The scholarship will support Roby’s participation in an intensive, immersive eight-week summer program in Mandarin at Tamkang University in New Taipei City, Taiwan, where participants complete the equivalent of one year of language study. During the program, he will live with a host family, meet regularly with a language exchange partner on campus, and immerse himself in the sights, sounds, and rhythms of the local community. Following the program, he hopes to continue his studies at National Taiwan University’s International Chinese Language Learning Program for the academic year and the following summer term. He has also considered the possibility of living in Taiwan long-term by pursuing a master’s degree in Political Science at National Taiwan University and seeking employment in a Chinese-speaking environment.

I am deeply grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to further develop my Chinese language skills. Wherever I ultimately go, I am confident that the language training I have received at ��Ʒ���˸������� University, along with the experiences provided by the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship and National Taiwan University, will prepare me to use Chinese effectively in my career and continue developing my skills to their fullest potential.
—Jacob Roby

His achievement highlights the strength of ��Ʒ���˸������� University’s language programs in fostering student success and advancing global understanding and engagement. This milestone marks the second time a Chinese minor at Montclair has been awarded the Critical Language Scholarship. To learn more about the scholarship, visit

As an international student from Mexico, she was drawn to �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s computing program and the chance to build a tech career. After she excelled in a German language course, that success became the first step toward building multiple degrees, as faculty encouraged her to add German, explore linguistics and step into teaching and research roles she had never considered. She even turned her work with children in German into a research project on how programs like the SPARK Lab influence college students’ interest in teaching.

“One of the most important things I’ve learned at Montclair is that you don’t have to limit yourself to just one thing,” Zarate Gonzalez says.

At �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s SPARK Lab, Isabella Zarate Gonzalez collaborates with fellow students to plan German lessons for local schoolchildren as part of a national ‘SPARK for German’ teaching network. (Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)

Community‑engaged learning that opens doors

The SPARK Lab is a partnership between Montclair and nearby schools, giving children early access to world languages while mentoring college students into community‑focused leadership roles. It is part of a national network supported by the . Zarate Gonzalez is among the students who teach German to elementary school children one hour a week for six weeks each semester, including a Meistergruppe for kids who speak German as a heritage language.

Children in �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s SPARK Lab listen to German fairy tales. (Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)

As part of a multi‑university research project with the University of Tennessee Knoxville, the University of St. Thomas and the University of Chicago, she led data collection and analysis on how SPARK affects college students. She focused on whether experiences like the SPARK Lab encourage students to consider teaching German and what broadly applicable professional skills they gain, surveying �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s student instructors about their motivations and how teaching had changed their career plans.

The research findings, co‑authored with faculty and collaborators at the four campuses, were and presented at the 2023 American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages conference in Chicago.

At Montclair, Isabella Zarate Gonzalez found support to grow a single major into three degrees – Data Science, Language, Business and Culture, and German – plus a minor in Linguistics. (Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)

Studying abroad with scholarship support

Scholarship support opened the world for Zarate Gonzalez.

Through the  Montclair–Graz Sister City Scholarship, she spent the 2024–25 academic year studying in Graz, Austria. The full scholarship, funded by ��Ʒ���˸������� University, �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s Overseas Neighbors and the City of Graz, provides free tuition, room and a small stipend and sends two Montclair undergraduates each year to study in �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s sister city.

�ѴDzԳٳ���������’s status as a Hispanic‑Serving Institution also helped her win a full scholarship to Middlebury’s prestigious German Language School, a summer immersion program.

“There aren’t a lot of people who can say, ‘This university allowed me to do three bachelor’s degrees, win full scholarships and study abroad in Europe,’” she says.

Isabella Zarate Gonzalez talks with Associate Professor Pascale LaFountain in �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s SPARK Lab. In addition to their work there, Zarate Gonzalez joined LaFountain on a translation project for an archive of Austrian Jewish history. (Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)

Hands-on research and a peek into history

Advanced language study also led Zarate Gonzalez into meaningful work and helped her discover the academic field that ties her interests together. With Associate Professor Pascale LaFountain and local resident Diane Forman, she worked on a translation project for an extraordinary archive of Austrian Jewish history centered on Forman’s grandfather, composer Wilhelm Grosz.

