LCI students explore National Portrait Gallery

Students in Fairfax recently toured the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. The gallery aims to "tell the story of America by portraying the people who shape the nation’s history, development and culture."

Read what some of the students had to say about their trip below.

Business Office moving to 820 building

The Language and Culture Institute’s Business Office is moving to the Special Programs Building, at 820 University City Blvd.

That means students who have questions about tuition payments, I-20 extensions, and transcript requests should now go to the 820 building.

Admissions manager Elizabeth Loar will move to the office on the left immediately inside the building entrance. Jan McGinty, senior accounts receivable specialist, will move to Room 107. Program assistant Michelle Hash will be in the reception area inside Suite 2. All three will retain their current phone numbers.

To accommodate these moves, some staff members currently in the 820 building will also be shifting offices. Wafa Al-Daily, coordinator of international activities, will move to Room 118. Patricia Parera, associate director for partnerships and new enterprises, will move to Room 125.

The main LCI office remains on the first floor of the 840 building.

Paredes, Smart-Smith take on new roles at LCI

Pamela Smart-Smith, left, and Elsie Paredes, right

Two members of the Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute administrative staff have been named to new roles, part of a reorganization announced by Director Donald Back.

Elsie Paredes will direct the Advantage VT program, which is set to begin in fall 2018. Pamela Smart-Smith, the assistant director of academics, will succeed Paredes in an interim role as director of the Intensive English Program.

“Through their leadership, Elsie and Pamela have made the Intensive English Program one of the strongest programs of its kind in the country,” Back said. “Over the past decade, the institute has helped hundreds of students to matriculate into the university’s undergraduate program.”

Advantage VT will allow high-achieving international students to take credit-bearing classes at Virginia Tech while improving their English language and university study skills. Students who successfully complete the program will be guaranteed entry to the university with advanced standing in their freshman year.

“Advantage VT will position Virginia Tech to attract talented and highly motivated international students in an increasingly competitive recruiting environment,” Back said. “Building and diversifying our intellectual capacity is key to bolstering our position as a leading global university. Exposure to different cultures and ways of thinking is critically important to our graduates, who may work in diverse workplaces or multinational firms or serve in national security or military roles.” 

Paredes has led the Intensive English Program and served as associate director of the institute since coming to Virginia Tech in 2011. Before that, she taught TESOL courses for undergraduate students at Florida International University and English as a Second Language at both Florida Atlantic University and Miami Dade College. She received her doctorate in adult education and human resource development and her master’s in teaching English to speakers of other languages from Florida International University.

“I take this new and important challenge with a great deal of enthusiasm and confidence,” Paredes said. “The years of experience and expertise with our Intensive English Program will be translated in the success of Advantage VT.”

Smart-Smith has been assistant director of academics in the Intensive English Program since 2014 and has otherwise been involved with the institute since 2012. She has more than 25 years of experience in the U.S. and abroad in the field of English as a Second Language. She has a master’s in public administration from Old Dominion University and a master’s in education from Virginia Tech in curriculum and instruction with a focus on English as a Second Language and multicultural education.  She is currently pursuing her doctorate at Virginia Tech in the same field.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to work in this new role,” Smart-Smith said. “I am thankful each day to work with our fabulous team of faculty, staff, and administrators. I plan to continue to honor our commitment to delivering excellent student-centered pedagogy that helps our students attain their goals.” 

Fairfax celebrates International Education Week with global potluck

For International Education Week, the LCI in Fairfax had a potluck where students brought in dishes from their different countries. The following countries participated:

• Uzbekistan
• Russia
• Brazil
• Oman
• China
• Saudi Arabia

We had a slide show where students shared their study abroad experiences. We even had shares from our professors. Some students and professors shared their culture and country. Below, find two essays from students who wanted to share their study abroad experiences in the U.S.

Daniella Pitanga (Brazil)

Two years ago, I moved with my family from Brazil to the United States to support my husband in his job. During this period, I was very busy with my family's adaptation and I could not improve my English to an academic level.

This season I decided to study at the Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute. It was a perfect decision. I am very surprised with the course's benefits. I could not imagine how thrilling this experience would be to me. Knowing the correct grammar and learning to write academic articles has been a great pleasure. The style and the techniques of writing are very different from those of my country.

I am really inspired to continue discovering the English language, the American culture, and, soon, to have a new degree from an American university.

Adelya (Uzbekistan)

What do you want your friends back home to know about the United States? America is a great country and has a lot of opportunities. I wish my friends could experience it.

First, what i want to tell them is about U.S. education. Studying in the U.S. is much better and different than back home. Second, they can meet people from all over the world. Meeting new people and learning different cultures, languages is exiting. Third, they can travel as much as they want. America is one of the largest countries and has a lot of different states.

These are main things what I want to share with my friends about America.