Growing up in a multicultural family, my immersive experiences in Brazilian Portuguese and Ukrainian inspired me to pursue graduate studies in Spanish Applied Linguistics at Temple University (Philadelphia, PA). Currently, I am an Assistant Professor of Spanish and the World Languages Program Coordinator at Alvernia University (Reading, PA). I also serve as U.S. liaison to linguistics for the International Higher Education Teaching and Learning (HETL) Association. My experience includes teaching and developing courses and programs in service-learning, traditional, hybrid, and online foreign and second language studies, honors courses, and graduate courses in linguistics and second language acquisition (SLA). As an applied linguist, my interests include practical applications of SLA theories to pedagogy, multidisciplinary approaches to intercultural competence development, and linguistic and ethnic minorities and literacy, health care disparities, and equitable practices.