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On March 31, language experts, students, and faculty members joined together at the University of Oregon (UO) to celebrate one of the many benefits of language learning: the tangible impact on careers.

“We’ve invited a distinguished group of UO alums to help us start a new conversation. They come from many backgrounds. Most were not language majors. Most don’t work in academia,” notes Jeff Magoto, director of the Yamada Language Center and co-founder of the UO Language Council. “But all of them epitomize an essential fact of modern life: they live and work in different places, and language is at the intersection of what they do, who they interact with, and how they participate in their communities.”

All of panelists extolled the social and economic benefits of language learning. “The people who speak a foreign language don’t make more [money]. They’re the only ones who get the job,” said incoming University of Oregon Foundation Board President Jim Shephard, class of 1980, who served as the keynote speaker.

UO Archivist Chas Cassidy, class of 2014, added, “Foreign language is all about connectivity. We do not exist in a vaccum. Language give us access to the diverse ways people come at problems.”

Roundtable participants included: Eric Benjaminson (class of 1981), former U.S. Ambassador to Gabon São Tomé & Príncipe; Kayla “Chas” Cassidy (class of 2014), UO University Archives; Don Klotter (class of 1986), Managing Director at EFG Asset Management; John Patton (class of 1966), Cadence Management Corporation; Sarah Rubin (class of 2004), Attorney at Law; Jim Shephard (class of 1980), incoming University of Oregon Foundation Board President; Hassan Shiban (class of 2010), International Refugee Assistance Project; Michael Vergamini (class of 1999), Attorney at Law.

The event was organized by the UO Language Council in collaboration with the UO Alumni Association and the Global Studies Institute.