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How Has Language Learning Influenced Your Career and Life Path?

July 18, 2025

Time to read: 1 minutes

It’s not always easy to see the connections between learning a language and a career path…or a life path for that matter.  This is especially true for someone who’s just starting out!  So, we decided to reach out to Carleton alumni who graduated 5+ years ago to ask about their experience learning a language and how they feel it has influenced their lives, careers, and worldview.

Here’s what they had to say!

Jessica points at the camera

Jessica Vasquez

  • Minor in Italian
John headshot

John Graham

  • Minor in Japanese
Wind turbines and solar arrays

Patrick Schnarr

  • Minor in Spanish
Firefighter's hat

Joachim von Rosen

  • Minors in Mandarin Chinese & Japanese
Rumya smiles at the camera

Rumya Nithiananthan

  • Minor in Spanish
Lindsay smiles for the camera

Lindsay Richardson

  • Minor in ASL
Mala giving the peace sign!

Mala Chakravarty

  • Minor in Japanese
Dallas sitting comfortably in a suit with his hands on his knees

Dallas Waldie

  • Minor in Mandarin Chinese
Ayumi and Alec in their wedding picture

Alec Louis-Seize

  • Minor in Japanese
Scott with his surfboard and friends at the beach.

Scott Stanfel

  • Minor in Japanese
Katie smiles for the camera

Katie Hrycak

  • Minor in Spanish
Grey silhouette male

Chia Lian

  • Minor in Mandarin Chinese
Jabir in a suit and tie.

Jabir Sandhu

  • Minor in Spanish
Adam standing in front of the Bundestag

Adam Vradenburg

  • Minor in German

Want to share?

Are you a Modern Languages alum? Would you like share your language learning experience with us?