is planning on minoring in Arabic. She loves to travel; her favorite place to visit is Portugal and she hopes to one day visit Morocco. With the love for travel comes the passion to learn more about other cultures. What better way is there to learn than through the experiences and lives of others?!
Carli Smith is a sophomore business management and finance double major. She loves engaging in different aspects of a variety of cultures at Baylor while learning how they shape an individual's beliefs and attitudes. Studying business at Baylor has peaked Carli’s engagement with other cultures and how they interact on a financial and social level. She hopes that her time at the iMLC will help benefit students on their language journey, but that she will also gain new insight into the lives and cultures of her peers at Baylor University.
Sheree Zou (Chinese Language Coordinator) is not only a fourth-year Business major with interests in psychology and leadership; she is also our Chinese (Mandarin) language specialist! As part of her work in the iMLC, Sheree plans on using her language skills and cultural knowledge to inspire students studying Mandarin at Baylor. Sheree is especially excited to work with Professor Holly Shi to build the language program including the minor and the co-curricular activities. She plans on making it visible in the halls of Old Main, Draper, and beyond!