About Me

Jeremy Robinson

Jeremy Robinson

Busy might be the word…

So how is school at the Monterey Institute?  Well it was a lot more work than I had anticipated.  But I figure, I didn’t come here for a vacation, right?  And while it is difficult it is also rewarding.  For example I am learning some amazing things in Principles and Practices regarding teaching language which I have been waiting a long time to learn.  In the next entry I promise to get more in depth about my classes when I can give a good overview of the whole first semester.

Besides strictly school work I have also had the opportunity to have a work study position, working with Theresa Tishakov who is the Director of Enrollment and Career Services in the Graduate School of Language and Educational Linguistics.  Some of my responsibilities in the position have been researching potential web and paper-based advertising venues and analysis of current advertising, writing news stories and announcements for web and paper-based publications, helping Theresa prepare materials for career workshops and events, and also searching for and posting employment-related announcements to students and alumni.  I have enjoyed the diversity of responsibilities and feel I have been able to learn a lot, as I hope I have been able to contribute just as much. 

Outside of school and work, I also try to keep myself busy having fun along with my great friends from school.  One memorable experience was an evening where a bunch of us went to a Mediterranean Restaurant called Petra.  I loved the food, I think we all did- there were some misunderstandings of terminology however.  (A Kebob in America isn’t necessarily the same thing as in Kurdish Iraq!)  The evening was great-that is except for Rebeen and Meray who ended up sick!  (I still recommend the restaurant though, it was delicious!) 

This last Halloween I had a great time.  Two of my Japanese friends, Kimi and Ai, had never properly experienced a Halloween, so in preparation for a party that Friday night we drove over to Target to look at any costumes we might get.  Well we had a lot of fun, and at one point we all dressed up in Chewbacca suits (from Star Wars) and had our pictures taken by some kind hearted fellow shoppers.  (Ai couldn’t resist buying one of those very hairy suits)  The party later that evening (put on by the Monterey Institute) was loads of fun.   There was even a dance competition-and guess who won for the males?  Me!  My prize was a dozen doughnuts, yum!  The next Wednesday on the actual Halloween, Ai (dressed up as Chewbacca) and myself (dressed up as an old man with a long flowing beard) took the liberty to experience a great American past time, trick or treating!

In addition to fun activities like these, I also serve as the Activities Chairperson in the local young single adult ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  This keeps me occupied helping to plan and execute events or activities three to five days a week.  We have recently made a bigger effort to integrate fun activities that also allow us to serve and benefit others around us.  I feel this is an important thing for all people to do, as great things can happen when we forget our own troubles and try to alleviate those of others.  While the position, along with my other responsibilities, is sometimes a bit difficult to carry out, I really enjoy the opportunity.

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My path to Monterey

My name is Jeremy Robinson and I am a Masters student in Teaching a Foreign Language- Spanish at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. I am also studying to obtain a Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) certificate. This first entry will not be so much about life here in Monterey, but how I got here.

I was raised in the Land of Enchantment- the beautiful New Mexico . Growing up I always had a great love of cultures and language, though I never was able to have much success learning languages at the time. I studied French with one of those book and tape sets, I took two years of Spanish in High School, and tried some computer software, but none of it really worked for me. I also had a great love of computers and had much better success with that kind of language. I worked as a computer programmer at Sandia National Laboratories and had the neat opportunity to work in a Robotics lab at MIT for a summer.

I began college in 2000 at Brigham Young University- Hawaii . I initially decided I would continue with computers and spent my first year as a computer science major. However, I also took the opportunity to take Japanese, which I bombed, and sign language, which I did reasonably well in for a change. At this time I decided to put my university studies on hold to serve a two year mission for the LDS church, something I wanted to do for much of my life. I was called to serve in the Illinois Chicago-Spanish Speaking mission.

Before I went to Chicago, I spent two months in the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah where I went through an extremely intense Spanish immersion program from sunup until sundown. Once in Chicago I had one of the most challenging and rewarding times of my life. I had the great opportunity to teach and serve, helping many individuals make important positive changes in their lives.

After my mission I returned to beautiful Hawaii where I decided I wanted to work more with people than computers and changed to the International Cultural Studies Degree-emphasis in communication. I really tried to take advantage of a small campus represented by over 70 countries and made many important friendships from across the globe. I took advanced Spanish classes, as well as Japanese and Chinese classes. I also began doing research along with Dr. Lynn Hansen on language attrition of vocabulary. My research took me to Japan and Spain, and I was able to present our findings at a few conferences. I was also able to complete a Spanish Minor and spend some time studying at La Universidad de Alcalá in Spain.

After I graduated I struggled to find work, but eventually found a job with TEFL International where they traded airfare to and from China, a 120 hour TESOL certificate, along with room and board, if I would teach English at a school in ZheJiang Province, China. This was truly an adventure, full of deceit, romance, adventure, beautiful landscapes, and experiences ranging from sleeping on a hard concrete floor, to a fancy hotel with a TV, two beds, and hot water!

After returning from China, I worked at the University of Phoenix and soon decided I wanted to continue my studies with linguistics, language, and teaching. I applied to a few different schools, but in the end the Monterey Institute was the place for me. The work is hard, but through hard work and a creative and willing mind, amazing things can and will happen.

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