ALUMNI

Nathan Friends '07
From a balcony in Naples, Italy, I can see the small, white summer homes of Capri in the distance, surrounded by the rich blue of the Mediterranean.  This is where the language program at Williams has taken me.  After graduating in 2007, I was fortunate to win a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) to Italy.  In Naples I assist in the English classrooms by preparing fun, conversational lessons on American culture.  My students range in age and ability but all share equally high energy and enthusiasm in perfecting their language skills.

Outside the classroom I have had an incredible time observing and exploring Naples, a city rich in natural beauty and history, but also one struggling to survive politically and economically.  This year has offered me the chance to reflect on society here while also reflecting more deeply on my own.  I have learned to appreciate the efficiency and opportunities of the United States, while also respecting the traditions and outlook on life here in southern Italy.  And yes, I've also learned how and when to just stop and enjoy the view.

Sara D. Beach '06
For the past 2 years, I've been living in Vladimir, Russia and teaching at an English language school called the American Home.  For many of my students, I'm the first American or English-speaker they've ever met.  Sometimes I feel like a celebrity, but the friendships I've made here are genuine, and, in true Russian style, will probably be lifelong.

Although I follow a strict grammar and vocabulary curriculum, I have a lot of freedom to design activities and games and to use American movies, music, and slang in my classes.  We try to be good cultural ambassadors - celebrating Halloween and Thanksgiving, playing football and poker on Saturday afternoons, and attempting to teach the students how to play frisbee (a big hit) and whiffleball (far too complex.)  Often my lessons begin in the classroom and finish up 3 or 4 hours later at a nearby café, with all of us joking around in an interesting Russian-English hybrid.

I'm often invited to local universities to speak about college in America, and so I frequently find myself explaining how taking Russian lit on a whim sophomore year resulted in my majoring in Russian, and ultimately, landed me here in Vladimir.  It's great how these things work out so well!


Rachel King Berlin ‘05

Upon graduating from Williams in 2005, I received a Hubbard Hutchinson Memorial Fellowship in Dance. As a Chinese major and member of Dance Company, I used the fellowship to return to China where I studied traditional Chinese dance at the Shanghai Theatre Academy's Dance and Opera College, managed an art gallery, worked as a freelance travel writer, and danced with the Zuheniao Dance Collective. After returning to America in late 2006, I became the program manager for the Harvard School of Public Health China Initiative.

I am now about to start Tufts University's Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program. I plan to incorporate traditional Chinese medicine into my Western medical studies, hopefully by doing additional training in China. Over the past three years since I graduated, I have been amazed at the ease with which my Chinese language skills that were so vigorously developed at Williams have allowed me to explore so many areas of interest, from art to health.