The team organized and translated Grosz’s letters – including correspondence with figures such as Leonard Bernstein and Langston Hughes – along with his musical manuscripts, Nazi‑era property documents and personal library, preparing the materials for the Exil.arte Jewish music archive in Austria.

For Zarate Gonzalez, working so closely with those documents made the Holocaust feel personal and showed her how language skills and data‑driven thinking could come together in fields like Computational Linguistics.

Looking ahead

When Zarate Gonzalez graduates in May 2026, she will have earned degrees in Data Science; Language, Business and Culture; and German, plus a minor in Linguistics – all completed in four years.

Now, as she looks ahead, she is exploring teaching opportunities in both German and STEM fields and planning for a future master’s program in Computational Linguistics.

“I think about what would have happened if I had chosen not to come to Montclair,” she says. “My life would be completely different. I genuinely believe I got the most out of it.”

Ready to start your Montclair journey? Learn more about the College of Science and Mathematics and the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Montclair.

Accepted students: Make it official by submitting your new student deposit and registering to attend Accepted Students Day.

This milestone event, the first IMLD celebration at this scale on campus, was led by and and brought together more than a dozen units across campus and beyond, reflecting an extraordinary level of collaboration and shared commitment to multilingualism.

Participating departments, centers, and offices included: CLaSE (Center for Latino Heritage and Spanish Language Excellence), Anthropology, Linguistics, Spanish & Latino Studies, World Languages & Cultures, NJCIJ (New Jersey Center for Indigenous Justice), Writing Studies, the Office of Global Engagement, the Office of Inclusive Excellence, the Office for Hispanic Initiatives, and Sprague Library.

The event also featured strong participation from international students and student organizations, including MASA, PASO, LASO, ESA, and NAIS, whose engagement contributed to the dynamic and inclusive atmosphere of the day.

With over 300 attendees, including students, staff, faculty, and members of Indigenous groups from Latin America and Native American communities, this event became a vibrant testament to the linguistic and cultural richness that defines our campus and surrounding areas.

The First Floor Reading Room of Sprague Library was transformed into an immersive, global experience where participants “traveled” across languages. Each attendee received a “language passport”, guiding them through a journey across more than twenty interactive tables, each representing a different language and cultural context or perspective. As they moved from table to table, they collected stamps or stickers while engaging in activities that celebrated language as a living, dynamic force.

Students explored language through creativity, play, and reflection. They became “Vocabulary Detectives,” shared regional expressions at the “Teach Us Your Dialect” table, and connected through challenges like “Language Mapping” and “Translation Challenges”. At other tables, they mapped their linguistic identities, contributed to a “Word Wall”, and responded to prompts such as “Tell Us in Your Language” and “Where in the World Is Your Language?”

Hands-on cultural experiences added depth and beauty to the event. Participants practiced Chinese calligraphy, learned to write their names in Korean, and explored basic expressions in French and Mazahua. They also engaged with global Indigenous cultures through interactive Kichwa language guessing activities and the Navajo String Game.

Other stations invited deeper reflection on language as identity and future. Through activities including “Language Futures Survey”, “Words of Wisdom”, and the “Latin American Slang Wall -¿Cómo se dice?”,  we celebrated the emotional and cultural connections embedded in language.

A highlight of the event was the series of four lightning panels, which brought powerful voices and perspectives into the room. These included presentations by Dr. Jesse Ha (Teaching & Learning), Librarian Catherine Oliver, Verónica Muenala, Próspero Martinez and Elías Hilario Guzmán (members of the Concejo de Pueblos Originarios), Precious Benally (Director of NJCIJ), and three outstanding students, Alondra Molina, Sofia Andersen Garreffa and Kaung Hla Zan. Presenters provided deeply moving personal reflections and scholarly insights, reminding us of the individual, cultural, and political significance of language in people’s lives.

