winter commencement monterey, california saturday, december 12, 2020
MIDDLEBURY INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AT MONTEREY Commencement Exercises and Conferring of Degrees
5 PROCESSIONAL WELCOME
Jeff Dayton-Johnson Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Institute Laurie L. Patton Middlebury President FAC U LT Y C O M M E N C E M E N T A D D R E S S
Thor Sawin Faculty Senate President and Associate Professor Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education STUDENT SPEAKER
Pia Park MPA/MAITED ’20 AWA R D I N G O F P O S T H U M O U S D E G R E E S
Jeff Dayton-Johnson presented to Michael Patrick Donnelly MANPTS ’20 (to be accepted by the Donnelly Family) Aaron James Ensman MATESOL ’20 (to be accepted by the Ensman Family) CONFERRING OF DEGREES
President Laurie L. Patton
P R E S E N TAT I O N O F C A N D I DAT E S F O R D E G R E E S
Fernando DePaolis, Dean Graduate School of International Policy and Management Katherine Punteney, Associate Professor, Program Chair International Education Management Jason Scorse, Associate Professor, Program Chair International Environmental Policy Fernando DePaolis, Program Chair International Policy and Development Master of Public Administration Robert Rogowsky, Professor International Trade and Economic Diplomacy Jeff Knopf, Professor, Program Chair Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies Laura Burian, Dean Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education Jason Martel, Assistant Professor, Program Chair Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Teaching Foreign Language C L O S I N G R E M A R KS
Vice President Dayton-Johnson
5 P R E S I D E N T ’ S PA R T Y
Laurie L. Patton Thor Sawin Pia Park ’20 Laura Burian Fernando DePaolis Jeff Dayton-Johnson
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL POLICY AND MANAGEMENT
MASTER OF ARTS IN I N T E R N AT I O N A L E D U C AT I O N M A N AG E M E N T
Sara Elena Valdespino Caplan Carisa R. Crittendon* Mia Francesca Dunfey Olivia Francis* Jennifer Francis Gerardi* Alexandro Humberto Gonzalez-Calvillo Emily Day Hoang Elizabeth Kiraleigh Lemons Beth Ann Magyar* Maria Michelle Mongelluzzo Kathryn Yukie Murata* Thi Nguyen* Lien Phuong Pham* Alexandra Ramos López Alexandra N. Roman Charlotte Elizabeth Roulet Seth Brussel Tanen* Milira Shanice Tillman* Rachel Susan Webber* Sayre Rae Weir* Aleena Kate Yunuba Hammack*
Henderson, Nevada St. Louis, Missouri Boston, Massachusetts Washington, North Carolina Fremont, California Las Vegas, Nevada Los Angeles, California Montross, Virginia Greensboro, North Carolina Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pearl City, Hawaii San Jose, California Hanoi, Vietnam Seaside, California Mountain Top, Pennsylvania Bellingham, Washington Washington, D.C. Louisville, Kentucky San Diego, California Davidson, North Carolina Kansas City, Missouri
MASTER OF ARTS IN I N T E R N AT I O N A L E N V I R O N M E N TA L P O L I CY
Ching-Hui Janet Kung Ayleen Susan Mehdizadeh Moradali Anne Clair Otfinoski Alexandra Katharina Seidel
Taipei, Taiwan Campbell, California Chester, Connecticut Osnabrück, Germany
MASTER OF ARTS IN I N T E R N AT I O N A L P O L I CY A N D D E V E L O P M E N T
Ashraf Bassam Hammad Christopher Hayes Craig M. Liening Katharine Grace McKenney Steisha Shelly-Ann Jaime Monderoy Cassandra Mantza Otero-Nevรกrez Salome Pachkoria Anna Halina Phillips Susan J. Stalter Darrell Stanaford Jonelle Kaye Still Rose Marie Thompson Adriana Delfina Threlkeld Shawn Francis Zima*
Livermore, California Tampa, Florida Hixson, Tennessee Newfoundland, Canada Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Livermore, California Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia North Berwick, Maine Atwater, Ohio Baltimore, Maryland Helena, Montana Portland, Oregon Fresno, California Gulf Breeze, Florida
M A S T E R O F P U B L I C A D M I N I S T R AT I O N
Alexandro Humberto Gonzalez-Calvillo Emily Day Hoang Maria Michelle Mongelluzzo Charles Joseph Sato Montesa Pia Ji-Eun Park
Las Vegas, Nevada Los Angeles, California Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Salinas, California Monterey, California
MASTER OF ARTS IN I N T E R N AT I O N A L T R A D E A N D E C O N O M I C D I P L O M ACY
