About
 

Our Mission

The mission of the 2018 Graduate Symposium in the Department of Education (GSDE) is to provide students with the opportunity to showcase interdisciplinary research, learn valuable conference skills, and foster research and professional collaboration.

Our Theme

The theme of the 2018 Graduate Symposium in the Department of Education is Education with Impact: Transcending Traditional Curricula. We hope you will join us on March 10th, 2018 to be part of the conversation. We aim to provide a supportive space to share knowledge and to transform our understanding of education, knowledge production and critical practices within an interdisciplinary community.

Our Team

Meet our team of student organizers:

Bojana Krsmanovic
Symposium Co-Chair
Bojana graduated from the University of Novi Sad (Serbia) with both BA and MA in English Language and Literature. During her undergraduate studies she started teaching English; now she is a certified ESL/EFL teacher with several years of experience. Having an interest in researching technology integration in language-learning classrooms, she recently moved to Montreal to pursue her PhD in Educational Technology.

She speaks five languages, loves singing, and is a DIY enthusiast.
Anne Laurie
Symposium Co-Chair
Anne is in her second year as a PhD student specializing in Child Studies in the Department of Education at Concordia. Her research involves supporting First Nations children’s English dialect and relating it to their successes on standardized assessments and literacy acquisition. She is also heavily involved in studies regarding language revitalization and literacy interventions. When not working, you can find her cheering for the Montreal Canadiens, walking her dog up Mont Royal, or scoping out the newest and local coffee shops
Clinton Hendry
Logistics director
A man of the people, Clinton Hendry is doing his PhD in Applied Linguistics. He graduated from the University of Waterloo with a BA in English Rhetoric and Professional Writing. Afterwards, he did an ACE-TESOL certification course and after a short time made his way to Beijing, China. He spent the last five years living and working there, and he is functional in Mandarin. He is currently researching the acquisition of Mandarin tones by non-native speakers.

你好。我现在读我的语言学硕士。我刚来蒙特利尔，所以我不太熟悉，而且我的法语这么不好，可是我打算很快开始学法语也在蒙特利尔玩儿很多。
这么长时间以前，在滑铁卢大学我毕业了。然后我去了北京上班也玩儿。五年以后，我回国了所以我能开始读硕士。我知道我中文不这么好。在北京，我的中文比现在好，但是很长时间没联系了。如果你想帮我联系，请发邮件。

Helene Bramwell
Volunteer coordination, Grant writing & Outreach
Born in Canada, but raised in Quito, Ecuador. Speaks English, Spanish, French and German. Enjoys dancing salsa and singing. Practices yoga, and is a certified Professeure de Yoga. Graduated B.Sc in Biology, and has taught English as a Second Language, English for Academic Purposes, and Business English for over 6 years. Her interest in linguistics, both learning languages and speaking them, as well as social psychology has lead her to be working on her current project: MA in Applied Linguistics.
Ivan Ruby
Website Development & Fundraising
Ivan is a full-time dreamer and Ph.D student in Educational Technology, concerned with how technology can enable us to build a better, fair and sustainable future. His current research interests are in Computer Science Education, Communities of Practice and Collaborative Learning.