The event also created meaningful bridges across time and tradition. Participants read graffiti from the ancient world and engaged with Indigenous languages and knowledge systems, reminding us that language is not only communication, but memory, resistance, and continuity.

Throughout the room, there was laughter, curiosity, and a powerful sense of belonging. Languages were spoken and celebrated, not as barriers, but as bridges. The presence of President Koppell, who joined the celebration and expressed appreciation for the energy and vibrant participation of attendees further underscored the importance of this collective moment.

This celebration was more than an event. It was a living expression of what it means to be part of a multilingual, multicultural campus space where every language is recognized as a source of strength.

See you next year!

Dr. Maisa Taha and Dr. Antonella Calarota-Ninman

The event represented a powerful convergence of educational philosophies. Melenciano, who attended the gathering and spoke with the educators, later reflected on the unexpected resonance between Afrotectopia’s approach and Reggio Emilia principles: “A shared belief in pedagogy that begins as play — a rigorous yet porous method for imagination and inquiry,” she wrote. “Reggio Emilia centers the design of environments, forms of participation, and professional growth through organic, student-centered approaches. Values that deeply resonate with Afrotectopia. The creation of Black Metal, and much of Afrotectopia’s ethos overall, has been about designing the ‘container’ for imagination to thrive without a preset destination. Black Metal emerged from four aligned artists mind-melding and simply asking, ‘What’s possible?'”

Following the gallery experience, several participants who had traveled to Italy as part of an innovative Reggio Emilia immersion program (2024, 2025) at ��Ʒ���˸������� shared reflections on how their international study informs their teaching practices. Through this program, designed and taught by Dr. Miele and Dr. Elizabeth Erwin (CEEL), two cohorts of MSU undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students have studied at the Loris Malaguzzi International Center in Reggio Emilia.

Miele has been engaged with progressive approaches to education, and Reggio Emilia in particular, since 2010. In 2016, she organized a widely attended panel on “The Reggio Emilia Approach: The U.S. School System’s Responses to an Italian Educational Philosophy” that drew educators from across New Jersey, covered extensively in La Voce di New York (, ). Saturday’s event attracted a similarly robust turnout, reflecting continued enthusiasm for child-centered pedagogy.

For more information about NJEEPRE, visit . The Age of Black Metal is on view at the George Segal Gallery through December 14.

Funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Job Mobility program, the visit brought Vittoria Zingaro and Adriana Gallo to campus to observe English for Business instruction and explore pedagogical approaches that bridge language learning with professional competencies. The partnership continues to evolve, with Prof. Enza Antenos, Director of the Language, Business & Culture BA program and the Department of World Languages and Literatures, scheduled to travel to the Dell’Acqua campus during Spring 2026 to consult on their English business program—also funded under the Erasmus+ grant.

Zingaro and Gallo participated in a comprehensive observation program spanning multiple business disciplines. Their week included courses addressing marketing creativity and strategy, business ethics and corporate social responsibility, international business operations, intercultural communication in professional contexts, and the capstone course that activates language competencies with business acumen in tangible ways.

“It was a pleasure to have Vittoria and Adriana visit my creative marketing class,” shared marketing professor Manveer Mann. “It’s inspiring to connect with educators from around the world who are passionate about effective instruction. I appreciated their engagement and interest in my pedagogical approach and the opportunity to discuss it with them and learn about the Italian cultural perspectives. I look forward to future opportunities for collaboration.”

The program extended beyond academic observation to include strategic professional engagements. Highlights included a faculty and administration luncheon that fostered cross-institutional dialogue, a meeting with Education Director Daniele Castellani at the Italian Consulate in New York to explore broader collaboration opportunities, and a corporate visit to Bindi North America Inc. in Kearny, New Jersey. At Bindi, the educators gained insights into Italian business operations in the American market, with the visit facilitated by Francesca Oliveri, a communications specialist at Bindi and an Italian alumna, further reinforcing the international connections that make such partnerships meaningful.

