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John Guzman

John Guzman on the right. Richard Bueno Hudson on the left.

He is a second-year student at BMCC of Ecuadorian and Mexican descent from Staten Island, New York, majoring in Modern Languages with a specialization in Spanish, though as an avid language learner he has also studied French and Japanese while recently taking Italian. He has had the privilege to intern at the Instituto Cervantes during the 2023 Fall semester and is currently working at BMCC as a Supplemental Instruction Leader for two Spanish courses. John’s plan is to continue his language studies at a 4 year college and eventually become a language instructor, be it here in the United States or abroad.

Anahí K. Benítez H.

She is a Mexican student currently enrolled in the Major of Modern Languages in Spanish. She is a very active member of the Acentos Latinos Club and member of the recently added chapter of the Sociedad Honoraria de la Lengua Española (SHLE) at BMCC. After Ánahí completes her undergraduate studies, she’s planning to continue her education in the Spanish Language at Hunter College.

Carolina Uribe

She is a lawyer in Colombia. Here, in New York City, Carolina works for a non-profit organization providing legal help and services to domestic violence survivors.  At BMCC, she will graduate from the A. A. in Modern Languages with a specialization in Spanish Translation for the Health, Legal, and Business Professions. She is proud for having found a path to combine both, her knowledge and her bilingualism, in her current position.

Michelle Kismatali-Marrero

She joined the Center for Career Development in October 2023 as the Employer Relations Coordinator. Previously, Michelle worked at Seyfarth Shaw LLP as a Human Resources Coordinator and at the Center for Career Development as a College Assistant. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management with a concentration in Human Resource Management from Baruch College, a SHRM-CP HR certification from the Society of Human Resource Management, and an Associate’s degree in Business Administration from BMCC.

Linda Juárez

She is a psychology major here at BMCC. She will be completing her Associates Degree this Spring 2024 semester, and plans on continuing for her Bachelor’s degree this upcoming Fall 2024. She is Mexican- American, born in New York, but raised by her amazing Mexican parents. 

Jeraldine Diyarza

She is a bilingual speaker of English and Spanish of Mexican origin. She is a student of the Modern Languages Department at BMCC, where she is currently enrolled in the Major in Spanish, and is also a member of the SHLE, NSLS y Phi Theta Kappa. Jeraldine is transferring soon to a four year college with the goal of the teaching of literature in Spanish in the near future. 

Evelin Gamarra Martínez

She is from Lima, Peru, and had been teaching Spanish in the US for 17 years. She has been a lecturer of Spanish at the Borough of Manhattan Community College/CUNY since 2015. At the moment, Prof. Gamarra Martínez is the advisor to the Modern Languages Majors.

Sabina Lepre Leva

Born in Rome and raised in Rome; attended classical studies high school and graduated in law from the University “La Sapienza” in 1989 (summa cum laude). In 1992/1993 Attended LLM in International Law and Trade at Fordham Law School graduating with a Master Thesis in which Italian trademark laws for fashion brands were compared to the respective US laws. Barred to the practice of law in NY in 1994; worked in immigration and international law at different law firms; presently (since 2019), works as litigation analyst at Sullivan and Cromwell, one of the world leading firms in corporate transactions and investigations, and restructuring, regulatory, tax and estate planning matters. She speaks native Italian, and English; fluent in Spanish; reading comprehension of Portuguese; basic knowledge of French.

Alessia Valfredini

She is a Senior Lecturer at Fordham University, where she is the Language Program Director for the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures; she also coordinates the Italian Language Program. She specializes in world language education in higher education contexts, with a focus on engaged/liberation pedagogies, racial and social justice, and civic engagement. A founding member of the Cosmopolitan Collective, a constellation of multidisciplinary, transnational public intellectuals promoting and cultivating epistemic justice, she recently contributed to the volume Diversity in Italian Studies” edited by Gibby and Tamburri (2021) and an essay to the special issue “Diversity, Decolonization and Italian Studies” of the journal Italian Studies in Southern Africa titled “For a Critical pedagogy of Genuine Commitment to All Students in Italian Studies”.