Adriana Witalis, LAIB French major, has been awarded the Department of Management Academic Achievement Award.
Award Recipient Adriana Witalis
The Department of Management Academic Excellence Awards are awarded to outstanding undergraduate students who are pursuing an area of concentration in the Department of Management. Awardees are selected on the basis of their outstanding academic performance in the undergraduate curriculum as well as in their areas of concentration.
The Department of Languages congratulates Adriana on this commendable achievement!
Department of Languages senior Natalie Ann Claypool received the Norris Medal at the University’s Spring Awards Ceremony on May 9, 2022.
The Norris Medal, which is awarded to the best overall student as determined by the University Scholarships and Awards Committee, is considered the most prestigious award for graduating Clemson seniors. Recipients of the award have demonstrated outstanding and exceptional leadership, academic, and personal qualities as the top scholar in their graduating class.
Natalie is a Language and International Health major with a concentration in Spanish. Her studies have also included four Creative Inquiry projects across different disciplines, which have allowed her to pursue ambitious research projects in sexual health, child development, public health, and education inequality. Some of her work has been published in academic journals, including a piece co-authored with Associate Professor of Spanish and Community Health Arelis Moore de Peralta which explores the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on Latinx children.
Natalie’s studies and research projects have led to an interest in combatting education inequality in the local community. Natalie combined her passion for education and community service by co-founding the Youth Scholars Program at Pendleton Elementary School with interim associate dean of undergraduate and graduate studies Mathew LeMahieu, The Youth Scholars Program seeks to motivate and inspire young students about their educational futures. Natalie’s outstanding commitment to service and betterment of the community, in particular for vulnerable children, will continue after graduation. She will be completing a year-long fellowship at Casa de Esperanza in Houston, where she will work with abused, neglected and HIV-positive children.
Natalie plans to graduate in August after completing her final undergraduate semester studying abroad at Universidad Blas Pascal in Córdoba, Argentina.
The Department of Languages congratulates this exceptional and inspirational scholar as her journey continues.
For more information about Natalie and her incredible achievements, please see the Clemson News release.
In April, Assistant Professor of ASL Jody Cripps and seven ASL students traveled to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, to initiate a Community Outreach program as part of their Creative Inquiry course. This CI project will aid in reviving Martha’s Vineyard as the signed language community it once was.
A Signed Language History in the Community
Chilmark General Store, a central place where Martha’s Vineyard Signed Language was used with deaf and hearing people in colonial times.
Martha’s Vineyard, an island of just over 17,000 residents off the coast of Cape Cod, has a rich history in signed language that goes back centuries. As home to one of the earliest deaf communities, a regional signed language, known as Martha’s Vineyard Signed Language (MVSL), flourished in the community until the mid-20th century and was used both by the large number of signing deaf individuals residing on the island and by hearing members of the community.
In recent years, the number of signers on the island has declined, which has not only heralded the waning of a rich tradition, but also impacted the deaf community and signing residents of the island. Martha’s Vineyard used to have a wide population of signing individuals, and this made local shops and businesses more accessible. However, many businesses and community members have been unfamiliar with signed languages in recent years. This makes it very difficult for deaf and signing individuals’ full access to the community.
Reviving a Tradition and a Plan to Spread Knowledge
In Martha’s Vineyard, cultural institutions and community members, such as the Martha’s Vineyard Signs Then & Now, a project under a public access MVTV station, are actively working to bring signed language back to the island. These efforts span educating the community and visitors on the island’s rich history and traditions through museum outreach and educational programs, as well as current programs to increase the use and reach of signed language in the community.
Students Rhys Gerrish and Jayla Nelson record Dr. Cripps’ interview with Joan Poole-Nash (a native Martha’s Vineyarder who studies Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language) for MVTV’s program called MV Signs Then and Now outside the Chilmark Library, one of the cultural institutions leading the signed language revival on Martha’s Vineyard.
These efforts are an opportunity for the residents of the community to begin bridging the various communication gaps and enable them to extend a welcoming atmosphere to the many deaf and ASL signing people who visit or reside in Martha’s Vineyard. With the collaboration from the community partners (e.g., MV Signs Then & Now, MVTV station, town libraries, and the Chamber of Commerce), the community has the opportunity to create a model that promotes a society with a signed language-friendly environment.
Knowledge of signed language can bring together the community, and there are many ways to promote the growth and use of signed language in everyday settings for both hearing and signing community members. Residents can be encouraged to use signed language in daily life with their signing family members and friends and those with voice and developmental challenges; in loud restaurants and sports events; in quiet and private situations; and, importantly, with business people, caregivers, medical professionals, first responders and residents in order to bridge the communication gap with their Deaf and ASL signing visitors, patrons and patients to make the island a signed language-friendly environment for everyone.
