Last September, I came all the way here from France to work as a visiting scholar under Susan Conrad for her Civil Engineering Writing Project. As a recent graduate in English for Specific Purposes and Teaching English Language, I wanted to get some hands-on research experience before starting my PhD. Susan Conrad kindly agreed to welcome me to PSU, giving me the fantastic opportunity to learn from her. Over the past year, I conducted a pilot study on noun phrase complexity in civil engineering texts written by students and engineers, the purpose of which was to compare the use, structure and frequency of noun phrases between students and engineers and also between different types of written texts. I am currently writing an article about it, which I hope will be published in an English for Specific Purposes journal. As I am finishing my work here, I am getting ready to go back to France this summer. There, I will start my PhD in September at Paris-Diderot University, in linguistics and English for Specific Purposes. My PhD will focus on legal English, more precisely on the interactions between lawyers and justices during oral arguments at the Supreme Court of the USA. As for my time in the US, I really liked living in Portland, which I found to be a nice, relaxed and weird city! I met some extremely welcoming and interesting people with whom I hope to stay in touch. Overall, I am very thankful for my experiences here and  I am looking forward to starting a new adventure as a PhD student in France! Au revoir!

Congratulations to Dr. Susan Conrad, who was selected by student vote as the recipient of the John Eliot Allen Teaching Award for 2019! This is Susan's fourth JEA award.

A few comments from Susan's students:

“Susan is an amazing professor, researcher, and human being. She is very hard-working, and she will make you realize your own skills and improve the skills you already have. Her classes are always inspiring, and her research work is groundbreaking. Not only can she make you interested in linguistics but she can also help you grow professionally and personally.”

“Dr. Conrad is a compelling lecturer. She brings to the classroom a potent combination of expertise and experience in the field and specific subjects she teaches. Further, she is compassionate, helpful, and always happy to spend extra time with students who need guidance or clarification.”

Congrats again to Susan!