WKU News

For Olivia Blackmon, studying Modern Languages at WKU didn’t just enrich her worldview—it opened unexpected doors and shaped every step of her professional journey. Today, Olivia serves as an Administrative Assistant at Vanderbilt Law School, supporting students, faculty, and staff across academics and community-focused programs. Her path to this role, however, is rooted deeply in the language skills she cultivated at WKU.

Olivia’s first major career leap came through her summer role as Business Manager at Concordia Language Villages, specifically the Korean Village. It was her Korean proficiency, built through years of dedicated study, that made the opportunity possible. There, she immersed herself fully in the language, engaging with students exclusively in Korean and collaborating with a Korean-speaking staff on program administration.

Before that, Olivia worked at an elementary school serving more than 700 students—over 80% of whom were English Language Learners, primarily Spanish-speakers. Her Spanish Certificate from WKU empowered her to bridge communication gaps between hardworking monolingual staff and newly adjusting students. The experience left a lasting impression:

“That was a year I will cherish forever, and I am still greeted by sweet toothless smiles around town.”

Now, Olivia describes her career as “under construction,” and she embraces that journey with optimism. Her next goal is to secure a position that fulfills the federal service requirement of her Boren Scholarship. While the job market can be challenging, she remains confident and resilient:

“Times are tough, but we’re tougher!”

Olivia’s story is a powerful reminder of where language learning can take you—into new communities, new career paths, and new futures you may never have imagined.

Olivia’s commitment to intercultural engagement extends far beyond her formal job titles. While strengthening her administrative skills in event planning, communications, and student engagement, she actively volunteers with a number of global and community-centered organizations. She serves as an evaluator for the NSLI-Y and Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) programs through American Councils, supports intercultural exchange with AFS-USA, and contributes to community empowerment through the Tennessee Immigrant and Minority Business Group and the Tennessee World Affairs Council. She also lends her time to the Festival of the Nations at The Nashville Fair, celebrating the vibrant cultural diversity of the region.

Her passion for language learning continues in her personal time. Olivia tutors a high school student in Mandarin and shares self-made language-learning materials on her own YouTube channel. She also participates in conferences, serves on panels related to language study, and even returned to WKU as the Keynote Speaker for the Chinese Flagship Annual Meeting — a full-circle moment that reflects her ongoing commitment to global education.

As a CLS 2022 Virtual participant, Olivia later joined CLS Refresh, gaining additional tutoring hours to continue strengthening her Chinese proficiency. “Support for language study doesn’t stop in college,” she says — and she embodies that truth every day.

Her intercultural experiences also show up in the small but meaningful details of her weekly life: attending a Francophone coffee chat at her university, taking bilingual Latin dance classes in the community, and connecting regularly with Chinese-speaking international students and Russian-speaking coworkers at Vanderbilt Law School.

For Olivia, these moments — big and small — affirm that language learning isn’t just a skill. It’s a way of building bridges, forming community, and expanding the world you carry with you.

Advice for Students Exploring Language Study

With experience studying more than ten languages and actively using four in her current work (Chinese, Spanish, Korean, and English)—alongside others informally, such as Russian and French—she emphasizes that language learning is neither a waste of time nor an impossible undertaking. She firmly believes that genuine interest is the most significant barrier to becoming bilingual; once students have that spark, everything else becomes achievable. In her view, “If there’s a will, there’s a way,” and her journey exemplifies that mindset.

She encourages students not to let hesitation, self-doubt, or a perceived lack of resources hold them back. From her experience entering the workforce, she notes that free time only becomes more limited, making early investment in language study especially valuable. She sees language learning as a deeply rewarding asset—one that enriches both personal growth and professional opportunities.

Her own language-learning paths have varied. Chinese provided structured guidance from the start: she began studying it in 7th grade at MLK Magnet High School in Nashville and later continued with five intensive years in WKU’s Chinese Flagship Program. The expectations were high, but the roadmap was well-defined.

Korean, however, required her to forge her own path. With no formal classes or established routes available, she built a personalized curriculum using textbooks, online courses, and a self-designed study system. She immersed herself in community networks—from the Nashville Korean community to local Korean heritage schools—seeking meaningful interaction and real-world practice. What started as a strategic hobby later led to major opportunities, including a NSLI-Y study abroad grant and a position with Concordia.

Her overarching message to students is clear:
Stay curious, stay consistent, and stay resourceful.

A perfect path may not always be laid out, but with creativity and determination, students can build one. And through language study, they open doors to new cultures, careers, connections, and experiences that can shape their lives in unexpected and remarkable ways.