Featured Students and Alumni
Students in the News
Spring 2008
Rebecca Lynch, a graduating senior with a double major in German/Elementary Education has just been accepted into the Fulbright Teaching Assistantship Program in Austria for Academic Year 2008-09.
Alice Jacques, a graduating senior with a double major in French and Global and Multinational Studies has been accepted for a position with the French Ministry of Education’s Assistants d’anglais program. Alice will be assigned to teach in Montpellier for Academic Year 2008-2009.
Susan Campbell, a junior triple major in French, Political Science, and Global and Multinational Studies has been accepted for an Internship position for French students at the United Nations for the Summer’08.
Two Spanish students, Tiffany Siegel and Luz Espaillat presented papers at the NCUR (National Conference for Undergraduate Research) held in April 2008 in Salisbury, Maryland.
Featured Alumni
Spring 2008: News from Olivia Monillas, May 2003 graduate with a double major in Secondary Education and French. Olivia writes: “During the three years I spent at Rider, I had a wonderful opportunity to study abroad at Université de Laval in Quebec, Canada. It was a specialized five week program for non native French speakers.”
Olivia is one of several Rider Students who participated in the French Consulate “Assistant d’anglais” program. All of our students who have applied over the years have been accepted to the program. Rider student young alumni are encouraged to consider applying for this program (contact Dr. Poteau-Tralie for application information). Olivia adds: “After I graduated from Rider in 2003, instead of jumping right into a teaching career, I decided to go to France as an assistant d'anglais in Amiens, France (October 2003-April 2004) at Robert de Luzarches High School. Amiens is located in the north of France, in the Picardy Region which happens to be an hour and ten minutes from the center of Paris! I went back to France for a second time with my son, Nickolas in October 2005-April 2006. Because of my son, I requested to be placed at the elementary level. I received a position in three different elementary schools, all located in Amiens, where I was placed before.”
Olivia is currently working full-time in the Hillsborough Township School District teaching Introductory French. She is in the process of taking graduate French courses at Montclair State University and Rutgers University as well as pursuing a Masters Degree in Education from Holy Family University.
ALEXANDRA VON RECKLINGHAUSEN (BOECKELS-RAMIREZ) (B. A. Spanish and Elementary Education with certification in English as a Second Language, Class of 1996)
Alexandra will begin a new position as a 7th and 8th grade Spanish Teacher at George Washington Middle School in Wayne, New Jersey after teaching for 9 years in Ringwood, New Jersey as a 7th and 8th grade and also a 3rd and 4th Spanish teacher. Her husband Tom von Recklinghausen is also a Rider graduate 1995 of accounting. They have a son, Matthew, who is 3 1/2 years old and put the apple in their eye. Alexandra would love to hear from fellow Spanish and elementary education friends and can be e-mailed at alexvonr@aol.com.
DIANNA ALTMILLER (B.A. German and Secondary Education, December 2005)
We are pleased to announce that The Executive Council of the AATG (American Association of Teachers of German) awarded Dianna Altmiller (German/Secondary Education Double major) the American Education Students Study in Germany (AESSIG) Program prestigious award for summer study at the University of Leipzig.
Ms. Altmiller was selected for this honor as a member of the first “class” of AESSIG. This project is generously funded from the European Recovery Program (ERP) of the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Arbeit. Ms. Altmiller studied in Leipzig, Germany, from June 25 to July 23, 2005 through this program, which is designed especially for teachers of German who seek to improve their language skills. Congratulations, Dianna!
Dianna Altmiller has distinguished herself in many ways, and this award is just one of the many she has received. After graduation in December, 2005 she planned to teach German in grades six through twelve. A 2004 Andrew J.Rider Scholar, she holds a GPA of 3.98. In Summer 2004 Dianna studied at the University of Rhode Island German Summer Immersion Program, achieving a GPA of 3.925. Other honors and memberships include: Omicron Delta Kappa. National Leadership Honorary; Kappa Delta Pi, National Education Honor Society; Charlotte W. Newcombe Scholarship Award; Zertificat Deutsch, Goethe Institut, Boston; Delta Phi Alpha, German National HonorSociety; and Dean’s List: Fall 2003, Spring 2004, Fall 2004. She presented her work at the Student Colloquium for Award Winning Writing and Achievement in Foreign Languages during International Week in March 2004, and she received one of five Undergraduate Research Scholarship Awards in May 2004 for her departmental honors thesis on the “Representation of Gender in the Grimms' Fairy Tales.” In 2003 at Hopewell Valley Regional High School she prepared and taught daily lesson plans for German levels four, five, and five advanced placement; supervised students during extracurricular activities; and helped to organize and implement German Club activities. She is a member of the American Association of Teachers of German, Foreign Language Educators of New Jersey, the Pennsylvania German Society, and the Rider Student Education Association. She is actively involved in a church-sponsored community outreach program that serves the Bucks County Red Cross Homeless Shelter.
