Angelina Serratos

My life journey began on the shores of the Black Sea, in Odessa, Ukraine, but I see myself as a citizen of the world as I have lived in Ukraine, Russia, and the United States for extended periods of time. Tucson has been home for me since 2001; this is where I completed my training as a linguist, which is a big part of my identity. I was privileged to work with one of the last speakers of Chemehuevi, a Uto-Aztecan indigenous language, to help document it for the native community, and this work lay the foundation for my PhD dissertation, which I defended in 2008. I have been in higher education for most of my adult life, first as an English as a Foreign Language teacher in Russia, then as a graduate teaching assistant in freshmen composition and linguistics courses, and finally as a lecturer at the Center for English as a Second Language at the University of Arizona, where I taught for ten years. My professional experiences also include teacher training, assessment, curriculum development, and creation of instructional materials. I believe that student engagement lies at the core of successful education and career preparedness and make an effort to make my courses meaningful, fun, and relatable. I am excited to join the General Education team at the UA and look forward to the next stage of my professional adventure. Outside of work, my priorities include my family, my church community, cooking, reading, dancing, and fostering kittens. It’s a full life, and I am happy to live it in Tucson, AZ!