What Future Research Holds
These promising efforts will be spearheaded by researchers from various institutions, including the projects of our own ASL program. These projects aim to supply the Martha’s Vineyard community with a variety of resources to educate and spread the word about signed language and how its use can positively impact the community.
The researchers will work with the entire community on the island to target what the residents need and want to see from our projects. The projects will be executed in an educational and informative fashion. There will be multiple signed language seminars or webinars that the researchers will host, and the participants can be anyone from the community, but especially ones from local businesses.
Furthermore, the seminars and webinars will not be the only resources. The goal is to create a variety of resources that everyone will have access to that they can use at their leisure. These resources will come in many different forms depending on the available platforms we can reach on the island. Outreach is significant, and our projects will also be advertised to spread the word about the efforts that are being made to make Martha’s Vineyard a signed language community again. Spreading the knowledge of signed languages is vital in order to preserve the history of this island and community.
Here is an exciting look at some of what our ASL students and Dr. Cripps experienced during their trip:
Left to Right Kneeling: Pressley Pollard, Jayla Nelson, Allison Schippert, and Stacy Duvall. Left to Right Standing: Jaylin Dillard, August Vincelette, Dr. Jody Cripps, Keyanna Clanton, Rhys Gerrish, Lynn Thorp, and Donna Jancsy at Lambert’s Cove, named for Jonathan Lambert, the first deaf settler with deaf genealogy at Martha’s Vineyard.
Bow Van Riper, the Research librarian of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, describes his findings with the deaf people on the island to the group. Plans to have an exhibition related to Martha’s Vineyard Signed Language were brought up and further discussed by Bow, Lynn Thorp, some deaf community members, and the Clemson group.
The group working at Oak Bluffs Library. Students interviewed the participants and talked with the librarians about accessibility opportunities.
Left to Right: Pressley Pollard, Keyanna Clanton, Rhys Gerrish, and Allison Schippert at the cemetery looking at the burial grounds of deaf descendants. At least 28 deaf members of the Chilmark community were buried on the hilltop.
Dr. Cripps conducts an interview with Jill Taney (a deaf native of Martha’s Vineyard) for MV Signs Then and Now program.
All photos courtesy of Jody Cripps.
Further information on some of the historical and cultural institutions visited by Dr. Cripps and his students:
Martha’s Vineyard Museum – some artifacts related to Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language can be found in the museum. A portrait of Joseph “Josie” West, a deaf farmer, is on the permanent display, as well as Alexander Graham Bell’s notebook on his investigations for deaf people on the island in the 1880s.
Chilmark Library – The town purchased the house of Katie West, the last deaf descendant with deaf genes and a native of Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language, and turned it into the library in 1956. This library maintains the Chilmark Deaf/Signed Language Community Digital Archive.
Nick Longo, Language and International Business – Chinese major
Nick Longo, LAIB Chinese major, has received the prestigious Fulbright Foreign Scholarship award for 2022/2023.
The Fulbright Foreign Scholarship award aims to foster mutual understanding between the United States and partner nations and cultivate the sharing of knowledge across cultures and communities. Recipients are selected by a 12-person president-appointed board to participate in exchange programs in partner nations around the world.
Nick will be conducting his Fulbright exchange in Taiwan, China, during Academic Year 2022/2023.
The Department of Languages congratulates Nick on this outstanding achievement!
Faith DuPre, Political Science and German (2019) Walhalla High School visit, November 4th, 2021.
Although COVID is still making in-person visits to area high school German programs difficult, schools are accepting visits via Zoom. While it is difficult to meet with former students who now live miles away or who may still be avoiding crowded events due to COVID, technology is helping us to stay connected.
This year, the German program has visited 10 different high schools in the state and in Charlotte, NC, bringing along alumni and current students to participate in the conversations.
The result has been well-received by high school teachers and students who like hearing the personal accounts of our German students both at college and in the workforce. They are especially impressed when they see that their visitors are in Europe.
Among German program alumni, there are many who desire to keep in touch with their alma mater and who also want to continue to practice their German. For these reasons, the German program began the German alumni Stammtisch (conversation table) this past fall and held its first conversation on 10 November. Stammtisch has given students and alumni a chance to connect with friends in the business community and with recent and not so recent grads.
