We can use your help. Not only is there always a need for financial assistance, but you can also help by keeping in touch with us, acting as a mentor to a current student, and letting us know about career opportunities and internships in your area.
Students have the opportunity to get invoved with Alumni Association while still attending Illinois State! The Student Alumni Council allows students to learn more about Illinois State and build a life-long relationship with the University while still attending school.
Alums are ALWAYS welcome to come and join our Language Tables and events.
While I knew that teaching was not the path for me in pursuing a degree in French at Illinois State, I was first unsure exactly of what I wished to do with my degree. After interning a summer in San Francisco with the International Rescue Committee, a refugee and asylee resettlement agency, I gathered a vague sense that I was interested in the work of non-profit organizations. (Learn more about Kirsten's experience. )
Growing up in Central Illinois, I had always dreamed about life in distant places. I started learning French at the age of 11 and then began with German at the age of 15. I knew at some point that I wanted to use the foreign languages I was learning in my career and to accomplish my long-term goal of living and workingin Europe. (Learn more about Alan's experience. )
I always knew that I wanted to become a teacher. It was my passion and I didn’t really care what it was I was going to teach. I first thought I was going to teach English, and then I thought it would be biology. It did not take long for me to realize that if I wanted to succeed as a teacher, I needed disregard any concerns and follow my heart, and deepen my knowledge of the German language and culture. (Learn more about Laurie's experience. )
I began studying German in junior high and had an interest in foreign languages, although I did not know at that time that it was the field I would end up pursuing. Being originally from Normal, I had the opportunity to enroll in college-level German courses at ISU as a high school junior, and I took two 200-level courses, one on literature and another on composition. During my senior year of high school, I traveled to Stralsund, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Eastern Germany on the Baltic Sea Coast. The exchange began with a group of Americans together at an orientation, and it quickly became clear that the coursework I had done with the German professors at ISU had given me a tremendous advantage in rapidly being able to speak and understand the language fluently and hence concentrate on learning more about the country’s culture. (Learn more about Adam's experience.)
While in my second year of graduate school at Illinois State, I knew I wanted to continue teaching language. In short, I loved my time teaching with the university and putting into practice the methods and techniques I had learned through various pedagogy classes that I wanted more even experience. After reading advertisements seeking native English speakers to teach in France, I knew I had found what I was looking for. (Learn more about Andy's experience. )
I live in New Orleans, Louisiana, and am a Construction Supervisor with Habitat For Humanity. I've been with Habitat now for about 16 months (since October 2006) and am trying to do my part to help the city rebuild post-Katrina. My job basically entails teaching the volunteers we get everyday how to do anything from building walls for a house to putting up siding to building stairs. Along with teaching volunteers how to build a house I am responsible for all the administrative tasks that are involved (scheduling sub-contractors, ordering materials, taking care of special guests that come to site...things of that nature).
There are a large number of immigrants here working in the city, helping to rebuild because there are jobs to be had and work to be done. A number of our subcontractors are Spanish speakers so I speak with them quite frequently in Spanish as their English is still developing.
If you are interested in finding out more about what Habitat is doing in New Orleans, you can go to this website:
http://www.habitat-nola.org/
