Peer Language Advising

Meredith Burke

Hi all! My name is Meredith and I am a Senior majoring in Diplomacy & World Affairs and Chinese Studies. I grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota where I went to a Chinese immersion school and have been studying Mandarin since kindergarten. I spent last fall studying abroad in Beijing participating in a language intensive program where I got to travel all around the country learning more about Chinese language and culture. I am so excited to be the Chinese peer tutor and please feel free to stop by office hours with questions about homework, abroad, the major or anything else!

Drop-in Hours:

McKinnon Center for Global Affairs, Johnson Hall   Sunday 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Tuesday 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Thursday 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Mikatrin Heynen

Hallo!! My name is Mikatrin Heynen and I am a sophomore Biology major from Cupertino, California. I grew up speaking German at home and attended a German school from preschool through second grade. At Oxy, I have reconnected to my German language skills after studying Spanish from elementary through high school. Last year, I hosted a biweekly German conversation group as well as the Wednesday language tables. I love to talk about anything related to German culture, food, traditions, and language, and I can't wait to help in any way I can. 

Drop-in Hours:

McKinnon Center for Global Affairs, Johnson Hall Sunday, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Thursday, 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m

Ava Lalonde

Hello! I’m Ava, and I’m a senior CSLC major with an Ancient Greek emphasis and have minors in CTSJ and Spanish. I’ve been taking Ancient Greek since my first year and have experienced the highs and lows of learning the language. I’m here to help in any way I can along your Greek journey, so please stop by and we can work through translations, conjugations, vocabulary, and much more together! Learning Greek can be so rewarding and fun, and my goal is to help you enjoy it as much as possible :) 

Drop-in Hours:

McKinnon Center for Global Affairs, Johnson Hall  Sunday, 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.; Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Zane Becker

こんにちは! My name is Zane Becker, I am a Junior at Oxy majoring in Mathematics, and planning to minor in Japanese. I have been learning Japanese for about 7 years now, and have gotten to go to Japan a few times. I’ve also taken a couple Japanese language and history courses while at Oxy. From all this I have gotten to learn a lot about both the language and parts of the culture, and I am excited to share what I have learned so far with all of you. Feel free to stop by and ask any questions you may have about the culture or language, I look forward to meeting you.

Drop-in Hours

McKinnon Center for Global Affairs, Johnson Hall  Sunday, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Tuesday & Thursday, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Charlie Sears

Salvēte! I’m Charlie, a senior in the CSLC department studying English, French, and Latin. I have been a student of Latin for nearly 10 years. In Latin, I found a passion for language that has become the focus of my  studies, as well as skills with grammar and vocabulary that have carried into other languages, including English. I believe that the skills required to learn Latin are incredibly beneficial for all kinds of language learning, and that its completely different structure lends itself to a unique beauty and experience in language. Stop by if you’re looking for help with Latin’s difficult memorization process, for study tips or just to talk about language!

Drop-in Hours

McKinnon Center for Global Affairs, Johnson Hall   Sunday, 4:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.; Tuesday 4:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.; & Thursday, 4:45- 5:45 p.m.

Serine Bedros

Привет! I’m Serine, a CSLC major and History and Russian double minor, and I’ll be your Russian peer tutor this semester. I’m from L.A., but growing up, I lived in Armenia and Syria, so there have always been many different languages spoken in my house and I can understand the complexities of learning a new language. Coming from a post-soviet country and growing up with a Russian speaking parent, I’m somewhat of a heritage speaker and can also understand some of the broader cultural aspects. I’ve been taking Russian at Oxy since I was a freshman and now enjoy working with Professor Sushytska on translation projects. Russian is a beautiful but challenging language to learn, so I’ll be here to help with any specifics like pronunciation, grammar, and homework. But besides that, I’m always open to talking about more general things like study strategies, working with different languages, and more Eastern European cultural stuff like food, movie, and music recs! Please do not hesitate to drop in during my hours or contact me.

Drop-in Hours

McKinnon Center for Global Affairs, Johnson Hall Sunday, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.; Thursday, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Mercedes Garcia: Visiting Language Assistant

¡Hola! My name is Mercedes García, and I’m from Huelva, a beautiful city on the southwest coast of Spain. I have a degree in Hispanic Philology and two Master’s degrees — one in Education and another in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language.

I’ve lived in different cities across Spain, like Seville and Granada, and I’ve always been fascinated by the mix of cultures and the chance to meet people from different backgrounds. I also love art and sports, as I believe both are great ways to express ourselves and connect with others.

I’m really excited to meet you, learn about your culture and share with you the richness and diversity of the Spanish language. It will be a pleasure to support you in your learning journey, whether that’s in tutoring sessions, conversation classes, or just around campus.

¡Nos vemos muy pronto!

Drop-in Hours

McKinnon Center for Global Affairs, Johnson Hall   Sunday, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.; Tuesday, 4:00 to 5:00p.m.; Thursday, 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Mireia Martinez, Visiting Language Assitant

¡Hola, hola!

My name is Mireia Martinez, and I’m from Zaragoza, a beautiful city in the north of Spain.

I have a bachelor’s degree in Translation and Interpreting, with English and Mandarin Chinese as my main languages. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to live in Granada, Portsmouth (UK), and Minnesota. Each of these places showed me just how big the world is and how much we can learn from different cultures and the people we meet along the way.

I’m delighted to be joining the Oxy VLA and Tutoring teams and to support you on your Spanish-learning journey. I’m sure we’ll learn from one another, and I hope this will be a fun and enriching experience for all of us.

Coffee, books, languages, travel—you name it! I’m always happy to chat.

¡Nos vemos muy pronto!