The Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA & PS) hosted a 2016-17 Awards Reception on Oct. 11.
The event celebrated the academic achievement and volunteerism of 40 students. Hosted and sponsored by Founders College, more than 75 guests attended the event, including students, their support networks, DLLL faculty, the Master of Founders College Pablo Idahosa, LA&PS Associate Dean (Students) Peter Avery and Lucy Fromowitz, York University vice-provost of students.
The student award recipients are:
American Sign Language: Carisa Van De Wetering (ASL 1000)
Arabic: Adeela Chaudry (ARB 1000) & Raghad Gorgie (ARB 3000)
Chinese: Justin Miceli (CH 1000) & Jocelyn Grabke (Upper level)
Classical Greek: James Park (GK 1000)
DLLL-World Literatures: Manmeet Panach (DLLL 1000)
German Studies: Tatjana Tsoi (GER 1000) & Enzo Flores-Montoya (Upper level)
Hebrew: 1. Mikhail Gindin (HEB 1000) 2. Mark Nusenbaum (HEB 2000)
Joseph Zbili Memorial Book Prize: 3. Dawit Demoz (HEB 3000)
Hindi-Urdu: Deeksha Behl (HND 1000)
Italian Studies: Malak El Allaki (IT 1000) & Carlo Muia (Upper level)
Japanese Studies: Dinh (Celina) Chen (JP 1000) & Ilia Jarikov (JP 1000)
Korean: Conger Wang (KOR 1000) & Zexin Fu (KOR 3000)
Latin: Julie White (LA 1000)
Linguistics: Matthew Mondell (LING 1000) & Qamar Halat (Highest GPA Graduating Student in LING)
Modern Greek: Melissa Cedrone Zini (GKM 1000) & Steven Campbell (GKM 2011)
Persian: Masoumeh Keihani (PERS 1000)
Portuguese & Luso-Brazilian Studies: 1. Juan Villamil (POR 1000) 2. Claudia Pereira (POR 2000) 3. Vincenzo Gruppuso (The Dark Stones Award in Portuguese & Luso-Brazilian Studies, sponsored by Santander Totta Bank) 4. Wendy Roza ( Portuguese gives you wings Award, sponsored by Azores Airlines)
Russian: Armin Ovaisy Moakhar (Upper level)
Spanish: Karan Randhawa (SP 1000) & Maria Puentes (Upper level)
Swahili: Kareema Sheraly (SWAH 1000)
Linguistics Volunteers: Areej Alattas, Ashley Bain, Sabina Coulas, Tamsin Magor, Marco Musacchio, Viktoria Peretokina and Xiaochuan Qin
The award winners are students from Faculties across the University. Some are majors in DLLL and some are pursuing Certificates of Proficiency to enhance their professional and other degrees. Having graduated in spring 2017, a few are now listed among the University’s alumni ranks.
The volunteer award recipients are students in Linguistics and are also actively involved in the Linguistics Student Association and work to promote the DLLL program at a variety of events each year such as the annual Fall Campus Day and Spring Open House.
In her welcome address, Professor Roberta Iannacito-Provenzano, chair of DLLL, congratulated students on their great work and emphasized the importance of the humanities and a liberal arts education. “Courses in language, literature, culture and linguistics, give students the skills to relate to the other, no matter what life path they choose; our mission is to give students the tools to understand themselves better but also to better understand today’s world in all its complexities” said Iannacito-Provenzano.
York University Vice-Provost of Students Lucy Fromowitz commended students on their achievements and spoke to the diverse population, made up of domestic and international students at York University and the supports available to them on campus. She, along with Professor Pablo Idahosa, master of Founders College, shared inspirational stories about students succeeding at, and being engaged in, all aspects of University life. Their words were echoed by Professor Peter Avery, LA&PS associate dean (Students), who congratulated students and their support networks on behalf of LA&PS Dean Ananya Mukherjee-Reed. As a special guest, the department welcomed Gabriela Cavaco, from Santander Totta Bank, the sponsor for the Dark Stones Award in Portuguese & Luso-Brazilian Studies and Carlos Botelho, director at Azores Airlines, the sponsor of the Portuguese gives you wings Award.
This last award, given annually, presents the top-earning student in POR 1000 6.0 with an airline ticket to Portugal. The 2016-17 recipient Wendy Roza thanked Botelho and spoke to the life-changing trip to the Azores that she embarked on in summer 2017.
Perhaps, the most inspirational and heartwarming part of the evening was when the students, upon presentation of their award, responded to Iannacito-Provenzano’s question about why they decided to study language, literature, culture and linguistics. Many of the students who spoke to the question affirmed they wanted to hone their skills in a particular language to be able to communicate with family and friends in Canada and abroad. Others stated that DLLL offered many in-depth courses in literature and culture, including film and the immigrant experience, that helped them better appreciate their origins.
Several business and politics majors spoke about the importance of combining language training with their major in order to give them an edge when applying for jobs in Canada and abroad. One student spoke about the importance of this training given the state of affairs in the world today and made particular reference to being able to understand other cultures and their viewpoints especially in light of what is happening south of the Canadian border.