Language and Career Week 2026 Speakers

Maral Tavitian is Managing Director of the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies, where she works with the Director to manage all aspects of program operations and develop a long-term strategy for the Institute’s growth and impact. Tavitian received a JD from USC Gould School of Law and BA in Journalism from USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She graduated as Annenberg’s Outstanding Print and Digital Journalism Scholar, and was one of 10 students in the university’s graduating class to receive the Renaissance Scholar Prize for exceptional scholarship in diverse fields of study.

While in law school, she dedicated herself to public interest legal work for underserved communities in Los Angeles. She was a member of the USC Immigration Clinic, vice president of the Armenian Law Students’ Association, and received the Order of Aréte in recognition of her leadership and commitment to service. Tavitian previously worked in Armenia as a journalist for the media platform CivilNet, where she launched and hosted its flagship news program, “The Week in Armenia.”

John Klopotowski is a freelance writer and contributor to Liberties Journal, a quarterly publication covering culture and politics. After graduating from USC with a double major in Middle East Studies and Political Science, John attended UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, where he earned his degree in May 2025. His master’s thesis, centered on a bilingual Armenian-Turkish newspaper called Agos, examined the relationship between democracies and minority-owned print media. The project, which was published in Liberties last December, looks back over the past century of press freedom in Istanbul to better understand its crippled state today. It required archival research in Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Armenian, and some Arabic, which John studied while at USC.

Giovanni Riad is a recent USC graduate and a current CASA (Center for Arabic Study Abroad) fellow in Jordan, where he is pursuing intensive Arabic study. At USC, he majored in international relations and global business with a minor in Arabic. During his intensive study, Giovanni is an intern at Radio al-Balad, translating reports and producing videos in Arabic.

Octavio Avila is a career educator and higher education professional at the University of Southern California who helps people explore purpose, identify a career aim, and act towards goal achievement.  Octavio received his undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and a Master’s in Education degree from USC. Octavio uses his professional training and knowledge of psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and human performance to elicit potential.

Elina Khoshnevis is a business student at the University of Southern California, where she focuses on sustainability, global business, and the future evolution of fashion. Originally from San Francisco, Elina brings a cross-cultural perspective shaped by growing up between communities and languages. She worked at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at South Paris Arena, supporting events including Olympic table tennis, weightlifting sessions, and the Men’s Volleyball Gold Medal Match. In this role, she led a team of 40+ game coordinators, managing delegation and operations in fast-paced, multilingual environments at the heart of a global sporting event. 

Studying French and working abroad reinforced for Elina that language is not only a technical skill, but a powerful tool for leadership, trust-building, and global collaboration, especially as the Olympics prepare to come to Los Angeles. 

Here at USC, she founded USC Marshall’s first Persian Business Leaders Association, creating space for cultural identity, professional development, and community-building. Beyond her academic and professional commitments, Elina enjoys playing tennis and exploring the art scene across Los Angeles. She plans to pursue a career at the intersection of business, impact, and global engagement, where language remains central to meaningful connection and change. 

Link to Elina’s LinkedIn

Sahana Fisher is from Sudbury, Ontario, a small city with a strong Francophone culture. Growing up around French inspired her to continue developing her language skills, which led her to Paris to volunteer at the Paralympic Games. There, she enjoyed connecting with Francophone speakers from around the world and seeing how language brings people together.

Aaron Li is a progressive degree student at the University of Southern California pursuing a BA in Psychology and an MS in Marketing, with a minor in classical voice. His interests focus on consumer behavior, brand strategy, and the psychology behind how people connect with products and experiences. Drawing on experience in research, housing operations, and student leadership, Aaron brings a data-informed, creative approach to marketing grounded in behavioral science and storytelling.

Vana Hovsepian is a second-year student at USC Annenberg, majoring in Communication with a minor in Public Relations. She is passionate about lifestyle branding and hopes to build a career in-house, developing brand image, content, and strategy.

Lucas Oddi is a senior at USC majoring in behavioral economics and psychology. He is involved with the foreign language department through serving as the Director of Growth and Outreach for the USC French Club, as well as studying abroad at USC Paris during Spring 2025. He plans to utilize his French knowledge next year as a marketing associate in the French-led beauty industry!

Benny Escobar-Vidal is a senior double majoring in Linguistics and Spanish. Alongside Spanish, he has strengthened his Portuguese and French through coursework and internships at USC. He is passionate about Romance languages and will pursue a PhD in Romance Linguistics after graduation this fall.

Tim Hu is a senior studying neuroscience with a minor in dance. He studied abroad in Dijon in May 2025, which was one of his most enriching experiences to date. He hopes to use the intercultural competencies he took away to enrich his future medical education.

Hi, I’m Will O’Brien, a current senior double-majoring in political science and French. As someone who started French in college, USC’s French department has provided me with so many opportunities to learn and explore the French language and culture, including USC Paris, where I spent my entire junior year. I am currently applying for the TAPIF program, and hope to return to France for a year after graduation before I begin law school!

Emmanuelle Franks is the Executive Director of the Alliance Française de Pasadena. Originally from Strasbourg, she is a native French speaker and a specialist in language education.

