LLS Alumni Event 2022

On Thursday 10 March 2022 the Department of Language and Linguistic Science will host its annual Alumni Event ‘What can you do with a degree in Language and Linguistics?’. 

Many different career paths are open to language and linguistics graduates…and to prove it, the department of LLS is inviting some alumni back to York! The speakers will share their experience of what they've been up to since graduation and how their degree has helped them shape their current career paths.

This year’s guest speakers are:

Elisabeth Fritzsch (2017 BA Linguistics and Mathematics), now a Knowledge Engineer for Amazon Alexa

A passion for learning about language made Elisabeth move from Germany to the UK in 2014 to pursue a BA in Linguistics & Mathematics at the University of York. Afterwards, she did an MSc in Computer Science with Speech and Language Processing at the University of Sheffield. For the last three years, she has been working as a Knowledge Engineer at Amazon Alexa in Cambridge; using her background in Linguistics to help Alexa understand and answer all the questions customers ask her.

Selin Blanco (2020 BA French and Italian), now an English Language Teacher at Globally Speaking

Selin studied a BA in French and Italian at the University of York. After finishing her degree in the pandemic (2020), she worked for 1 year as an International French Speaking Account Manager for a healthcare tech company in the UK. Due to having spent time living and working in Italy as part of her degree, she decided to find a job in Italy and move abroad. She currently works as an English Language Teacher for Globally Speaking, however her responsibilities are not just limited to teaching. She has recently trained to be a Cambridge English Speaking Examiner as well as being outsourced to work for Italian companies like Trenitalia

Tom Fitz-Hugh (2010 BA English Language and Linguistics), now a Language and Communication Research Masters student at Cardiff University

Tom studied English Language and Linguistics at York from 2007 to 2010, specialising in phonology and syntax with an intention to work in Field Linguistics. For most of the next decade, Tom travelled all around the world as an English teacher, living in China, Peru, Colombia and the Netherlands. When he finally returned to the UK, he knew he wanted to study again and is now undertaking a Master’s degree in Language and Communication Research at Cardiff, where he hopes to remain for a PhD studying the linguistic construction of toxic masculinity.

Join our Zoom Q&A to chat with our panel of invited speakers, who are all University of York alumni (Language and Linguistic Science) and who cover a range of experience and career journeys.

Prior to the event we will be sharing a short introductory video from each of our speakers so you can get to know them a little better, and then during the live Q&A you'll have the opportunity to ask questions about their career journeys. We also encourage attendees to submit questions before the event using this form.

The event is open to all students and alumni of the Department, from any year or degree.

Poster of the event: LLS Alumni Event 2022