Robin Rhodes

Robin Rhodes, Director of ESOL and Multilingual Student Academic Support

Hi everyone! I came to St. Lawrence University in 2012 first as an adjunct instructor then visiting faculty teaching courses including academic English to speakers of other languages and education courses about teaching English internationally. Currently, I am in World Languages, Cultures, & Media and teach academic English to multilingual students, run academic support programs related to language and cultural transition, occasionally teach in the First-Year Program, and teach education and African studies courses. I originally grew up in a conservative area in Cincinnati where not many people leave the area or progress to advanced degrees. My mother was a nurse and my father was a manager at a production factory and I was lucky enough that they always valued education.

I didn’t finish all my education at once as I had to work and then had a family, but I did finish my doctorate and that felt amazing. Not knowing anyone who had a doctorate or even an advanced degree made things a little more challenging as I had to figure out how it all worked. Some family members and past high school friends even teased me about being over educated or how I’m wasting time in school. I understand how it feels to have different life plans than your own family or those you went to high school with (and having to defend those plans!) and I also understand how it feels to not fit into an academic culture that you never knew about growing up. I am different from my family and community because I love to travel internationally, love languages and learning about new cultures, always work to support marginalized communities, and am much more progressive! If you grew up in a conservative area and are now changing your views, need help figuring out academic and professional life, grew up in an area with little mobility or advanced education, or understand midwestern life – come see me! I’d love to chat and meet you.