FLL Alumni News
M through R

Sarah Mackin '98 - Spanish
Major: Spanish Minor: business
Graduate studies: Master's degree; Middlebury College, 2001 (Spanish)
After graduating from Skidmore, I taught English in Madrid, Spain for 2 years. I earned my master's degree through Middlebury College in Madrid. I am currently teaching middle school Spanish at a private school in Chestnut Hill, MA (Beaver Country Day School). I use my Spanish daily in the classroom. I also speak Spanish at home now, my husband is Spanish. My knowledge of the language and culture have helped me travel and study abroad as well as get to know a diverse group of people in the US.  

---

Antonio X. Mojica '02 - Spanish
Just to update you a little bit I don't know if you remember but I am on one of the Analyst programs for JPMorganChase. My program focuses on developing future executives, as it's called the Leadership Development program. We do rotations lasting 12 weeks throughout the firm and therefore working for the different lines of business all over the country. We primarily do most of our work in Wall street but traveling rotations are always available. I am currently at a rotation in Houston Texas.

I still thank you for encouraging me to study abroad in Madrid, by far it was the best academic experience I ever had. I plan to travel back to Spain as much as I can. So here I am in Texas eating a lot of Mexican food and practicing on my Spanish from time to time.

---

Melissa Kotlen Nagin '92 - French
Larchmont, NY
Received a teaching degree (middle school and high school) in French and English. Decided I liked the medical world much more than teaching and, after having had my 2 children, decided my calling was to be a Lactation Consultant (I'm not militant, though! :-)) I mainly work with postpartum mothers who are having difficulty or problems with breastfeeding. I also teach prenatal breastfeeding classes at the 92nd St Y. I suppose my major comes into play whenever I have a French speaking patient.  

---

Hope Newhouse '06 - French
I'm currently living in Paris and studying theater. Speaking the French language certainly comes in handy considering I'm the only foreigner at the school. I have a lot of catching up to do on the basics of French culture but I'm thankful for my knowledge of literature since most of the other students have studied people like Molière, Corneille and Racine (among others) in high school or college and are familiar enough with the classics to propose scenes for scene study.

My semester studying abroad enormously influenced me in my decision to come back to France. It gave me a level of comfortability with the language that it's hard to get in the classroom, and a better understanding of the French culture. It also gave me friends and contacts in France ;-)

Hope everything's going well in the Dept of Foreign Lang. and Lit!

---

Makiko Nomura '02 - French
Present location: Yokohama, Japan
Present occupation: I am currently working for PR firm in Tokyo, Japan. Most of the clients are of Japanese companies, but some are American/European companies. I have been translating press release and communicating with overseas clients as well as doing my regular work. One obvious point is that things that I learned as French major help me in translation. Aside from that, I can find perfect expression/word to express how I feel, although this is just a form of self-satisfaction, and cannot share this feeling here, because nobody around me speaks French. And what I like to do is to read the same book in English, French, and Japanese. It is quite interesting for me to see the difference between languages, how translator decided to change certain words or to phrase a sentence.  

---

Jasminne Paulino '03 - Spanish
Actualmente soy maestra de español de una escuela primaria en Westchester county. Le doy clases a K-4th. 

Despues de Skidmore, me fui a NYU y alli termine una maestria en Teaching Spanish & ESL Grades K-12. Mientas estuve trabajando en eso de la maestria, trabaje en una escuela primaria de la ciudad (como maestra de español), y hasta llegue a dar clases en una escuela secundaria (de hombrecitos solamente!)....Al terminar la maestria, me fui a la escuela donde estoy actualmente....y hasta ahora me siento bien en esta escuela. El programa de español es nuevo en mi escuela. Por lo tanto, he tenido que crear un plan de estudio para mis clases. Que les puedo decir, me encanta trabajar con los mas pequeños. Ellos se emocionan por todo, y les encanta aprender español.

---

Anna Piperato '01 - Italian
Since graduating from Skidmore in 2001 I have done much with my Italian skills. I spent the next two years after graduation in Turin, Italy, working in the International School of Turin and auditing some courses at the Universita' di Torino. From 2003-2004 I worked on my MA at the University of Manchester, England, in Italian Studies. I am currently a PhD student at Manchester, working on Italian female saints and art. Were it not for professors Shirley Smith and Richard Bonanno at Skidmore I surely would not be where I am today! Although I majored in Art History and minored in Studio Art at college, Italian has been a huge part of my life from the first day of sophomore year. I was able to spend a semester in Florence junior year, and that really clinched it for me - I knew I had to get back to Italy by whatever means possible! I am still in that frame of mind, and I will definitely be spending at least three months (possibly six, but maybe more) in Rome next academic year for my PhD research, and I will also be a research assistant to one of my supervisors.

I don't know what I will end up doing with my life, but I hope to finish my PhD in 2007 or 2008, and then my dream would be to teach at an American university in Italy. No matter what happens, Italian will always be a major force in my life, for part of me remains in Italy and certainly always will. I am so grateful for the opportunities that Skidmore has given me!

Anna's email address is annapiperato@yahoo.com

---

Brynn Powell '06 - French
My experiences with Skidmore in Paris were wonderful and made me want to look for work abroad in France.  This year, I am an English Teacher in Rambouillet, FR (b/w Versailles and Chartres).  Obviously, living in France, I am using my French language skills at work and in life on a daily basis.  Right now, I am looking into applying for jobs, graduate programs or fellowships for next year.  I'm mostly interested in international organizations, programs, etc.  So, I hope I can continue to use my French skills in the future as well.  Hope all is well in Saratoga!  powell.brynn@gmail.com

---

Elinor S. Prickett '84 - Spanish
I was a pupil of Sonja Karsen, who was also my Spanish advisor, and I graduated in 1984. So briefly, since my graduation, this is what has happened:
1984-1985 worked for Cortefiel, S.A., a big clothing manufacturer and retailer, in their export department, coordinating their exports to the USA
1985-1987 worked for Kenning Atlantic, a real estate firm, as a secretary
1987-1988 worked for Conurban, S.A., a construction company, as secretary
1988-1992 worked for Fortuny Abogados, law firm, as private secretary for one of the partners of the firm
1993-1996 worked for Santa Ana 1, S.L., a fiscal office, as secretary and handling foreigners matters

To be honest, I was hired in most cases because of my English capabilities, in order to deal with foreign clients, mostly British. Nonetheless my Spanish was a must just to be able to understand my boss, get along with co-workers and deal with the Notary, Tax Office, etc. Where it has been most helpful however is in my everyday life. I married a Spaniard in 1995 and have a small boy, who is bilingual. I am currently on the school board, I am the secretary of the Parents Association at school and also a Platform (association) to go against gravel pits. Furthermore I am the head of a company, soon to be operational, of what we call here rural tourism (turismo rural), comprised of a rental villa in the country and taking people on excursions – hiking, biking, climbing, etc.

---

Amanda  Russo '06
I graduated from Skidmore this past May and since then I have been working at a clinical program of a child guidance center.  I am a counselor of the Extended Day Treatment Program and run therapeutic groups for kids with different psychological disorders and also track the progress/treatment plans of 6 children specifically.  I did study abroad in Alcala de Henares (Skidmore program) and it has benefited me tremendously.  Not only did it allow me the opportunity to learn about Spanish culture and practice/improve my speaking ability, which I use everyday at my job, but also increased my confidence in working in a new environment.  Because I work in a city, a couple of the children's families speak only Spanish, which requires me to use my Spanish when contacting them, which I do a few times each week.  I am only one of two employees at my program who can speak Spanish, which has made me a very valuable resource to our team. I hope everything is going well at Skidmore!