Tuesday April 21^st,2026

Lone Star Auditorium (MAC)

4:30-6:30pm

Doors open at 4pm

Please sit in your language section

4:30pm - WELCOME

Dr. Cynthia Laborde, Chair of the Department of Modern Languages

4:40pm: Guest Lecture by Dr. Prakash Menon

(Introduction by Dr. Pete Smith)

Dr. Prakash Menon will be our Keynote Speaker for the Awards Ceremony. He has over twenty-five years of diverse experience in supply chain management, business systems and processes, and technical and engineering roles, complemented by graduate education in engineering and business. He spent five years with the North Carolina Division of Environment as a regional engineer. The first five years of his career were in operations management within the petroleum industry, working on offshore oil drilling rigs.

He earned his MBA from UMUC Online and completed his Ph.D. at Capella University in December 2008, with a concentration in organizational management and leadership. He worked for more than 21 years as an Enterprise Program Manager for the Global Agriculture and Turf Division of John Deere, managing global projects. During his final five years there, he focused on enterprise-wide translations and publications initiatives.

His teaching philosophy is grounded in attitudes and individual values. Despite the challenges and complexities inherent in education, he views teaching as an offering. He believes that when a love of learning is instilled in students, education becomes an integral part of who they are and what they can accomplish. By fostering a collaborative, student-centered environment, he encourages shared learning and mutual growth. He sees teaching and learning as essential to both individual and collective well-being, and views life as a journey of self-discovery and reflection — always keeping curiosity alive.

5pm: Certificate Distribution

 

American Sign Language & Deaf Studies Awards

Laurel Whitsett & Leona Michael-Makelfa

Outstanding 1000-Level Student

Outstanding 2000-Level Student

Outstanding Upper-Level Student

Outstanding Service and Engagement Award

 

Arabic Awards

Reem Shishakly

Outstanding 1000-Level Student

 

Chinese Awards

Dr. Neal Liang & Dr. Lyanna Hsiao

Outstanding 1000-Level Student

Outstanding 2000-Level Student

Outstanding Upper-Level Student

 

French Awards

Dr. Aimée Israel Pelletier & Najia Alameddin

Outstanding 1000-Level Student

Outstanding 2000-Level Student

Outstanding Upper-Level Student

Outstanding Graduate Student

 

German Awards

Gayane Paul & Dr. Sok Ju Kim

Outstanding 1000-Level Student

 

Korean Awards

Dr. Sok Ju Kim & Dr. Yeon-mi Choi

Outstanding 1000-Level Student

Outstanding 2000-Level Student

Outstanding Upper-Level Student

 

Russian Awards

Dr. Iya Price & Dr. Lonny Harrison

Outstanding 2000-Level Student

Outstanding Upper-Level Student

Outstanding Interdisciplinary Student

 

Spanish Translation and Interpreting Awards

Dr. Alica Rueda Acedo, Dr. Vicente Iranzo Bañul, Dr. Monica De La Fuente Iglesias

Outstanding Student in Translation and Interpreting B.A.

Outstanding Student in Translation and Interpreting Certificate

Outstanding Student in Translation and Interpreting Minor

Outstanding Student in Service / Internship

 

Spanish Awards

Dr. Solymar García Torres & Dr. Christopher Conway

Outstanding 1000-Level Student

Outstanding 2000-Level Student

Outstanding 2312 Student

Outstanding 2315 Student

Outstanding Junior Student

Outstanding Senior Student

Outstanding Student in Spanish for the Professions Certificate

Outstanding Student for Minor / Certificate for Global Health

/ Human Services

Outstanding Spanish for Global Competence Minor

Outstanding Spanish Linguistics Minor

Outstanding Mexican Culture Minor

Outstanding Graduate Student

 

Outstanding Student in Localization and Translation

Dr. Pete Smith & Dr. Blake Carpenter

Arabic, Chinese, French, German,Korean, Russian, Spanish

 

Outstanding Student in Modern Language Teaching Minor

Hyuna Choi

Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Korean, Russian, Spanish

 

MODL Scholarships

Dr. Monica De La Fuente Iglesias

The Bart Lewis memorial scholarship

Modern Languages endowed scholarship

The Tony Litsey scholarship fund

 

MODL Ambassadors

Najia Alameddin

Award for Service to the UTA Modern Languages Ambassador Program

 

Special acknowledgement & CLOSING REMARKS

Dr. Cynthia Laborde, Chair of the Department of Modern Languages