He is also passionate about Web Development!
Xinru Yang
Hospitality
As a “frequent visitor” of the summer-time Montreal and a “digital fanatic” who regards her computer as her best friend, Xinru Yang is so excited to be a current student in MA Educational Technology in Concordia University. Being brought up in a city with a warmer weather, she is a little afraid of Montreal’s winter, but she is so glad that she joins DOEIGSA, such a warm community!
Yang Gao
Accounting & Fundraising
The desire to explore and manage various technological resources to facilitate learning and to improve performance has driven Yang to pursue a Doctorate in Educational Technology at Concordia University. She has studied and worked in the fields of language learning, education, and finance in different countries including China, Australia, France and Canada.
Yang has diverse research interests: online learning, gamification, serious game, big data, etc. She is also passionate about dulcimer, piano, Chinese folk dance, badminton, and handcraft.
Cynthia Lapierre
Email translations
Linguist with a backpack, culture vulture, language learner, and passionate language teacher are a few of the keywords Cynthia Lapierre uses to describe herself. She is currently a graduate student on the verge of completing her first year in the Master’s in Applied Linguistics program at Concordia University in Montréal. Her research interests revolve around the wide sphere of crosslinguistic influence as she herself juggles quite a few languages on the daily.
Lauren Strachan
Hospitality
Lauren Strachan has been teaching English as a Second Language for 10 years, first in her native Vancouver, and now alongside her Ph.D. studies at Concordia University in Montréal. Her research interests include the impact of phonology on the learning of morphology and discourse-level language learning. Her free time is spent travelling, doing yoga, reading, or cooking for friends and family.
Nataliya Kubishyn
Volunteer Coordinator & Grant Writer
Nataliya is a master’s student in the Child Studies program in the Department of Education at Concordia University. Her research interests revolve around understanding how immigrant children develop and maintain their friendships. She has experience working and conducting research with children, adolescents, and families who have been exposed to a wide range of stressors, including trauma, migration, and disabilities. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, dancing, and volunteering with at-risk children in community programs.
Marlon Sanches
Keynote Speaker Recruitment & Finances
Marlon Sanches is a doctoral student in education at Concordia University. He holds an M.A. in Educational Studies and a Certificate in Adult Education both from Concordia University. His research interests include adult and citizenship education, participatory democracy, and critical pedagogy. He is a member of the board of the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE) as a graduate student representative. In the Department of Education, he collaborated in the organization of the Symposium, “Teaching about Extremism, Terror, and Trauma”.
Monyka Rodrigues
Logistics, Volunteer coordination & Speaker recruitment
Monyka is in her second year of PhD studies specializing in Child Studies in the Department of Education at Concordia. Her background is in cognitive and language development, but recently concentrated her efforts on literacy development. She is specifically interested in the effects of reading words in different contexts (stories and lists), and the impact of the home literacy environment on shared book reading and print exposure. When not working, you can find her cooking vegetarian meals, gaming, or reading young adult fiction.
Myckhaila Joab
Social media & Marketing
Myckhaila Joab is a first year Child Studies MA student from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. She graduated from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida with a BA (High Honours) in Interdisciplinary Arts (Music, Theatre, and Creative Writing), Psychology, and Human Development. She is a trained musician and actress, and plans to use the arts as therapeutic tools for children, as she plans to further her studies in Drama Therapy. This year she is also a student representative for Child Studies in the Department of Education Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Association (DOEIGSA).
Jeremy Tanguay
Grant Writing, Fundraising
After earning a Bachelor’s in Sociology and Anthropology at Concordia, Jeremy was inspired to study the field of education through a sociocultural lens. Leading him to pursue a Masters in Educational Technology. His interest in education and his love of traveling have also led him to teach English abroad in Argentina.
Madiha Ahmad
Volunteer coordination, Grant writing, Fundraising
After completing her Bachelor's degree in Linguistics and Psychology, Madiha was interested in learning more about language acquisition and the learning theories behind language. In addition, some of her interests lie in human performance technology, designing instructional materials for adults and children, and marketing strategies. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Educational Technology at Concordia and also works for Alumni Relations as a campaign supervisor.
Meredyth Dwyer
Social Media & Marketing
Meredyth Dwyer is in her first year of a Master of Arts in Child Studies at Concordia University. She completed her Honours Bachelor of Science at the University of Toronto and majored in Psychology. She volunteered at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto for 4 years in Child Life and as a Research Assistant in Psychology. She is interested in literacy development and children's enjoyment of literacy and has worked as an RA in the Literacy Lab in her first semester at Concordia.
Alexandra Maduro
Hospitality, Email Translations & Social Media
Alexandra is a first year Master’s student in the Child Studies program at Concordia University. She has a B.A. in Psychology, also from Concordia University. Her research interests include children’s academic and social experiences in educational settings and curriculum development. She has extensive vocational and research-related experience with children and adolescents and hopes to continue her studies to become a school psychologist.
Sumin Lee
Website & Hospitality
Sumin Lee is in her first year Child Studies MA program at Concordia University after working as an assistant teacher at Samsung daycare center in Korea. She graduated with a BA in Child and Family Studies at Kyunghee University in the Republic of Korea. Her research interests are attachment, early childhood educators' right, and children's subjective well-being. Because of her itchy feet, she loves traveling and hiking. She is also passionate about running, watching movies, gaming, cooking, and looking at beautiful skies and landscapes.