She holds a Master’s degree in French as a Foreign and Second Language (FLE/FLS) and a Bachelor’s degree in English and French as a Foreign Language. She has taught French, English, and Spanish for over ten years in France and the United States, working with a wide range of learners—from beginner to master’s level—in both academic and corporate settings. She is a certified DELF/DALF examiner and examiner trainer, a TV5MONDE–certified teacher trainer, and a multimedia journalist.

Bulent Inan is the Attaché for Higher Education and French Language at the French Consulate and Villa Albertine in Los Angeles. Previously, he headed the AlUla Department and the French+ Immersion Programs at Campus France Agency in Paris. Within the French cultural network, he also served as the Head of the Campus France Bureau at the French Institute and the Embassy of France in Kuwait. For more than ten years, his career has reflected his commitment to international cooperation and education, with particular expertise in French as a foreign language and in promoting French higher education abroad.

Rosa Di Felice is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Quantitative and Computational Biology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, USA. She also holds a part-time appointment as a Research Director in the Italian National Research Council at the Institute of Nanoscience in Modena. She got her BS+MS (1992) and PhD (1996) in Physics at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. 

In her research, she solves equations in classical and quantum mechanics using computers to reveal the physicochemical states of materials and molecules. Her findings have potential implications in diverse fields, from engineering to health sciences. 

At USC, she teaches graduate courses on Applications of Quantum Computing and Classical Electromagnetism.

Jay Kuo

Dr. C.-C. Jay Kuo received a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987. He is now with the University of Southern California (USC) as the Ming Hsieh Chair Professor, a Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science, and the Director of the Media Communications Laboratory. He is a Fellow of the AAAS, ACM, IEEE, NAI, and SPIE, and an Academician of the Academia Sinica.

Dr. Francesca Romana Puggelli is a professor and consultant with over 25 years of teaching experience at both undergraduate and graduate levels. She currently teaches Psychology of Interactive Media and Applied Psychology in the Master of Applied Psychology program at the University of Southern California (USC), both online and on campus. At USC, she also serves as an advisor for international students and Dublin-based interns and supervises the internship application process.

Her academic expertise includes media psychology, advertising, social psychology, emotion management in the workplace, and organizational development. Dr. Puggelli is the author of more than 50 publications and a frequent keynote speaker at national and international conferences. In addition to her academic career, she has consulted for major global organizations such as L’Oréal, The Walt Disney Company, and Dove (Unilever).

Isidro Zuniga Vazquez is a J.D. Candidate at Stanford Law School and a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he was a Trustee Scholar. At USC, he founded and led the university’s first Latinx pre-law organization, Latino Students in Law, through which he reached first-generation, low-income students and provided resources like mentorship, professional development workshops, and panel discussions with admissions officers, law students, attorneys, and judges. Isidro intends to pursue a career in corporate law and aspires to contribute to the development of immigration policy in the future.

Jaya Loharuka is in her second year of practice as a pro bono immigration attorney and works with the RepLA team at CARECEN College Legal Services. She earned her JD from USC Gould School of Law and her BA in American Literature and Culture with a Minor in Civic Engagement from UCLA.  Her focus at CARECEN is representing clients seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, while also providing consultations, pursuing other forms of affirmative relief, and practicing removal defense. She is passionate about achieving Spanish fluency in order to provide high quality, trauma-informed representation to her clients.

Sergio is a staff attorney for the UC Immigrant Legal Services Center (UCIMM) at UC Irvine. In his current role, he provides legal consults to UCI students, their immediate relatives, and UCI staff; he also represents these individuals before USCIS and, in limited capacity, before EOIR.  Prior to his current role, Sergio worked as a staff attorney at the USC Immigration Clinic and as a legal fellow for UCIMM at UC Merced. Sergio is the son of Ecuadorian immigrants; he was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He is a graduate of UC Davis School of Law.

Hannah Nelson is a senior majoring in International Relations and Linguistics with a focus on East Asian Languages and Cultures. She is a member of the USC men’s rugby team, the Santa Monica women’s rugby team, Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, and serves as Battalion Executive Officer for the USC Army ROTC program. Her past experiences include internships with ATHLAW, LLP, the Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces, the Teaching International Relations Program, and the Daily Trojan at ROTC.

Contact:nelsonha@usc.edu

Cooper Brown is a senior at USC double majoring in Communication and East Asian Area Studies. Originally from Northern Virginia, he is driven by a passion for global storytelling and intercultural exchange. His academic and professional experiences have taken him around the world, including interning at the Cannes Film Festival and studying abroad in Tokyo.

Website: linkedin.com/in/cooper-brown-891219241

Contact: cooperbr@usc.edu

Darcy Bergstein has lived abroad in Tokyo twice, experiences she describes as life-changing. Through studying and interning in Japan, she gained deep insight into Japanese culture while significantly improving her language skills. She is also an avid film enthusiast and aspires to work in the film industry.

Website:linkedin.com/in/darcy-bergstein-5194401b9

Contact:bergstei@usc.edu

Adam Henderson is a second year Real Estate Development major, with a  minor in French. He is from Olympia, Washington, which is just a few states North! Over the course of this previous summer, he had the opportunity to study abroad in Dijon, France through the USC Maymester program. Outside of school, his interests include hiking and traveling.

Daniel Novikov is a finance major at USC Marshall graduating in December 2026 with an interest in early-stage investing and AI. He has experience across legal work, supply chain operations, media, and financial analysis. After graduation, he plans to intern at a venture capital firm in Utah, working closely with founders to build high-growth companies.