Faculty Introductions

Meet the faculty members for your course "Teaching English Language Learners"

Megan Adzima

Megan received a bachelor’s of arts degree in English and Spanish literature from Villanova University in 2006 and her Masters of Education from the University of Notre Dame in 2008.  She taught Spanish and religion for three years in Jacksonville, Florida and then English in Santiago, Chile through Notre Dame’s English as a New Language certification program.  Megan now lives in Boston, Massachusetts and serves an admissions advocate for Hispanic and new immigrant families through the Catholic Schools Foundation’s Catholic Schools Admissions Collaborative.  Megan visited Puerto Rico in July, 2012 as a clinical faculty member at the University of Sagrado Corazon’s bilingual certification program and she looks forward to working with the participants again this fall!  Megan enjoys travelling, baking, reading, and the ocean.

Jodi Bossio

After completing her Master’s Degree Program, Jodi began teaching in the inner city working with adjudicated and marginalized populations.  In 2008 she attended the English as a New Language Program through the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.  Jodi completed the program in 2009 and was invited to return that year as a clinical faculty member in both the English Language Learners Methods Course as well as the Cultural Influences on Children’s Lives Course.  In this position Jodi worked both on-site and online.  In the same year she began planning and delivering professional development sessions within her own school as well as other institutions on the topic of successful instructional methods for English Language Learners.   Jodi later became an adjunct faculty member of the College of the Notre Dame in Baltimore, teaching Reading and Writing in the Content Areas for educators grades PK-12.  During this time she has also continued to work as a classroom teacher, instructional coach and mentor teacher at several different levels at Sacred Heart School, helping her fellow teachers to implement best instructional practices for language learners in their classrooms.  She lives in Washington D.C. with her family.

Laura Hamman

Laura graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2007 with a major in English and supplementary major in Spanish.  She completed her Masters in Education through Notre Dame in 2009 after teaching second grade for two years in San Antonio, TX. Then, Laura traveled a bit further south to Santiago, Chile, where she gained experience teaching English to Chilean students at both the elementary and high school level.  She lived, worked, and traveled in South America for just under three years.  Laura returned to the United States in April 2012 and is now living in Chicago and working as an international human resources consultant at Laurus Strategies.  She is an avid runner and is currently training for her third marathon.  Her other hobbies include salsa dancing, singing, and writing.  Having caught the travel bug, she also anticipates many more trips abroad in her future.

Eamon Holahan
Eamon is originally from Milwaukee, WI but is currently living and teaching 5th grade English and High School Religion in Santiago, Chile at Colegio San Felipe Diacono. He studied Spanish Language and Literature and Theology at Marquette University in Milwaukee for undergrad and then went on to do the ACE program through the University of Notre Dame starting in 2008. He taught K-8 Spanish and 8th grade Religion in Oklahoma City during ACE, coached basketball and track, and also helped with student plays and talent shows. He enjoys playing all sports, but also relaxes by listening and playing music and occasionally spending time on YouTube.

Caty Hughes

Caty earned a BA in Spanish and Education from Saint Louis University and her M.Ed. from the University of Notre Dame. She taught fourth grade in Oklahoma City, OK for two years, then second grade English in Santiago, Chile through Notre Dame’s English as a New Language certification program. Since returning home to St. Louis, Caty has taught Spanish from 1st through 10th grade, currently teaching 9th and 10th graders. She is also enrolled in California State University, Sacramento’s Spanish M.A. travel study program through which she studied in Peru during the summer of 2011. Caty visited Puerto Rico in July, 2012 as a clinical faculty member at the University of Sagrado Corazón’s bilingual certification program. She loves using technology in her classroom and helping teachers expand their technological abilities. Other hobbies include crocheting, knitting, quilting, cooking, swimming, and reading.

Garrett Mandeville

Garrett is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he studied Psychology and Spanish.  He obtained his M.Ed. through Notre Dame as part of the Alliance for Catholic Education program.  He is also a graduate of Notre Dame’s English as a New Language program (Cohort 5).  He taught 4th and 5th grade as a homeroom teacher in New Orleans, and he taught English to Chilean students in 4th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades.  Garrett is currently teaching High School English at Saint George's in Santiago, Chile.  He is a big sports fan, and he loves to travel.


