Spring 2022 Commencement

Jonathan Falls

Jonathan Falls is graduating with a B.A. in German and International Relations and a minor in Philosophy. At Virginia Tech, he has distinguished himself as an exemplary student, both inside and outside the classroom. Over the past four years his German language abilities have become formidable, such that he can comfortably start or join a conversation on practically any topic with ease.

As President of the German Culture Club, he has been a reliable and dedicated team player, successfully co-organizing numerous on-campus events, including a highly successful International Café Hour. His dedication to promoting German is especially impressive when one considers all his other extracurricular activities and leadership commitments, including his band’s regular performances in the New River Valley, in which he plays trumpet, and his extensive work in VT’s Student Government Association, including his resignation in protest over its alleged mismanagement.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that through his ethical leadership Jonathan has made VT a better place. His ample experience working as a team leader, his track record of academic excellence, as well as his intellectual curiosity and dedication to foreign language and culture are why the faculty of the German Program have selected Jonathan as their Outstanding Major and why he was awarded the MCLL Outstanding Major in 2022. We wish Jonathan all the best in his future endeavors.

Justin Laiti

Justin Laiti is graduating from the Honors College as a Biomedical Engineering major and a minor in Spanish. His post-graduate plans integrate both fields as he begins doctoral work in biomedical studies, for which he has been awarded a Fulbright at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Justin graduates from Virginia Tech with multiple awards, scholarships, and leadership roles, perhaps most notably founder and president of the Engineering World Health, for which he received substantial funding from his major department.

Justin’s diverse roles across the University underscore his interdisciplinary excellence. He worked as a First-Year Leadership Experience member from August 2020 through May 2021 meeting weekly with new students as well as running monthly meetings. He was a BEAM Ambassador from September 2019 through August 2021 discussing the Biomedical program with potential students. As an outreach officer in e-NABLE from 2019 through 2021, he developed an upper limb prosthetic for a disabled community member.

Justin's motivation for studying Spanish and enrolling in an immersion program in Spain during his undergraduate studies stems from his desire to work internationally in high-need, underserved communities and, as he explained, “to create the possibility of collaboration with people from different cultures and backgrounds to solve engineering problems.” The Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures faculty wish Justin continued success in his next chapter.

Emma Jones

Emma Jones is a senior graduating with a double major in Arabic and Political Science. She plans to become an immigration or human rights attorney. Emma has an impressive cumulative GPA, and her academic achievements are complemented by an active commitment to serve her university, community, and the rest of the world. She began as the event coordinator of the Arabic Language Club before serving as its President for the past two years. In this role, she helped coordinate monthly coffee hours, film nights, guest lectures, collaborative events with Itraab Music Ensemble and Mozaiko, and the annual Gobblerfest. In addition, Emma participated virtually in the VT Oman Study Abroad Program, has helped recruit for the program through multiple study abroad fairs, and has assisted with student recruitment for the Arabic program as a whole.

This spring, Emma traveled to Rwanda in order to launch a women’s entrepreneurship program that she and several other women started after receiving funding from the U.S. Embassy. Emma's Arabic professors unanimously find her deserving of this honor and recognize her academic and outreach contributions as integral to the success of the Arabic program. They will fondly remember her kindness, friendliness, generosity, and remarkable work ethic. They will miss her dearly, but they know she will continue to make them proud.

Sarah Shelton

Sarah Shelton is not merely a double major, but a dual degree student in Marketing and Management and in French. This represents a very challenging course of study. Sarah has attained an advanced high level of oral and written proficiency in French according to ACTFL proficiency guidelines. She has also been a recipient of the Jocelyn Couture-Nowak Memorial Scholarship awarded by the French program to a student major.

In addition to her outstanding coursework in French, Sarah has established herself as a standout student leader. She is the current vice president of the Cercle Francophone co-curricular culture club, which has been very active under her leadership; she notably established a bi-monthly tutoring program for students that participate in this club. She has worked with the French Embassy as Virtual Social Media Intern, helping to promote the Campus France exchange portal. This semester she has studied abroad in Lugano, Switzerland, and in Rwanda, where her French skills have doubtless served her well. Sarah has worked with the greatest spirit of generosity toward her peers and her professors, and we look forward to learning of her future successes.

Jonathan Falls

Jonathan Falls is graduating with a B.A. in German and International Relations and a minor in Philosophy. At Virginia Tech, he has distinguished himself as an exemplary student, both inside and outside the classroom. Over the past four years his German language abilities have become formidable, such that he can comfortably start or join a conversation on practically any topic with ease. As President of the German Culture Club, he has been a reliable and dedicated team player, successfully co-organizing numerous on-campus events, including a highly successful International Café Hour.

