Alumni

Welcome to the Linguistics Alumni website! We plan to post news from you as you send them to us. So, if you would like to let us know what you are up to, please fill out the alumni news form.

We would like also to know how your current activities relate to your learning experiences at our department. Please fill out the alumni survey form.

Here is what alumni have sent us:

Sent by Kate Firth (MA 1992) on Dec. 17, 2007:

"After leaving San Diego in 1992, I returned to the UK to take up an offer to work as an actress with a theatre company.  I worked as an actress for 3 years, and this included a tour of Australia with the Royal National Theatre. However, my teaching experience at SDSU had shown me how rewarding teaching was, and I retrained in Voice Studies at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, and in 1996 qualified as a voice coach.  Since then I have worked at some of the main drama schools in the country, teaching voice, speech, dialects, listening skills and text.  Screaming is fun to teach!  I have coached all sorts from the Reporter who covers Formula One Racing to Broadcast Journalists and tv actors.  Recently I coached the presenter on a voice over for a documentary. I have also worked as a trainer in the National Health Service as in the corporate sector, teaching communication and presentation skills.  Much of this includes working with ESL speakers.  I am also now a therapeutic counsellor, having studied psychotherapy for 4 years, but I am giving that a break to focus on the voice work."

Sent by Bill Davis (MA 2002) on July 6, 2007:

"After I graduated in 2002, we have since returned to our work in the Philippines. We hope to (finally!) finish the translation of the New Testament into Palawano within 2-3 more years, and I am planning to do post graduate study after that. In the meantime, I am doing discourse analysis of Palawano, further updating and developing my dictionary and grammar analysis, adding more detail and looking at Palawano from a variety of description viewpoints (e.g. Lexicase, RRG, etc.) I was able to attend the 10th Congress on Austronesian Linguistics right here on the island of Palawan. There I met some interestinig contacts. This led to my working with the Philippine governernment's Commission on Philippine languages in cooperative minority language-preservation efforts for the Palawanos. Also, through the 10-ICAL, I have the opportunity to be in the process of co-authoring a couple of articles on Palawano grammar."

Sent by Moira Stuart (MA 1998) on Oct. 26, 2005:

"Since earning my degree, I've taught part-time at many schools around town, including Cuyamaca, Grossmont, and City colleges, and at the American Language Institute here on campus.  At ALI, I've been the Academic Writing Coordinator since 2001, and was lucky enough to be awarded a full-time contract the following year.  Our students are wonderful and inspiring, and I've made several friends with many people around the world as a result.  Last May I married an American, but he speaks fluent Italian, which now I'm trying to learn."

Sent by Gene Morones (M.A. 1999) on Sept. 23, 2005:

"After finishing my degree at SDSU, I worked for a year as a sabbatical replacement in the ESL Program at Grossmont College.  When that appointment came to an end, I stayed at Grossmont as an adjunct, teaching college composition, advanced reading/writing/grammar, and advanced listening and speaking.  In April 2005, due to the unexpected retirement of a colleague, I was appointed Interim Associate Dean of Specially Funded Programs at Cuyamaca College (Grossmont's sister college).  I oversee Financial Aid, Disabled Student Services, EOPs, and CARE.  EOPS and CARE are state funded programs for low income students.  I work with a wonderful staff on a beautiful campus, and every day on the job is an adventure."

Sent by Amir Y Farahmandi (M.A. 2001) on Sept. 13, 2005:

"I'm currently an EFL lecturer at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shirz/Iran, and also at Shirz Islamic Azad University, Shiraz/Iran.  I also teach EFL in two language institutes in Shiraz, Iran as well as teaching in a few other clases, and tutoring."

Sent by Michele Steele (M.A. 1995) on June 25, 2005:

"Since graduating from SDSU in 1995, I have been living in Japan. My husband and I opened an English school six years ago and it is doing well. We have two sons, ages six and eight, who are being raised bilingually. In the early years of our school my older son unwittingly advertised for us by greeting passersby with a cheerful "Hello." Now he joins in classes with the older kids, and my younger son participates in classes as well. We have had several events over the years. Twice we held the "Love Your Mother" party, which featured live music, courtesy of my husband and friends, and raised money for environmental organizations. In 2004 we had our first English Intensive Summer Camp, and we intend to have the camp every summer.
      In addition to the school I teach part time at a university, where I teach Reading, Writing, and Debate. I like the balance of the two different types of teaching.
      I often remember graduate school with fondness. I miss the interaction with the professors and the students. I was always amused that the linguistics books were on the 4th floor of the library; it always made me think of Labov."

Sent by Charles Kovach (M.A. 1994) on April 15, 2005:

"I have been teaching English at San Diego City College since 1994. I have been teaching English and ESL at Southwestern College since 1997. I taught in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing Studies at SDSU in 2000. I taught the course The Role of Grammar in Teaching ESL at UCSD Extension's Professional Certificate in Teaching ESL in 1998. I am a member of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar. My work has appeared in TEACHING ENGLISH IN THE TWO-YEAR COLLEGE, SYNTAX IN THE SCHOOLS, TESOL MATTERS, IOWA LANGUAGE NEWS, CITY WORKS, TECHNICAL COMMUNICATIONS, ESL NOTES, and other periodicals. I have presented papers at many conferences, including CATESOL San Diego conferences and the 2003 English Council of California Two-Year Colleges Conference.