Gregory O’Donnell

Greg is currently teaching middle and high school English at a British IB school in Santiago, Chile.  He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2008 with a BA in Psychology and History, and a minor in Education, Schooling and Society.  Afterwards he began teaching middle school Social Studies, Religion and Language Arts for two years while simultaneously pursuing his MA in Education from the University of Notre Dame, where he graduated in 2010.  Upon finishing the program, he enrolled in Notre Dame's ENL program and moved to Santiago where he taught 6th through 10th grade English, as well as 1st grade English at a Chilean religious private school.  He enjoys running, reading and cooking in his spare time, and he come from a large family who loves to play board and card games together.

Kaitlyn O’Leary

Kaitlyn, a native New Yorker, graduated from Notre Dame in 2008 with a degree in English Literature and Theology. She then completed the ACE program in 2010, serving as a middle school Language Arts teacher at a small Catholic school in Tucson, Arizona. In July of 2010 she parted the U.S. and headed to Santiago, Chile, where she has been living for the past 2 years. Kaitlyn teaches 6th grade English as a second language at Saint George's College in Chile and serves as a head teacher, or "profesora jefe" to a class of 37 students. Her favorite part about teaching is mentoring students and helping them to develop their morals and senses of self. Her interests include traveling, languages, running, and reading. She is very excited to be part of the clinical faculty at Notre Dame and share the mission of Catholic education with the Puerto Rican community.

Molly Powers 
Molly grew up in Atlanta, GA. She attended Furman University where she received a Bachelor's Degree in Spanish and Mathematics before going on to join the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE). During her time in ACE she lived and taught in Oklahoma City, OK. Molly taught math and Spanish to high school students. She went on to teach English in Santiago, Chile as a part of the ACE Chile program, while simultaneously completing the ACE ENL program. Molly was recently married and lives in Chicago, IL where she works as a campus minister at University of Illinois - Chicago. She loves running and will run her seventh marathon this October.

Phil Rovnak

Phil graduated from Franciscan University with a BA in English and Spanish, then earned his Master of Education degree from the University of Notre Dame in 2010.  He currently lives in Chile's capital, Santiago, where he works with high school ELLs at a bilingual Pre-K through 12 school.

Having gone through both the ENL program before and having worked with ELLs for the past couple of years, Phil is excited to be able to share his experiences with you as you learn from each other this semester.  When not in "teacher mode" Phil is often on the road traveling throughout Chile or South America, but he also enjoys a good book or riding his bike.

Patricia Salazar

Patricia is from Fort Worth, Texas. She has taught in a dual language classroom since she began her teaching career in Washington DC where she taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. She then taught English to 1st graders in Santiago, Chile and she currently teaches 3rd grade in Fort Worth. During the summers, for the past three years, Patricia has been thrilled to work as a clinical faculty member for the University of Notre Dame. Paty says, “I love everything about teaching, from the relationships we build with our students to the fun we have learning. Most importantly I am passionate about serving students who are learning a new language because, I myself was once that student. I know we are going to have a great semester learning from each other and reinvigorating our passion for the great work we do.”

Corrine Tallman

Corrine has been living and working abroad for the past three years.  She has taught ESL in the United States, Spain, China, and South Korea.  She has recently earned a degree in the Teaching and Acquisition of the English Language in Multilingual Contexts at the Universitat Jaume I in Castellon de la Plana, Spain.  In her free time she enjoys: cycling, travel, and amateur photography.

Aislinn Wyatt

After graduating from Santa Clara University (class of 2008) with a double major in Environmental Science (with a minor in Biology) and Religious Studies, Aislinn went on to earn her Master's Degree in Education through the University of Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) program. During this time she served as a middle school teacher at Saint Anthony Elementary School in Los Angeles, California and also acquired her teaching certification in 5-12th grade sciences.

After graduating from the ACE program, Aislinn moved to Santiago, Chile through Notre Dame's post-graduate teaching program, the Chilean Alliance for Catholic Education (ChACE). There Aislinn taught 7th grade English at Saint George's College while I earned her certification in English as a New Language.

Aislinn is currently continuing her adventure in Santiago where she now teaches high school English and is the Assistant Director of the International Student Program at an all-girls school called Villa María Academy. In her free time Aislinn loves to travel, train for marathons, and enjoy all that South America has to offer!