The Erasmus+ program is the European Union’s flagship initiative supporting education and training across Europe and beyond, facilitating professional development opportunities for educators and promoting cross-cultural understanding.

“The Erasmus+ program exemplifies the kind of meaningful international partnerships that enrich both our faculty and students,” noted Antenos. “By sharing pedagogical practices and building networks across the Atlantic, we’re preparing students for the truly global nature of contemporary business.”
The collaboration represents the growing internationalization of Montclair’s Language, Business & Culture program and its commitment to fostering educational exchanges that benefit students, faculty, and institutions locally and abroad.

The World Language and Culture programs at ��Ʒ���˸������� build on this, standing out as some of the best in the country. A few examples:

• �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s French Program was in 2025 the sole university to be named as an by the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF).
• In 2025, German and French Professor Pascale LaFountain was awarded �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s first Presidential Excellence in Teaching Award as well as the national AATG award for Outstanding Post-Secondary Educator.
• Italian faculty member Enza Antenos has been named national Educator of the Year by the Italian Language Foundation, and the American Association of Teachers of Italian (AATI) has recognized Dr. Antenos with its national Distinguished Service Award in 2023.
• �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s German Program in 2020 became one of a very selective group of by the American Association of Teachers of German.
• Italian faculty members Marisa Trubiano and Teresa Fiore have both been named to the prestigious .

With the faculty frequently publishing on their teaching and cultural scholarship, and being invited to share their expertise around the country and the world, each faculty member is also fully committed to teaching and advising at all levels.

Italian Professor Marisa Trubiano notes, “In my twenty-five years of teaching here at ��Ʒ���˸������� University, every new semester has brought together an exciting, challenging, inquisitive new group of young people into a community of inquiry that it has been a privilege to teach. These students’ intellectual and professional development is always first and foremost on our minds as we all find innovative ways to facilitate and support their growth and readiness for our rapidly changing world.”

Many students choose to double major in Arabic, Asian Languages, French, German, or Italian alongside majors in business, sciences, humanities, education and the arts. While participating in World Language and Culture programs, students engage in collaborative and community-building projects such as the Haitian Poetry Project, Teaching German in the SPARK for German Teaching Lab, performing theater in Italy, and capstone courses in Language, Business & Culture featuring conversations with business leaders applying their language skills for career success.

After graduation, many students take on positions in international companies, win international Fulbright grants after graduation, or pursue advanced degrees.

With its standout programs in World Languages and Cultures, Montclair significantly contributes to preparing the next generation of globally ready diplomats, entrepreneurs, teachers, and innovators.

AATF’s Exemplary Programs Awards recognize outstanding French language instruction across elementary, middle, high school, and post-secondary institutions nationwide. Honorees serve as models for other programs and are characterized by healthy enrollment, extended language sequences, qualified instructors, ongoing professional development, innovative teaching practices, and strong connections to their communities.

In its announcement, AATF highlighted �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s large number of majors and minors, its three undergraduate tracks and the variety within its master’s degree, as well as the faculty’s active professional engagement. The association also praised the program’s Career Hub for International Language Learning (CHILL), its innovative course co-taught with the University of Bordeaux, and its outreach to secondary schools, notably through yearly French immersion workshops.

French students and faculty in front of the Petit Prince statue at the French Embassy in New York

“We are delighted to be named an Exemplary French program, an honor that recognizes the remarkable synergy and talents of French-speaking partners at the University and in the surrounding area,” says Elizabeth Emery, Professor of French, Graduate Program Coordinator. “We are incredibly proud of our community, whose members hail from more than fifteen countries where French is spoken and whose generous contributions to developing cultural and linguistic programming have directly resulted in this recognition.”