Md Shakil Ahmad* Timothy Dean Bajno* Ariah Celine Barth* Ann Marie Caton Dennis N. Gable Stephanie R. Gaertner Ashraf Bassam Hammad Christopher Hayes Bryan Thomas Herbert* Yoichiro Kimura* Zhengjing Li Salome Pachkoria Pia Ji-Eun Park Jonelle Kaye Still Caroline Elizabeth Turkanis*
Dhaka, Bangladesh New York, New York Reno, Nevada Turlock, California Pocono Lake, Pennsylvania Oviedo, Florida Livermore, California Tampa, Florida Vienna,Virginia Oiso, Japan Kunming, China Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia Monterey, California Helena, Montana Henrico, Virginia
MASTER OF ARTS IN N O N P R O L I F E R AT I O N A N D T E R R O R I S M S T U D I E S
Albert Christopher Akpan Kristin Lee Day Christina Yuliya Hittini Rachel Anne Lott Paulo Sergio Magalhaes de Paula Jamal A. Malik Aubrey Grace Means Nomsa Michelle Ndongwe Enrique Javier Nusi II Mashood Adegoke Kolawole Oshodi Anna Halina Phillips Bryce Coulter Raaymakers Ana-Maria Rizeakos Daniel M. Sexton Kent Vaughn Kathryn Wallace Eric E. Westphal* Samuel Briggs Whitefield
Akwa Ibom, Nigeria Boise, Idaho Sacramento, California Salt Lake City, Utah Santos, Brazil Washington, D.C. Portland, Oregon Harare, Zimbabwe San Diego, California Monterey, California North Berwick, Maine Grand Rapids, Michigan Cahul, Republic of Moldova Austin, Texas Raleigh, North Carolina Willow Spring, North Carolina Chicago, Illinois La CaĂąada Flintridge, California
B AC H E L O R O F A R T S I N I N T E R N AT I O N A L P O L I CY
Jamal A. Malik * With Distinction
Washington, D.C.
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF TRANSLATION, INTERPRETATION, AND LANGUAGE EDUCATION
MASTER OF ARTS IN T E AC H I N G E N G L I S H T O S P E A K E R S O F O T H E R L A N G UAG E S
Jeanne M. Bufalino David J. Gumbiner Xinxin Liu James Joshua Nesmith Mary Njeri Njuguna* Marielle Aline Norris
Riverside, California Los Angeles, California Kunming, China Chelyabinsk, Russia Nairobi, Kenya Portland, Oregon
M A S T E R O F A R T S I N T E AC H I N G F O R E I G N L A N G UAG E
Keming Shen Rebecca Yuan* * With Distinction
Zhanjiang, China Hsinchu, Taiwan
F L AG S O F M A N Y H O M E L A N D S
Today’s color guard represents 76 students from 15 countries. Bangladesh Brazil Canada China Germany Japan Kenya Nigeria Republic of Georgia Republic of Moldova Taiwan Trinidad and Tobago United States Vietnam Zimbabwe
FAC U LT Y C O M M E N C E M E N T S P E A K E R THOR SAWIN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Thor Sawin, associate professor of TESOL/TFL programs, is a linguist, applied linguist, and teacher of English and German as a foreign language, with over 17 years of teaching experience at the undergraduate and graduate levels in Lithuania, Korea, China, and the U.S., as well as in shorter secondary-level programs in Korea, Taiwan, and Albania. Thor is passionate about language learning as hospitality, balancing the cognitive and social aspects of language learning and helping people identify and acquire the “ways of speaking” they will need to be effective cross-cultural collaborators. At MIIS, he primarily teaches courses on linguistics (language acquisition, linguistic analysis, language and social policy, and applying technology to language learning) and intercultural communication. He has also taught German at the Middlebury Language Schools, Middlebury College, and UC Santa Cruz. Thor has presented research at over 50 refereed international conferences and several regional conferences on topics within language teaching, multilingualism, and international development. His fieldwork in Eurasia focuses on language acquisition practices and policies for personnel within international organizations, and he co-organizes the International Congress on Language Learning for field learning policy makers and practitioners. Additionally, he leads workshops on applying second language acquisition, mobile technologies for language learning, field-based language learning, and creating task-based language learning materials for government organizations, such as the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. State Department; teaching organizations, such as Princeton University and the American Council of Hebrew Teachers; and several international development organizations.
