UMW alumni using French in the Real World

Maria Dubiel (class of ’19)

Maria lives in Greater Paris and is currently working as the International Mobility and Finance Officer for a reputed French engineering school. Previously, she completed a master’s degree in Public Law at the Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne in Reims, France. The year prior, she worked as an English Language Assistant in Troyes and Sainte-Savine, France with the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF).

Jalen Brown (class of ’19)

Jalen lives in Greater Paris and is currently working as a Logistics Specialist for a European food-tech company. Previously, he completed a master’s degree in Sustainable Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne in Reims, France. The year prior, he worked as an English Language Assistant in Bar-sur-Aube, France through the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF).

Gustavo Castillo (Class of ’13)

MSI – Management Systems International (Washington D.C): a leading consulting firm with niche expertise in international development

Gustavo is a technical associate with years of experience in program management, monitoring and evaluation, and research in international development and education programs. Currently, he provides technical support for the USAID-funded Data and Evidence for Education Programs (DEEP) and early grade reading assessment (EGRA) in Zambia. Prior to joining MSI, Gustavo provided program management support for early grade reading programs in Latin America and the Caribbean at the American Institutes for Research and monitoring and evaluation support during his work at UNICEF Jordan.

Prior to his current position, Gustavo was a research assistant at the American Institute for Research’s international development department where he conducted research on youth and education in developing countries, including French-speaking Côte d’Ivoire

After graduating from UMW, Gustavo pursued an MA in Global Human Development with a specialization in Humanitarian Emergencies from Georgetown University.

 
 

Emily Higginbotham (Class of ’15)

Upon completion of her B.A. in French, Emily pursued an M.A. in French at UCLA. She is currently Senior Global Partner Business Manager for Zendesk in San Francisco, CA.

Leeann Haywood (Class of ’22, ’23)

After completing a B.A. in French and an M.A. in Secondary Education, Leeann is now a high-school French teacher at Woodbridge High School.

 

Tyler Rowe (’16)

Emerson College (Boston, MA)

       Tyler is currently an Academic Assessment Designer at Emerson College. Before his current position, Tyler completed his M.A. in French and Francophone Literature at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. After completing his B.A. in French at UMW and before starting his graduate studies, Tyler participated in the TAPIF program as an English assistant at a lycée in Caen, Normandy.

Eleni Riris (class of ’19)

Eleni is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Speech Language Pathology at the Université de Montréal. Previously, she completed a Master of Arts in French Studies with a concentration in Teaching French as a Foreign Language at L’Institut Américain Universitaire in Aix-en-Provence, France.
 

 

Yoël Kidane (Class of ’21)

Management Assistant
Campus France
French Embassy, Washington D.C

 

Delphine Kattal (Class of ’16)

Delphine is currently a teacher of French and Spanish at Skyline High School and at the Governor’s School. Most recently, she published her first novel in French, entitled “Ces couleurs qui nous trompent,” (Vérone publishing) a story about an immigrant’s experiences in the United States during the pandemic.

 
 

Valentina Colona (Class of ’19)

In 2019, Ms. Colόn received her B.A. in International Affairs and French from the University of Mary Washington; she developed her passion for international relations and international development there. She spent time in El Salvador and in Aix-en-Provence, France. She is currently enrolled at George Mason University pursuing her graduate degree in Global Affairs, with a specialization in Global Conflict and Security. Her ultimate goal is to become an ambassador for the United States, by using her drive and commitment to bring greater conflict resolution and security to the international platform.

Katherin Carter (Class of ’06)

Katherin is currently a high school French teacher in York County, Virginia.  She also plans and coordinates student exchanges between the York County high schools and their Sister City of Port-Vendres in southern France.

 

 

Noah Goodwin (Class of ’18)

Noah is currently a third year in the doctoral program in French at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is hoping to complete his dissertation in the next few years and his research focuses on the intersections of psychoanalysis, contemporary literature and film, social movements, and martyrdom.

