Student Voices

Valerie Hathaway, '13

Meet Valerie

"The Chinese program is filled with professors who enjoy teaching their students the language. They are organized and are more than willing to sit down with the students to make sure their majors and minors are going smoothly."

Hometown: Kenosha, Wis.

Majors: Chinese and psychology

Career Goal: To work as a Chinese translator for the government.

After taking Chinese for all four years of high school, Valerie Hathaway knew that she wanted to continue her studies in college. Carthage's location and blossoming Chinese program in the Modern Languages Department sold her on the school. After graduation, she hopes to work as a translator for the government or an international corporation.

"I plan on working with people, so by getting a basic understanding of how humans think and perceive situations, I can apply this knowledge while doing various translating jobs," Valerie says of her double major in psychology and Chinese. "I have always been interested in psychology because I love to learn how the brain works. I also decided on Chinese because it is quickly becoming a much needed language to learn. Plus, I liked learning a different and unique language and wanted to continue."

The faculty is Valerie's favorite part of the Chinese program at Carthage. She appreciates that they take time to help struggling students with the more complex parts of learning the language, such as new sentence patterns and memorizing the characters.

"The Chinese program is filled with professors who enjoy teaching their students the language," she said. "They are organized and are more than willing to sit down with the students to make sure their majors and minors are going smoothly."

The Target Language Experts program has also been helpful to Valerie, who describes it as a "give and take program" where the TLEs teach English-speakers about their languages and cultures, while the English-speaking students teach the TLEs about the English language and U.S. American culture.

Valerie plans to study abroad in Spring 2012. She also visited China for a J-Term class, touring the cities that line the Silk Road. During her time at Carthage, Valerie has also been asked to participate in a research study program, and is a member of Pi Delta Chi service sorority, Alpha Lambda Delta honors fraternity, and Chinese Club.

Favorite professor: "It is very hard to pick one favorite professor because I have enjoyed all of my classes. I liked all of my Chinese professors because they were fun and made class interesting. They are all very nice and try to get to know who the students are and what they want to do in life."

Favorite class: "My favorite classes were Chinese 302 during the spring semester of 2011 and Chinese/Japanese Calligraphy class. I liked Chinese 302 because the class size was three students, so we were able to get individual help if needed. It was also interesting because when we would finish our unit early we were able to ask questions about what it was like to live in China and the history, since two out of the three students plan on going to China to study abroad."

Toughest class: "My toughest class was the Cognition writing intensive course. I have a hard time writing my thoughts down on paper, so that made testing very difficult. However, this class drastically improved my writing skills."

Favorite moments at Carthage: "I have had a lot of fun moments at Carthage. My favorite moment was when my friend and I tried to play racquetball for the first time."

Favorite spot on campus: "My favorite spot on campus is outside of the bookstore. I usually run into several friends there after class."

Biggest surprise so far: "The biggest surprise so far for me is how helpful the professors are."

Advice for students considering Chinese as a major: "Chinese is an interesting language. If you want to learn the language, you should study every day and take time memorizing the characters. I usually write out each character 20 times for each unit. If you are not able to understand the unit, or are unsure on how to say a word, speak up. If you do not ask, you will just get more confused."

— Elizabeth Reinhardt, '12

Student Voices

Chinese

Jessica Fisher, '13

"I knew that if I knew Chinese, I would have a better chance of getting jobs because it is such a worldwide language."
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Vanessa Valentine, '13

"The biggest surprise to me is how much I have learned — not only academically, but also personally. I am a better person now than I was two years ago."
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John Gutt-Jankowski, '14

By studying both Chinese and Spanish, John said that when he graduates, he will have learned three of the most important languages in the world.
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Valerie Hathaway, '13

"The Chinese program is filled with professors who enjoy teaching their students the language."
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French

Jesse Daniel, '12

"I never realized how many doors are opened through studying abroad. Living in another culture, you become part of it, and are no longer a tourist."
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Emily Kolesar, '12

By studying both French and English, Emily has been able to mature as a writer.
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Diane Hahn, '14

"The Modern Language Department truly has made my learning experience an enjoyable one, and I can't image going to any other college because I'm afraid I'll be disappointed in this aspect."
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German

Anna Treudt, '13

"Both in German and archaeology the willingness to learn is what separates you from the others. That might sound uninteresting and a little daunting, but when you find something you like, you enjoy it."
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Karin Wirth, '13

Karin Wirth was raised with a rich German Heritage, which led to her love of the language. She is also a DAAD scholarship winner and a tutor for the Modern Languages department.
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David Rosenberg, '12

"The openness of the professors and their willingness to help struggling students" are among the Modern Language Department's biggest strengths.
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Ronald Harris, '12

Ronald is pursuing a minor in German, after studying the language since kindergarten.
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Japanese

Jennifer Weiss, '14

"Our businesses are becoming more global by the day, and Japan is one of the top countries America does business with. I want to be as prepared as possible when it comes to doing business with Japan."
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Spanish

Elizabeth Reinhardt, '12

"It's difficult to really learn a language if you don't actually use it. Studying abroad is the only way to really immerse yourself in it entirely."
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Andrea Winbigler, '13

"Carthage really became my second home and all the people here have become my second family."
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Samantha Jasinski, '13

"Traveling is my passion in life, and with this school I got the opportunity to not only travel once in college, but multiple times without falling behind in any of my classes."
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Read student voices from graduated students.