Department of Languages

Meet a Tiger: Stephen Fitzmaurice

From the Newsstand:

Taylor Summey, Class of 2021
December 10, 2018

This Tiger helped develop Clemson’s American Sign Language (ASL) educational interpreting program, which gives students the necessary knowledge and experience to work with deaf children in mainstream school systems. Educational interpreting is offered in only seven programs across the country. Clemson is the only higher-education institution in the state that offers a four-year degree in ASL.

Meet Stephen Fitzmaurice.

Title: Assistant professor of ASL interpreting

Years at Clemson: Nine. I started at Clemson as a visiting assistant professor with the goal of launching an interpreting program. Five years ago, I was offered a tenure–track position.

What I do at Clemson: I teach upper-level ASL coursework, mostly related to linguistics and ASL-English educational interpreting. I am also the principal investigator for a large grant from the South Carolina Department of Education to manage the South Carolina Educational Interpreting Center.

What I love about Clemson: I absolutely love Clemson students. The students I meet, teach and advise carry with them an effervescent yearning to learn and a passion to serve the greater good. The other thing I love, particularly about the department of languages, is we have such a culturally and scholarly diverse faculty – the opportunities to engage with teachers and scholars from such different backgrounds is always thrilling. Finally, I love that Clemson is the only institution in South Carolina offering a four-year degree in ASL and is home to one of only a handful of educational interpreting programs in the nation.

My defining moment at Clemson: One defining moment for me was attending the graduation ceremony and witnessing the first modern languages (ASL) students receiving their degrees. I knew each one of the students to be exceptionally talented Tigers. They all had job offers when they walked across the stage.

Accomplishment I’m most proud of: I am most proud our alumni. They are all gainfully employed and are scoring significantly higher on their exams than the national mean. I am also proud of the fact that I was able to complete my doctoral degree at Gallaudet University while raising two amazing kids and working at Clemson full time.

Where I see myself in five years: I see myself wearing Clemson orange and continuing to grow our program.

Last thing I watched on TV: Aside from Clemson football and Clemson men’s and women’s soccer – Madame Secretary.

Guilty pleasure: I love Lindt dark chocolate with chili peppers.

One thing most people don’t know about me: I am originally from Canada but have lived in South Carolina for the last 20 years. And, although I am left-handed, I sign right-handed.

https://youtu.be/hN-026t3qBo

Spanish students present research

Students in two 3000-level Spanish courses presented their research on literary themes as well as on social, economic, and political topics.

SPAN 3040 students. (Photo courtesy of Graciela Tissera.)
SPAN 3040 students. (Photo courtesy of Graciela Tissera.)

SPAN 3040 students Elisabeth Amini, Erin Clark, Anna Corontzes, Kara Donovan, Courtney Grayson, Madison Herin, Sarah Mcerlean, Allie Mchugh, Melissa Pratt, Hannah Reach, Maegan Reed, Keasler Rothemich, Bryson Rudolph, Mary Elizabeth Schaible, and Jacob Stackelhouse presented their research in the course ‘Introduction to Hispanic Literary Forms’ offered by Dr. Graciela Tissera. Students analyzed works by Jorge Luis Borges, Ana María Matute, Mario Vargas Llosa, José Martí, Rubén Darío, and Federico García Lorca to research transcendental themes and distinctive techniques related to narrative, poetry, and drama.

SPAN 3050 students. (Photo courtesy of Graciela Tissera.)
SPAN 3050 students. (Photo courtesy of Graciela Tissera.)

The following students in Tissera’s SPAN 3050 class also presented their research: Ryan Beale, Peyton Bramlett, Anna Clare Eckrich, Meredith Franchi, Laura Issel, Rachel Kral, Michelle Logan, Jamie Plummer, Hunter Rivers, Van Robertson, Emily Rowe, Courtney Sciarro, Hannah Shaffer, Heather Sloan, Cassidy Tom, and Natalie Ward. The presentations focused on controversial topics and on the analysis of the film City of God (Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund, 2002). Students explored themes such as diversity and gender, the psychology of willpower, the circle of poverty, personal and community identity, hope and survival, and the social impact of the arts.