Marine Beausergent Vozar (Class of ’21)

Upon completing her B.A. in French and graduate studies in Education at UMW, Marine began teaching French full-time at Moody Middle School in Henrico County, Virginia.

 

mariana-sousa-002

Mariana Sousa (class of  ‘10)

IT Security Systems Analyst

Mariana graduated from the University of Mary Washington in 2010. She now works as an IT Security Systems Analyst for BNP Paris Bas, located in Lisbon, Portugal.

Jessica Patterson (class of  ‘17)

Assistant Accountant for UAP

Jessica graduated from the University of Mary Washington in 2013 with a double major in Spanish, international Affairs and a minor in French. She now works as an Assistant Accountant for UAP (Urban Art Projects), an Australian based company that collaborates with architects, designers and artists to create public artwork. As the company expands, Jessica often serves as the office French interpreter and translator during the negotiation process with potential French-speaking business partners.

 jessica-patterson

colin-sahs

Colin Sahs (Class of ’16)

Internship, Au Forum du Bâtiment (Montpellier, France)

Colin spent three weeks during the summer of 2016 working full-time at Au Forum du Bâtiment, a hardware store that sells to professional contractors throughout France.

Katherine Labombarde (Class of ’14)

IBTCI (Vienna, VA)

Kat is an intern at International Business and Technical Consultants, a small U.S. business that supports and facilitates economic and industrial development.

 

Clarke Birrell

Clarke Birrell (Class of ’13)

SIFCA (Côte d’Ivoire)

Clarke Birrell graduated from Mary Washington in 2013 with a degree in Business Administration. Clarke immediately took a position in Paris, France teaching high school students English through the TAPIF program. From there he moved on to Abidjan in the Ivory Coast to to work  in the marketing department of a large agribusiness company, SIFCA. Drawing on years of interest in Africa he applied for and was accepted to join the Peace Corps, serving for two years in a French speaking part of the Central African nation of Cameroon. He has now accepted a position in Washington, D.C. with the federal government.

Benjamin Harmon (Class of ’13)

Meridian One (Alexandria, VA)

Meridian One creates markets for trade and professional associations. Benjamin has been hired to assist in their expansion of UPS services to Canada / Québec.

Benjamin Harmon
 

Elizabeth Lopez (Class of ’13)

JPD Systems

International Translation Service Agency (Fredericksburg)
Internship, Spring 2013

Marie-Claire Mandolia (Class of ’13)

Tour guide at City Hall, Caen France
Summer Internship 2011

French Student Internship

French translation career job

Kat O’Dea (class of ’13)

JPD Systems

International Translation Service Agency (Fredericksburg)

Assistant Editor and Translator

Camille Turner (Class of ’13)

Content Marketing Manager at Bridge Education Group

      Camille oversees a wide variety of marketing initiatives and projects, including campaign strategies involving eBooks, emails, social media, blogs, and more. A global operation, Bridge provides language services to a diverse group of multinational corporations, language schools, universities, ministries of education and English language teachers from over 140 countries. Bridge also empowers a global community of 100,000+ teachers with internationally accredited TEFL/TESOL certification and continuous professional development.

       Prior to her current position, Camille worked at the Palais Galliera (the Paris museum of fashion).

Anne Elder (Class of ’12)

Teaching Assistant of English in Marseille, France (2014 – present)
Blog Ambassador at the Alliance Française of Washington D.C. (2013 – present)
Freelance reporter for the Free-Lance Star (2012 – present)

Cameron Doucette (class of ’11)

Concierge at Sofitel

Lisa Grimes

Lisa Grimes (class of ’11)

Deputy Social Secretary to the Ambassador of France at the French Embassy

Sofitel French Hotel and Restaurant
(Washington, D.C.) Executive assistant to the General manager

Stephanie Combs (class of ’10)

Assistante administrative at L’Ecole l’Etoile. In this private Parisian school, Stephanie manages all aspects of student registration and communication and welcomes study abroad programs from Yale, Columbia, Brigham Young, and CUNY.

