I am often asked by my students about my students: How did others like the courses? What do they do with what they have learned? Where are they now? Because of this, I have opened a page for my previous students, where they can address these questions (unedited) for other students.
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I first took
an Introduction to Sociological and Anthropological Linguistics
class with Dr. Sigrid Norris at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It was in this class that I overcame my fear of public speaking when I had the eureka that if I did my homework and knew what I was talking about, there was no need to worry what others would think during my oral presentations. I remember lots of lively discussion, both with the professor and fellow classmates, and I remember being treated like an intellectual equal - as if my perspective was just as valid as that of the professor.
When I went on to Georgetown University for graduate school and found out that Dr. Norris was teaching a class on Multimodal Discourse Analysis there, I couldn't wait to be in her classroom again. And again I was not disappointed. She made me confident in my abilities and validated my intellectual opinions. A project for her class actually turned into my Master's Thesis. In fact, thanks to her guidance and encouragement, I ended up presenting the work I had done in her class at the Annual Hawai'i International Conference on Arts and Humanities in 2006, for which I even got a travel grant.
Since then, my academic research has focused on identity and the media - a subject matter that Dr. Norris got me interested in.
Karolina Dembinska-Lemus
kmd48@georgetown.edu
I took Cross Cultural Communication with Dr. Norris in the Fall of 2004 at Mary Washington University in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Her class was very interesting and informative. We learned to recognize how culture influences our communication. Her class has helped me to be aware of my own communicative style with my spouse, friends, and co-workers. Specifically this course has facilitated me with the knowledge I needed to confront a major labor issue. Most of all, Dr. Norris has inspired me to believe in myself and pursue my convictions. Presently, I am completing my Master’s Degree in Education. I am also teaching Spanish in a Middle School in Manassas, Virginia.
Lida Lowe
lida.lowe@comcast.net
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Student Voices 
