Elina Khoshnevis had been monitoring her email inbox for a long time. She had always been interested in working in Paris, and with the 2024 Paris Olympics coming up, she put herself on the email list for work opportunities tied to the Games. Finally, she was notified that the portal for the application had opened, and she applied immediately. 

“I’ve always been really interested in doing something in Paris or being involved in an internship,” Khoshnevis said. “My uncle lives in Paris, so he kind of told me, like, ‘Hey, the Games are coming.’”

USC’s second annual Language and Career Week — a three-day event hosted by the Dornsife Center for Languages and Cultures — kicked off Wednesday at 10 a.m. in Taper Hall of Humanities. The event included panels, roundtables and networking opportunities focused on the connection between language learning and professional development.

Mina Soroosh, assistant professor of French and chair of the organizing committee, said that the goal of the event is to show students how multilingualism can open professional doors. 

“The idea is to introduce students to professionals, other students, faculty [and] alumni who use languages in their everyday work,” Soroosh said. “And to give students an idea of how important being multilingual is in the world.”

To Soroosh, the value of the event is to see how languages can actually be applied in the real world. Rather than studying a language in order to get a good grade, she said she hopes students recognize how those skills can serve them in the future. 

Francesca Ricciardelli, assistant professor of Italian and another committee member, said that while last year’s events were focused on academics, this year’s events are intentionally student-driven. 

The 1 p.m. event, “Languages Behind the Olympic Games,” featured current students who worked on organizing the 2024 Paris Olympics. Sahana Fisher and Khoshnevis shared this experience as an example of how language was able to open up professional opportunities, as well as give them a chance to further their language skills. 

Fisher, a senior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, worked with athlete arrival and departure. She said that an immersive environment helped build the confidence to practice her language, as she had been nervous about her French proficiency prior to her arrival. 

“I felt like I had to perfect my French to be able to go there, and that I’d be looked at kind of differently if it wasn’t perfect,” Fisher said. “But I think the best thing to do to improve language is to immerse yourself in different settings and not just focus on perfecting it. Just being there over that month, I think I spoke French better, but also just grew confidence.” 

Khoshnevis, a senior majoring in business administration, interned on the organization committee. In her role, she worked across multiple events and oversaw approximately 60 volunteers. She also said that an immersive environment gave her the push to take her French to the next level. 

“When you’re in that environment and you allow yourself to just speak freely, there are no grades, there is no exam,” Khoshnevis said. “No one’s testing you, no one’s gonna get mad at you. I feel like that’s really important.” 

Soroosh, who put together the panel on the Paris Olympics, said that her hopes for students attending the programming are to have the opportunity to appreciate the value of knowing another language. 

“What we’re working to do is have our students at USC be critical thinkers. And I really believe that in order to do that, they need to have a sense of a language or how languages impact people’s everyday lives,” Soroosh said.

At 4 p.m., the event “Building Intercultural Competence Through Language Learning and Study Abroad” featured students with study-abroad experience in France and Spain. 

Adam Henderson, a sophomore majoring in real estate development, studied abroad through the French and Italian Department’s Dijon Maymester. He said that one of his biggest takeaways was a change in perspective. Hendeson said that seeing different perspectives on work-life balance in Europe compared with the U.S. prompted him to think about his own career goals. 

“I’d say that’s also an important aspect of the study abroad program is just gaining more perspectives and broadening your scope of how you see, you know, daily aspects of life,” Henderson said. 

For students who do not major or minor in languages, Soroosh said there are still pathways to language learning. She pointed to language-learning apps like Duolingo, language clubs and ongoing programming hosted by the CLC throughout the school year. 

“I want to instill and share with students, ‘Trust yourself. It will come,’” Soroosh said. “When you’re learning a language, you’re vulnerable, you’re in a classroom, and you’re doing something that’s really, really hard. I respect that. I was there. … Even if it is never perfect, you never know when speaking a language is going to maybe touch someone else’s life, or your own.”