Previously, Stephanie held an internship as a translator for Internship with First Peoples Worldwide in Fredericksburg, VA and then an English teaching assistant at Lycée Marcel Cachin.

French Major UMW translator

Greg Pesce French student

Greg Pesce (class of ’10)

Reed Midem, Paris

Sales Advisor (Conseiller Commercial)
“I organize and conduct sales (more or less telemarketing) campaigns, both in French and English, to convince existing and prospective clients to participate in MIPIM, the international property market held every year in Cannes.”

Chelsea Swisher (class of ’10)

Internship with First Peoples WorldWide
Translator

French major translator

Lindsay D'adamo French major

Lindsay D’Adamo (class of ’09)

English instructor in 3 elementary schools in Saint-Priest, France

Paula Olson (class of ’09)

Internship with Empowering the Poor, Inc.
Liaison between the main office in Côte d’Ivoire and Fredericksburg, VA

Paula Olson French Major
Lauren Bishop French Major

Lauren Bishop (class of ’08)

French Teacher, Chatham High School, Pittsylvania County Schools

Jennifer Davis-Bangoura (Class of ’08)

Jennifer is currently a Project Coordinator with the World Resources Institute in Washington, DC working with a Central Africa Forests Initiative that uses GIS to track mining and logging permits in six Central African countries.
Prior to joining WRI, Jennifer served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in both the environment and education sectors in Mali, West Africa from 2008-2012. She is also currently pursuing a Master of Arts in International Education from the SIT Graduate Institute in Brattleboro, VT.

 

Jenni Canning French teacher

Jennifer Canning (Class of ’07)

French Teacher, Spotsylvania High School
Graduate Student in French at GMU
Jennifer is currently writing her Master’s thesis on the French-Canadian writer Gabrielle Roy.

Arielle De Soucey (Class of ’07)

Sales Manager at Novotel (New York, NY)
Novotel is part of Accor, a French hotelier chain.
“I conduct the large majority of my hotel sales work with French speaking clientele from around the world and am responsible for maintaining the relationships between the hotel and major French companies and businesses.”

 
 Julia Sullivan French

Julia Sullivan (class of ’07)

Airline Pilots Association

Administrative Aide, Communications Planning Department

Joe Hatheway (class of ’06)

Peace Corps, Cameroon
HIV/AIDS educator and English high-school teacher

 Joe Hatheway French Major Cameroon

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Jasmine Junk Osinski (class of ’06)

The Agricultural Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Dakar (Sénégal). French Embassy in Washington D.C. (Intern)
Peace Corps, Cameroon
Intern at the Embassy Press Office. Writer for News from France, a French Embassy publication.
High-school teacher of English and Computer Skills in the city of Guider.

Julia Kroner (class of ’06)

High-School French Teacher, Charleston Catholic high School

  Julia Kroner French Teacher

Kathy Lanzarone (Class of ’06)

French and ESL Teacher at Massaponax High School
Professeur d’anglais, Ecole Duquesne, Paris

Leslie Machado (class of ’06)

Marine Corps, Equipment Evaluator

Leslie Machado French Major
Sarah Perry in France

Sarah Perry (class of ’06)

“CommEdienne” and resident of Bordeaux, France

Anna Aufill (class of ’03)

Anna has worked as an English teacher at the University of Valenciennes Business School in France and as Research Analyst & Clinical Study Coordinator with GREDECO in Paris, France. Currently she does freelance translation jobs and uses her French working with NGOs in the international city of The Hague in The Netherlands.

Anna Aufill

Danielle Rosenberg

Danielle Rosenberg

Sales Manager at Savio Soares Selections (Wine Importer)
We work with wine producers in France, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Portugal.