A Regional Consortium serving students and communities in the Greater Wyoming Valley...
THE LANGUAGE INSTITUTE:
BIOS OF FACULTY AND INSTRUCTORS
Isabel Balsamo Spanish
Isabel Balsamo received her Master of Arts in Spanish and a Certificate in Translation from Binghamton University and a Master of Arts in Teaching ESL from Saint Michael’s College in Vermont. Her prior teaching experience includes serving as a Teaching Assistant at Binghamton University; a Spanish/ESL Teacher at the Carolina Forest Educational Center in South Carolina, and a visiting instructor in the Department of Foreign Languages at Coastal Carolina University. A native of Colombia with experience in court interpretation and translation, Ms. Balsamo is currently an instructor of Spanish at Wilkes University.
Paola Bianco, Ph.D. Spanish
Professor Bianco received her Ph.D. in Romance Languages: Spanish and Italian from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1998. Her academic experience includes the teaching of Spanish at all levels as well as the history, culture, and politics of Latin America, pedagogical methods in foreign language teaching, Medical Spanish for Health and Social Science professionals, and Spanish American literature. An active scholar with numerous publications and presentations at conferences on foreign languages and literatures, Dr. Bianco also serves as the Study Abroad Coordinator and Advisor to the Spanish Club at Wilkes University. She is currently an associate professor of Spanish at Wilkes University.
Jenny Blanchard English as-a-Second-Language
Jenny Blanchard received a M.Ed. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages [TESOL] from Boston University and a B.A. in American Literature and Russian from Middlebury College. She has fifteen years of experience as an ESL instructor for undergraduate and graduate students in all major skill areas and at levels of proficiency ranging from beginner to advanced. Ms. Blanchard currently serves as an ESL instructor and Coordinator of The Language Institute.
Tanya Bunson Spanish
Tanya Maria Bunson received her Master of Arts in Teaching Spanish from Middle Tennessee State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of Oregon. Her teaching experiences includes instruction of Spanish at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin and at Central College in Iowa; serving as an interpreter and tutor for English language learners; serving as an ESL instructor in Japan; and volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity in El Salvador. She currently serves as an instructor of Spanish at College Misericordia.
Margaret Corgan, Ph.D. French
Dr. Margaret Corgan is Professor of French and Chairperson of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at King’s College. A graduate of Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York, she holds the M.A. and Ph.D. in French from Fordham University. She has studied at Laval University in Quebec, has Diplomas of French Language and French Literature from the University of Rennes, France, was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Paris, and was the recipient of a French government grant to study business French at the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In 1992 she was named the Hervé A. Le Blanc Distinguished Service Professor at King’s College.Dr. Corgan has been an active member of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) and was one of the founders of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of which she has been President since 1991. She is also the Chapter Administrator of the National French Contest and was the first recipient of the Nat! ional French Contest Administrator of the Year Award in 1992.
Maria Torregrossa Englot Italian
Maria Torregrossa Englot has developed lesson plans and provided Italian instruction at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. In addition to her private classes for individuals and groups, Maria is on the teaching staff of the Dallas Area School District’s Foreign Language Academy program. Previously, she taught Italian classes at St. Rocco’s Parish in Pittston, Pennsylvania. Maria has also translated correspondence and documents from Italian to English, and from English to Italian. Born and educated in Italy, Maria possesses a degree in education from the College of Maria Ausiliatrice.
Mollie Farmer
Mollie Farmer received her BA in French from Brown University and her MA in French Literature from SUNY Potsdam. She joined King’s College as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, where she has been teaching French since 1986. Mrs. Farmer became director of the college’s Study Abroad Program in 2001 and has devoted her time to expanding international education opportunities for students and educating the campus community about study abroad. She participates regularly in national and international conferences related to international education and travels abroad extensively.