STUDENT SPEAKER PIA PARK MPA/MAITED ’20
A California native, Pia Park has grown up in the Monterey Bay area with a passion for economic justice and innovation. Today, she is graduating from the Middlebury Institute with a dual Master of Public Administration/Master of Arts in International Trade and Economic Diplomacy. Previously, she received a Bachelor of Arts in French studies at the University of San Francisco. During her time at the Institute, she has participated in the MIIS International Trade Association and served as codirector at the student-run data analysis research center, the META Lab. These positions helped hone her leadership skills and build community among students from different programs and with different backgrounds. At the nexus of many departments, these groups allowed Pia to foster relationships with students and professors outside the classroom, to demonstrate the intersection of sectors through data analysis tools, and to develop what will be lifelong friendships from this community. Her professional background ranges from working in finance in Seoul, South Korea, to teaching in San Francisco and France. She recently completed internships with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and with the Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility at the World Trade Organization, and she is committed to continuing to fight for economic justice. Her interests lie in the crossover of international trade, design, and the environment. Pia speaks Korean and French.
POSTHUMOUS DEGREES MICHAEL DONNELLY MANPTS ’20
Born on September 29, 1994, Michael Donnelly passed away on June 28, 2020, from complications of acute leukemia, just six days after he was diagnosed with the illness. Michael was a man who loved and cared deeply about his family and friends. He cherished family vacations. He gave his time, attention, and resources to others without expecting anything in return. He was a positive example for all who knew him. He grew up in Northern California, in both the San Francisco Bay Area and the Sacramento area. He earned his undergraduate degree in criminal justice from California State University in Sacramento. In his downtime, Michael loved to hike and surf, and while studying at MIIS, he enjoyed relaxing on Monterey’s beaches with his partner, Crystal Jones, and MIIS friends. During his tenure with the MIIS Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism (CTEC), he spent long hours on projects with meaningful, positive impacts on the world. Michael was passionate about learning as much as he could about terrorism, insurgencies, organized crime, financial crime, and hybrid warfare. He was thrilled to be on the front lines of extremist and disinformation research. Additionally, Michael credits CTEC with his exposure to data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Michael’s mother, Liz Donnelly, said Michael’s new career path and work at CTEC brought “much joy” to his life. In addition to his work at CTEC, he served as the vice president of the Terrorism Studies student club and was deeply involved with activities related to his Financial Crime Management specialization. Michael is survived by his parents, Liz and Pat; his sisters, Jacki Parker and Nichole Cabutage; his partner, Crystal Jones; nieces Calli, Emma, and Blake; grandparents Clyde and Faye Buchanan; his brothers-in-law; and many aunts, uncles, and cousins, who loved being in his presence.
AARON JAMES ENSMAN MATESOL ’20
Aaron James Ensman, a Peace Corps volunteer and Fulbright Scholar who was pursuing a master’s degree at the Institute, died on May 20. Passionate about language, Aaron had enrolled in the Institute’s TESOL program in September 2015 as a Peace Corps Master’s International Student. After he completed his first two semesters on the Monterey campus, his Peace Corps responsibilities brought him to Moldova, where he taught secondary school. He returned to MIIS to continue his studies toward a TESOL degree and an International Education Management specialization, and had plans to teach in Romania this fall on a Fulbright Scholarship. Aaron was a kind and generous teacher, friend, and person who cared for those around him, as he had cared for his grandparents following his graduation from The Ohio State University before enrolling at MIIS. At the Institute, he participated in numerous Student Life activities and workshops, was vice president of the Toastmasters Club, and could always be found at one of the ping-pong tables in Holland Center. Colleagues remember Aaron as a “talented and wonderful” human being who made valuable contributions to the MIIS community, bringing focus, intellect, insight, and wit to all he did. They speak about his words—his knowledge around language, a profound vocabulary, the most articulate person in the room. “In Aaron’s honor and memory,” wrote a MIIS classmate, “I’ll be paying more attention to my words: their meaning, intent, and impact.” Aaron is survived by his parents, Leslie and Kirt Ensman of San Bernardino, California, and siblings Brian, Catherine, Kyle, and Eugene Wu.
PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS O F M I D D L E B U RY C O L L E G E 2 0 2 0 – 2 0 21 PRESIDENT
Laurie L. Patton CHARTER TRUSTEES
Kirtley Horton Cameron ’95 Allan R. Dragone Jr. ’78 George C. Lee II ’88 Caroline Sneath McBride ’75 Dennis D. Parker ’77
Helen Riess Richard T. Scanlon ’93 Karen A. Stolley ’77 William F. Truscott ’83
TERM TRUSTEES
Belinda L. Badcock Joseph W. Brown ’90 Leilani McClellan Brown ’93 Eve B. Burton Janine Feng ’92 Graham C. Goldsmith ’89 Parker Harris III ’89 Catherine G. Lee ’92
Alice J. (A.J.) Murphy ’98 Suzanne Reider ’87 Henry J. Simonds ’97 Mark D. Spence ’98 John S. Weinberg Larry Yarbrough Kashif Zafar ’92
ALUMNI TRUSTEES
Koby Altman ’04 Zach Bourque ’01 Denver Edwards ’88
Lucienne M. Ide ’97 Anne Davis Peterson ’85 Elizabeth Cromwell Speers ’86 TRUSTEES EMERITI
Dort A. Cameron III ’67 James S. Davis ’66 Churchill G. Franklin ’71 Frederick M. Fritz ’68 Nancy Coffrin Furlong ’75 Claire Waterhouse Gargalli ’64 Robert C. Graham Jr. ’63 Willard T. Jackson ’51 William H. Kieffer III ’64 Roxanne McCormick Leighton ’67 John M. McCardell Jr.
C. Irving Meeker ’50 Patricia Judah Palmer ’57 Kimberly Collins Parizeau ’79 Milton V. Peterson ’58 Elisabeth Robert ’78 Frank W. Sesno ’77 Deborah G. Thomas ’75 John R. Tormondsen ’82 Marna C. Whittington Linda Foster Whitton ’80 Kendrick R. Wilson III
M I D D L E B U RY I N S T I T U T E B OA R D O F A DV I S E R S TRUSTEES
Catherine G. Lee ’92, Chair Lucienne M. Ide ’97, Vice Chair Kirtley Horton Cameron ’95 Parker Harris III ’89 Caroline Sneath McBride ’75 Henry J. Simonds ’97 Karen A. Stolley ’77 John S. Weinberg EMERITI
Churchill G. Franklin ’71 Frederick M. Fritz ’68 Kim Collins Parizeau ’79 Frank W. Sesno ’77 Linda Foster Whitton ’80 PA R T N E R S
Alison Geballe Deborah Hicks Rich Wolfson CONSTITUENTS
Ashley Arrocha Mahabat Baimyrzaeva Madeleine Smith
A FEW NOTES G R A D UAT I O N W I T H H O N O R S
Undergraduate students completing all degree requirements with a record of high academic achievement are awarded traditional Latin honors: cum laude (3.50–3.74), magna cum laude (3.75–3.89), and summa cum laude (3.9–4.0). Master’s degree recipients completing with a cumulative GPA of 4.00 graduate with distinction. Recipients of summa cum laude and distinction honors were awarded honors cords prior to today’s ceremony. AC K N O W L E D G E M E N T
Special thanks to Professor Mike Gillen for playing the bagpipes leading the processional. And special thanks to our students for providing interpretation during the ceremony. S U P P O R T I N G T H E M I D D L E B U RY I N S T I T U T E A N N UA L F U N D
We are grateful to the generous alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends who support the many facets of an Institute education by donating to the Annual Fund. Your contributions allow future students the opportunity to pursue their dreams and lead purposeful lives. Visit go.miis.edu/give to learn more about how to make a gift. G A M A L I E L PA I N T E R ’ S C A N E
Gamaliel Painter’s Cane is one of the most treasured artifacts of the College. Once the walking stick of the founder of both the town of Middlebury and the College, today it is carried by the president in the ceremony. It serves as a symbol of institutional strength and character.
M I D D L E B U RY I N S T I T U T E O F I N T E R N AT I O N A L S T U D I E S The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey offers its students a wide range of professional degrees to prepare them for careers in fields including international business, development, education, environmental policy, language teaching, and translation and interpretation. The Institute’s 700 students come from more than 50 countries around the world and together with the faculty share a deep interest in, and commitment to, global engagement and cross-cultural communication. Since its founding in 1955, the Institute has developed leading programs in these diverse fields of study. Today it is home to a wide range of research centers and initiatives, including the renowned James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, the Center for the Blue Economy, and the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, among others. Founded in 1800, Middlebury College has long been recognized as one of the finest liberal arts colleges in the country. The College provides its 2,500 undergraduate students with a rigorous liberal arts education and a wide range of opportunities to pursue interests and experiences outside the classroom. The Institute became affiliated with Middlebury College in 2005 and was fully integrated as a graduate school of Middlebury in 2010. It was formerly known as the Monterey Institute of International Studies (1979 to 2015) and the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies (1955 to 1979). Other Middlebury schools and programs include the Middlebury Language Schools, the Middlebury C.V. Starr Schools Abroad, the Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English, the Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences, and the Middlebury School of the Environment.
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