The World Language Teacher Education (WLTE) program is consistently rated as excellent by the state of Illinois—and the teachers it produces are once again being recognized for their exceptional promise.
This year, the Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ICTFL) honored three recent alumni with prestigious awards: Marie Jensen (BA, ’23, English; BA, ’23, Germanic languages and literatures; MA, ’25), Caitlin Niesman (BA, ’25, teaching of Spanish), and Macy Sherwood (BA, ’24, teaching of German).
These awards celebrate exceptional individuals who are preparing to become or have recently entered the world language teaching profession.
Sherwood was selected as the ICTFL New Teacher of the Year, while Jensen and Niesman were selected as recipients of the World Language Teaching Majors award before graduating.
For both teaching undergraduate award winners, the honor was a long time in the making.
“I’ve wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember,” said Jensen. “School was always a safe, supportive space for me, and I wanted to create that same sense of belonging and inspiration for future students.”
Niesman’s dream career was a teacher or a doctor, but she always knew growing her Spanish language skills would be a central part of her journey. Two years into her undergraduate career, she combined two of her passions: Spanish and teaching.
“From a young age, I would play ‘school’ in our garage,” said Niesman. “Helping others succeed in their academic careers has always come naturally to me. I love seeing students' eyes light up when concepts click in their brains.”
It was Niesman’s experience with the WLTE program that taught her to cultivate that spark.
“I was placed at Champaign Central High School for my student teaching experience,” she said. “I grew so much as a teacher. I was able to learn new activities, offer ideas to their curriculum, collaborate with other language teachers, and just figure out who I was as a teacher. It not only challenged me as a person and a teacher but also reminded me that I am destined for the field of education.”
For Jensen, her biggest takeaway was intangible but just as impactful.
“Beyond practical teaching skills, the program has helped me become a more reflective and culturally responsive educator,” she said. “When we connect with our students as individuals, it allows us to teach in a more empathetic way—which is essential in language classrooms and helps students meaningfully engage with the target language.”
Post-graduation, Jensen will be working as a teaching assistant through Fulbright Austria for the 2025-26 academic year and then pursuing a PhD in German at the University of California, Berkeley.
Niesman is returning to campus to pursue a master’s degree in Hispanic linguistics and teach introductory level Spanish.
As they move forward in their careers, both will be sharing their love of languages with their students—and hoping that passion sticks.
“Learning another language opens the door to understanding different cultures, perspectives, and ways of being,” said Jensen. “It teaches empathy, flexibility, and curiosity— skills that are not only essential in the classroom, but also in our interconnected world.”
“Bilingualism and multilingualism are superpowers,” added Niesman. “Languages unite people from different backgrounds, and language learning is at the heart of human acceptance and respect and understanding.”
Editor's note: This story first appeared in the SLCL Fall 2025 print newsletter.