21 Department of Languages students earned the Global Seal of Biliteracy, an international credential which recognizes a candidate’s proficiency in two or more languages. Proficiency is recognized on working, functional, and professional levels. This semester, the Global Seal of Biliteracy was awarded to students representing Spanish (19), French (1), and Japanese (1).
The students earning the Global Seal of Biliteracy in Fall 2021 are:
Rachel Amaral, Elise Blackburn, Kevin Burgess, Vanessa Campos, Kathleen Champagne, Natalie Claypool, Olivia Cloud, Jack Edmondson, Juliana Franco, Gabrielle Garringer, William Gioffre, Yana Gudakova, Bria Martin, Haden McCarter, Audrey Ramey, Amy Rees, José Rodriguez, Evangeline Sanders, Ella Starr, Jordan Tedder, and Anna Vicente.
The Department of Languages is extremely proud of these exceptional students and congratulates them on their impressive achievement!
On Friday, April 9, the College of Arts and Humanities held its annual awards ceremony to honor the exceptional achievements of CAAH students.
The in-person ceremony, which was initiated with live music performed by the Clemson University String Quartet, was attended by the honorees, CAAH Faculty, Chairs of the Departments, Dean Nicholas Vazsonyi, and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Elysse Newman.
The Department of Languages awarded seven outstanding students:
Amanda White (Ann and Lamar Bayne Award for Excellence in American Sign Language), William Taylor (Award for Excellence in Spanish), Nikita Tran (JAASC Award in Excellence in Japanese), Sydney Tindall (Clemson Chinese Laoshi Awards for Best Achievement), Lauren Cvitkovic (Language and International Health Award for Excellence), Jessica Cole (Jordan A. Dean, Sr. Annual Award in French Studies), and Meredith Harley (Patricia Walker Wannamaker Language and International Trade Award for Highest Merit).
Congratulations to these exceptional students on their commendable achievements!
The Language and International Business program (LAIB) will host a panel discussion this Wednesday, March 8, at 3:00 pm via Zoom. This panel discussion, which will feature alumni of the Language and International Business program, is open to all Clemson students. Registration is still open!
The panelists will share their experiences, including how they used their language skills to launch their careers. There will be ample time to ask questions and get lots of ideas and advice you can use as you start making your own career plans. This event is open to all Clemson students, but it will be especially relevant to LAIB students, Modern Languages majors, students in language classes, and any student who is interested in pursuing a career with an international component.
Please note that you must be registered to attend.
What: Graduates from Clemson’s Language and International Business Program talk about their careers and offer advice to current students
Five Department of Languages majors have been nominated for membership in the Clemson University chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and among the most prestigious academic honor societies in the United States.
Founded in 1776, the Phi Beta Kappa honor society recognizes outstanding students of Liberal Arts and Sciences who not only demonstrate excellence in their fields of study but excellence in other branches of liberal arts along with a strong moral character.
The Department of Languages inductees are Gabrielle Garringer (Language and Intl Business), Mara MacDonald (Language and Intl Business), Olivia Moran (Language and Intl Business), Alexandra Karnes (Language and Intl Trade), and Mari Lentini (Language and Intl Trade).
The induction ceremony will be virtual and will take place later this semester.
With Spring Semester 2021 underway and the Clemson community adapting to challenges in innovative and impressive ways, it is interesting to look back and reflect on some of the ways the Department of Languages students, faculty and alumni have been navigating these unusual times. Fall Semester 2020 brought with it many unique experiences and ways to stay engaged and make connections. In our “Fall 2020 Reflections” posts, we are excited to take a look at specific events, opportunities and accomplishments that we saw last semester and which set the stage for even more exciting opportunities this Spring and beyond.
NOVEMBER, 2020
On November 25, the Language and International Health (L&IH) Society sponsored “La Canasta Básica: Culturally relevant healthy food options for Latinx communities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Rut Rivera speaks during a webinar hosted by the L&IH Society. (Photo courtesy of Arelis Moore de Peralta)
Rut Rivera, a manager of the health promotion organization, PASOs in Greenville, SC, presented her experience with program development and community relations within the unique context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the webinar, Rivera discussed a new initiative set forth by a collaboration between the Hispanic Alliance and PASOs of Greenville, Canasta Básica, which seeks to provide culturally appropriate food to the local hispanic community suffering from food scarcity as a result of the pandemic. The coalition boasts having connected 2,879 community members with resources during these challenging times.
Her presentation gave students the opportunity to volunteer in the program’s future events and connect with other project managers from PASOs and the Hispanic Alliance. Students were also encouraged to inquire about life in the field of community development. Rivera’s passion for community outreach was obvious and inspiring to all those who attended.
