Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Department of World Languages and Literatures

Student Employees

Teaching and Technology Center

	Tommaso Calcara Tommaso is a junior from Italy majoring in finance. He was born in London but raised in Warsaw, Milan, New York, Amsterdam, and Miami. A native speaker of both English and Italian, Tommaso has a global mindset and an interest in connecting with different cultures and perspectives. He plans on bringing these skills the world of investment banking. He is part of the Foundation's Investment club on campus, is an executive officer of the Italian Club, and enjoys cooking and playing soccer.
	Maddy Grimes Maddy is a junior from Denton, Texas. She is majoring in History and minoring in both Anthropology and Art History. Outside of school and work, she enjoys reading and spending time with her friends and family.
	Edward Heng Edward Heng is a junior who majors in B.M. for Piano Performance at SMU. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, he grew up speaking Mandarin Chinese as an immigrant child to two Chinese parents. Because of discovering the importance of language from helping them communicate and navigate through their new life in America, he has developed a deep passion for learning languages from learning Japanese with his friend from Japan to taking a German course at SMU where he obtained very high marks. Apart from learning languages and practicing the piano, he also enjoys composing music and working out with friends.
	Alessandra Hinojosa Alessandra is a sophomore from Brownsville, Texas. She is majoring in Finance, Political Science, and Spanish, hoping to work in the financial aspect of a human rights organization. As a bilingual Spanish and English speaker, she wants to bring both language skills to her career. Beyond her studies she enjoys reading, learning, and exploring the city.
	Taran Sortino Taran German minor from McKinney, Texas, who is majoring in electrical engineering. When he is not running the World Languages & Literatures VR Corner, he enjoys playing video games and hopes to design hardware for video game systems in the future. He has some German heritage and studied abroad on the SMU-in-Germany program. Taran hopes to be able to combine with his future career and communicate with many engineers outside the United States.
	Diego Gomez Diego is an electrical engineering student at SMU, born in Cypress, Texas. He has Salvadorian and Mexican roots, he speaks Spanish and passionate about using his background to uplift others. Diego brings hands on experience from retail and construction work, along with a deep commitment to service and leadership. He’s actively exploring opportunities to contribute to campus life through athletics and community engagement. In his free time, Diego loves playing soccer and finds purpose in helping others succeed — whether through teamwork, encouragement, or practical support.
	Julian Millen Julia is a junior from Houston, Texas majoring in journalism and human rights and minoring in English and women and gender studies. On campus, she is co-president of SMU’s Ukirk ministry, co-director of events for SMU’s Human Rights Council, associate editor for the SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research, and writes for the Daily Campus.