Graduates of the program are finding success in diverse careers, from education and translation to broadcasting, international business and public service. Gabriel Albaret ‘12, who works primarily with African countries at The Global Fund, attaches “great value to my education at MSU and particularly the French program. It helped me broaden my horizons to not only how I can interact and learn from the francophones of France, but all over the world. French is used in around 50 countries and all continents except Antarctica.”

“Montclair truly prepared me for an enriching and enlightening career as a French teacher in New Jersey,” says Jennifer Applegate Schwester ‘94, Brick Township Memorial High School, President, American Association of Teachers of French- NJ chapter (AATF-NJ), “I just began year 27 and am still going strong!”

��Ʒ���˸�������’s French Program continues to stand out for its commitment to student success, innovative programming, and deep engagement with communities at home and abroad. The AATF designation affirms the program’s long-standing commitment to excellence in language education and leadership in shaping the next generation of French speakers and global citizens.

Ready to Start Your Montclair Journey?

• Prospective Students and Parents: Learn about Montclair admissions, our French Program and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Plan your visit and take your first step in applying to become a Red Hawk!

Dr. Fiore, a former Fulbright scholar, illustrated the work done at ��Ʒ���˸������� University in the field of internationalization of the education experience: from the focus on Made in Italy in the Tri-State Area with the BA in Language, Business, and Culture to the Translation Project which created unique internships in Italy for students specializing in subtitling and surtitling for the Performing Arts.

Fiore has highlighted two recent projects: her 2025-26 sabbatical project about the Allied Landing in Sicily, which has produced a , as well as the two-month internship in a Sicily-based musical for three ��Ʒ���˸������� students of Voice, Musical Theater and Italian who have performed in Il risveglio degli dei in the Valley of the Temples of Agrigento for several magical dawns.

“Given the upcoming 250th Anniversary of the foundation of the U.S., there will be opportunities for collaborations to highlight the historical relationships between Sicily and the U.S. as well as relevant current projects,” Cook remarked.

This national award, AATG’s highest honor, recognizes innovation in teaching, extraordinary talent, and exceptional leadership in German language education. Dr. LaFountain’s nominators—from Harvard University, Georgetown University, local high schools, and the Goethe-Institut—praised her dedication to the SPARK for German community-engaged teaching program, her advocacy for language learning through pedagogy publications, and her creative, student-centered methods.

Student nominees also highlighted the impact of her teaching. “Dr. LaFountain is committed to creating an environment where students from all walks of life can engage with German language learning,” wrote one student. Another shared that Dr. LaFountain “shows students that education is more than time in the classroom; it is immersive, international, inclusive, and empowering.”

Pascale LaFountain joins German Club on a full-day outing to the Neue Galerie and German Döner Haus in Spring 2025

Avelisse Guzman ’25, currently on a Fulbright in Germany, describes Dr. LaFountain as “one of the most encouraging and inspiring professors I have had during my undergraduate studies,” noting her “boundless creativity” and that she “genuinely wants every student to succeed.”

Bailey Dunn ’25, currently working with the , appreciated the experience of being mentored by LaFountain in the SPARK for German program, saying it “helped me to apply my language skills in a practical environment, allowed me to take on teaching and leadership roles as a student, and was a fulfilling way to connect with the community beyond the university.”

Dr. LaFountain, who also received �ѴDzԳٳ���������’s inaugural Presidential Award for Teaching Excellence in May 2025, said, “I am so excited about this award, most of all because it reflects how much our students can achieve and how playful applied learning can also be highly effective, opening doors for students to pursue multi-lingual and intercultural opportunities of all kinds.”

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After auditions held in March, two students were granted a scholarship to fund a two-month stay in Agrigento, rehearsing and performing with the Savatteri Produzioni company: Mia Grizzuti is a major in Musical Theatre (CART) and Brianna Coppolino is a Master’s student in Voice, Cali School of Music — they are both taking classes in the Italian Program. In love with the idea of performing in the magical Valley of the Greek Temples (), Emma Mason decided to participate through direct funding from Savatteri Produzioni, after her graduation (BA in Voice, Cali School).

Read the full story and see photos from the production at Inserra.