Lisa Laimer German, Danish
A native of Denmark, Lisa Laimer attended Aarhus University where she was awarded a Graduate Science Degree. Ms Laimer has lived in Vienna, Austria for the last twenty years. Her professional background includes human resources and marketing work for a variety of Austrian, American, and international firms. While working in Vienna, she was an active member of the Danish and Swedish Chambers of Commerce. She has traveled extensively in Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East, and she is familiar with the challenges of managing multiculturalism, particularly as it relates to international organizations. Ms. Laimer is fluent in German, Danish, and English, and also speaks French and Arabic.
Joseph D. Lepore French
Joseph Lepore received his BA in French from King’s College and his MA in French from the University of Notre Dame. He has served as speaker and demonstrator of foreign language teaching strategies in language conferences on the local and state level, and his article, Effective Use of the Language Laboratory, was published in the Bulletin of the Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association. Mr. Lepore taught French and Spanish at the Junior and Senior High School levels in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and served as foreign language chairperson of the Wyoming Valley West School District, Kingston, Pennsylvania. He was an adjunct instructor of French at both Luzerne County Community College and King’s College and taught courses in foreign language teaching methods to student teachers at King’s College. Since September 2000, he has been an adjunct instructor of French at Wilkes University.
Zoraida Maldonado Spanish
Zoraido Maldonado is a native speaker of Spanish and an experienced Spanish language instructor. Born and educated in Puerto Rico, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan. She has developed lesson plans and educational programs in Spanish, provided work safety related training programs in Spanish, and served as an official translator. She is proficient in the simultaneous translation of English and Spanish in employment interviews, labor disputes, insurance, recognition ceremonies, and serving as an interpreter in hospital settings for medical evaluations.
Anne Massey, Ph.D Spanish
Dr. Anne Massey received her Ph.D. in Spanish Literature from the University of Virginia in 1997. After filling a one-year position at Washington and Lee University while working on her dissertation, Dr. Massey moved to Minot, North Dakota to teach at Minot State University for four years before coming to King’s College in 2001.In addition to teaching, Dr. Massey’s diverse interests include studies of Latin American and Spanish peninsular novels of the late 20th century, topics which have been the subject of publications as well as national and international conference presentations. Dr. Massey also currently serves as the Co-Chair for the Hispanic Outreach Project Team at King’s College.
Regina Thackara Spanish
Gina Thackara is currently an instructor in Spanish at Wilkes University, with extensive experience as a foreign language instructor of both Spanish and German. As an undergraduate at Elizabethtown College, she majored in German and minored in Spanish, studying for a term in Mexico City. Gina earned a master’s degree in German from Middlebury College. Fluent in both Spanish and German, Gina is also an accomplished knitter and quilter and has studied the history and techniques of both, especially with respect to their history and development in other cultures.
Thomas W. Thackara German
Thomas Thackara received his M.A. in German from the Middlebury (VT) College German Summer School. He majored in German education at Kalamazoo (MI) College, also obtaining teaching minors in Math and English. While at Kalamazoo, he studied abroad in Münster (Westfalen) for six months. Mr. Thackara’s teaching experience includes teaching German, English, and Math in Michigan and Indiana public and private schools, and German and Math at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston. Teaching extracurricular duties included organizing and chaperoning a trip to Germany and Austria. He has taught German at Wilkes University and at King’s College. Corollary experience has involved translating German documents and German language tutoring to high school students and adults. Mr. Thackara is also the local director for Kaplan Test Prep, providing group and individual preparation for standardized tests.
Wanda Hanna Witczak Polish
Wanda Hanna Witczak is a native speaker of Polish, holding a Master of Arts in Polish Philology from the University of Lódz in Poland. An experienced Polish language instructor, Ms. Witczak has lectured extensively on the Polish language and culture as a part of multicultural programs in area schools and community centers. She served as a guest speaker on Polish Literature, Theater and Cinema as part of the Polish Heritage Lecture Series coordinated through the Ethnic Communities and Associations Outreach Initiative of King’s College.
