By Dawn Pauli, staff writer

Six Oakland University students were awarded mini-grants to attend the Michigan World Language Conference in Lansing. Only 15 grants are provided statewide by the Michigan World Language Association (MIWLA) to foreign language interns or novice teachers.

The students, Ashley Brief, Laura Cronk, Stephanie Galba, Donna Mondragon, Nancy Nienstedt and Brenda Ryan, are enrolled in student teaching internships and the conference is a requirement for the secondary methods class. The grant covered expenses for the conference, held October 18-19.
 
“Not everyone who applies for this grant receives it, so I was proud that all six of my OU interns did,” said Linda Boehmer, supervisor of foreign language interns. “My foreign language interns have always been wonderful, but this is the first year that every single one applied for this mini-grant, and I'm thrilled to see that they all received it. I have been truly blessed as throughout my time at OU, the caliber of interns in my program has been outstanding.”

More than 750 foreign language teachers, at all levels -- including university, secondary and elementary -- from throughout the state of Michigan attended the conference. The annual conference is attended by experts including university professors and world language teachers from across the nation who present the latest ideas to utilize in a foreign language classroom.

“All six students have amazing backgrounds including extensive study abroad experiences. Their passion for teaching foreign language was so evident in their applications,” Boehmer said. “They all came back with great lesson ideas that they are able to incorporate in their internships.”