MELANIE UNRUH (B.A. Spanish and English, Class of 2006)
It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than two years since I studied abroad in Granada, Spain. There’s no way to fully describe how much it has impacted my life; it was such a mind-opening, unfathomably amazing experience. As a result of my time spent there and the improvement of my language skills, I ended up picking up a second major in Spanish. I am so happy that I did! Not only did this enable me to take really interesting and creative upper level Spanish classes my last year at Rider, it also helped me to feel more confident as I tutored Spanish (which I hope to continue doing when I begin graduate school this fall). For years I knew that I wanted this experience—adventure, foreign culture, and a chance to meet new people were enticing prospects. These were just the tip of the iceberg, however; the self-reliance I cultivated and the personal growth I experienced during my time in Spain are priceless gifts that I carry with me every day.
This fall I’m beginning my M.F.A. in Creative Writing (Fiction) at the University of New Mexico. I’m sure my time spent in Spain manifest itself in my writing somewhere. Contact me at munruh@hotmail.com.
JAMES MARTIN (B.A. German, Rider, May 1995/ Ph.D. German, Georgetown University, February, 2004)
James Martin obtained a tenure-track German position at Washington University in Maryland. In a letter to Dr. Margaret Schleissner, James wrote:
“Well, I'm officialy hooked on German now. Ten years after having graduated Rider with a B.A. in German, I am now accepting my first tenure-track position as Assistant Professor of German at Washington College on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Wow, has it only been ten years? It seems like a lifetime of studies, but I'm very, very happy that it's come to fruition. The college is a small, liberal arts institution, but it's very friendly and personable. Hopefully I can settle down there, focus on publishing a little, and make an impact on the college and students. Who knows, if I do a good job, one of my students may even go on to become a German professor some day! Thank you for starting me down this path. I can't imagine being happier than I am with the choices I have made.”
Congratulations, James!
JACQUELINE NODES (B.A. Spanish, French, and Elementary Education, Spring 2005)
Jacqueline Nodes is a triple major in Spanish, French and Elementary Education at Rider, and is completed her student teaching in Spring 2005. She studied abroad at La Universidad de Nebrija in Madrid, Spain and L'Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada. She has been a peer tutor in Beginner and Intermediate Spanish and participated in a two week service learning trip in Jamaica. Jacqueline is a member of numerous academic honor societies including Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, Sigma Delta Pi National Spanish Honor Society, Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education, Phi Beta Delta Honor Society dedicated to recognizing scholarly achievement in International Education, Pi Delta Phi National French Honor Society, and The Honor Key Society. Jacqueline earned the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures Award for Outstanding Writing in 2004, and again in 2005.
ESTEFANIA JUNCAL (B.A. French and Spanish, minor in Global and Multinational Studies, Spring 2005)
The Department is pleased to announce that Estefania Juncal was awarded the Roger Poteau Memorial Scholarship for Study Abroad. The award is a $250.00 cash prize for students studying abroad to help defray the costs of excursions, books, and souvenirs during their stay. Estefania studied abroad in Besançon, France for the Spring 2005 semester. She is a double major in French and Spanish with a minor in Global and Multinational Studies and has a 3.413 GPA. She is a French and Spanish tutor on campus, and a member of ALFS, the Spanish language conversation club. She is a member of Sigma Delta Pi, the Spanish National Honor Society, and past president of the French Club. An EOP student, she presented an essay for the EOP Distinguished Writer's program in December of 2002. A dynamic conversationalist in all of her languages, Este also loves to sing and write.
COURTNEY BERTOS (B.A. Spanish and Secondary Education, Spring 2005)
Courtney Bertos has a double major in Spanish and Secondary Education and holds a 3.58 GPA. Dedicated to academics and a disciplined student, she is also outstanding in athletics. In 2002, Courtney was NEC Rookie of the Year in field hockey, and in the NEC 2004 tournament, she was selected MVP. She is a 3 year recipient of the Student-Athlete Academic Award and has served as field hockey representative for S.A.A.C. (Student Athletic Advisory Council). She helped initiate and is a member of the S.A.M. program (Student Althlete Mentor) at Rider, has run clinics for elementary students in field hockey with the Pennington YMCA and has worked in varioius basketball and field hockey clinics in neighboring communities. In Summer 2005 she studied abroad in Alicante, Spain.