His dedication to promoting German is especially impressive when one considers all his other extracurricular activities and leadership commitments, including his band’s regular performances in the New River Valley, in which he plays trumpet, and his extensive work in VT’s Student Government Association, including his resignation in protest over its alleged mismanagement. It would not be an exaggeration to say that through his ethical leadership Jonathan has made VT a better place. His ample experience working as a team leader, his track record of academic excellence, as well as his intellectual curiosity and dedication to foreign language and culture are why the faculty of the German Program have selected Jonathan as their Outstanding Major and why he was awarded the MCLL Outstanding Major in 2022. We wish Jonathan all the best on his future endeavors.

Josephine Martin

Josephine Martin graduates with a major in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Italian.  She conducted all coursework with exemplary engagement, shining even among stellar peers.  Professor Coburn remembers with special appreciation her sensitive reading of Primo Levi's Il sistema periodico. This summer, Josie plans to work in a horse training center in Alessandria, Italy, as she prepares to embark on a career in engineering.

Guanying Liang

Guanying Liang, who came to Virginia Tech from China, will graduate summa cum laude with a B.S. in Mathematics, a B.S. in Statistics, and a minor in Japanese. Guanying has been selected as the Outstanding Senior in Traditional Mathematics Option for the Class of 2022. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Mu Sigma Rho national statistics honor society. He has worked as a data science intern for a transportation company and an undergraduate research assistant for the Virginia Tech Statistics Department. Guanying will be a full-time graduate student beginning next fall.

Catherine Cata

Catherine Cata has twice been a participant in VT’s Latvia study abroad program as well as the Summer Workshop in Slavic and East European Languages at Indiana University. Through it all, she has maintained an excellent academic record in her Russian courses. Topping off her many accomplishments at Virginia Tech, Catherine is the first Virginia Tech student to qualify for the Russian Language Flagship Capstone program in Kazakhstan. This prestigious program requires that students achieve advanced proficiency in Russian just to qualify for the year of study – a mark Catherine achieved with room to spare. 

Sawyer Zelman

Sawyer Zelman graduates with a double major in International Relations and Spanish with minors in War and Society and Judaic Studies. As a member of three honor societies – Pi Sigma Alpha (National Political Science Honor Society), Sigma Delta Pi (National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society), and Phi Sigma Pi (National Honor Fraternity) – Sawyer exemplifies academic and outreach excellence. She serves each society in leadership roles as vice president and president in these different organizations and has instituted programming that incorporates the ideals of Ut Prosim and intercultural learning. She has used her Spanish in her work with the Migration and Refugee Services at Catholic Charities to assist vulnerable communities forced to relocate. She also volunteers as a translator for the Covid-19 Vaccine Clinic and runs outreach programs focused on wellness.

Within the Virginia Tech community, Sawyer tutors Spanish on a volunteer basis to many students, creating a space in which all have access to extra help. Her work with VT Engage Spring Break established a community-supported farm to combat food insecurity. Sawyer’s leadership has earned more than $2,500 for her team’s Relay for Life. In addition to extracurricular work related to her academic studies, she has also been a vital member of the undergraduate team of Hokie Wellness. Working as a Peer Health Educator since 2019 and as the Outreach Coordinator since fall 2021, Sawyer is able to draw on her Hispanic Studies and International Relations to develop programming that reaches a diverse community.

She will begin work with the government after graduation. The Spanish faculty wish Sawyer great success in her future endeavors.

Hannah Claros

Hannah Claros began her master’s degree program  in Summer 2018, and she is a testament to the power of tenacity in taking one graduate course per semester in order to earn a degree while engaged full time in other endeavors. Hannah had already earned a Master of Arts in Teaching Spanish and English as a Second Language and a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Spanish; she was also an ESL teacher in Roanoke City Public Schools.

Hannah is a passionate advocate for the rights of second-language learners, as she has written, “to continue to develop their native or heritage language, to receive effective and equitable instruction, and to be engaged as intelligent individuals from day one, regardless of their English proficiency level." Her devotion to helping others and passion for Hispanic cultures were tangible in the classes she took with us. The faculty praise Hannah's work as exceptional and illuminating. In recognition of her excellence, tenacity, and insightful scholarly contributions to our program, it is our pleasure to honor Hannah Claros with the Outstanding Graduate Student Award for the Master's in Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literatures.