Kaitlyn Roberts ’20 to study Portuguese in Brazil as Demers Fellowship recipient

Kaitlyn Roberts ’20 has been awarded a $17,500 scholarship through the Rhode Island Foundation’s Beatrice S. Demers Foreign Language Fellows Program to study Portuguese in Brazil. She will attend Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) in Florianópolis, Brazil after completing her master’s degree in innovation and strategic management at Salve Regina.

The intensive language program will allow Roberts to complete up to two years of language coursework in one semester and one year of language coursework in one summer. She also plans to explore elective courses in international development, international economics, strategic management and policy, business and trade in the Americas, and international management.

Roberts learned about the Demers Fellowship while auditing the Portuguese language class of Dr. Judy de Oliveira, adjunct professor in the Department of Modern Languages. She spent her junior year studying abroad in Florence, Italy, at Istituto Lorenzo de’ Medici, followed by a summer in Amsterdam at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

“I was able to pick up the basics in Italian rather quickly while living in Florence, even with far less intensive language courses, so I am very excited about this program,” Roberts said.

In the spring semester of her senior year, Roberts worked with her professors to develop an online directed studies plan to earn her remaining 12 credits while working full time in Barga, Italy, as an assistant conference venue manager with Gordon Research Conferences.

“At the time, taking four courses online seemed like a wild idea, but little did I know I was actually ahead of the curve,” Roberts said. “While other students were adjusting to online classes after COVID-19 made its impact in the U.S., I had already been familiar with the format. While I was really enjoying my time working in Italy, GRC had to cancel/postpone the remainder of their 2020 conferences, and I, along with my team, made our way back to the U.S. It was a very uneasy trip to make. We had fears of exposure, closed borders and canceled flights, but we all made it home safely.”

Roberts was an “Adopt A Student” scholarship recipient while attending Holy Name Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School in Worcester, Massachusetts, which influenced her decision to attend Salve Regina. She was awarded the McAuley Scholarship at Salve Regina and has also received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, Delta Epsilon Sigma Scholarship, Academic Programs International Study Abroad Scholarship, Vision of Mercy Endowed Scholarship, Bleeke-Byrne Art Travel Scholarship and the Kimball Family Association Education Scholarship.

“These opportunities have been very important to me as a student who does not come from wealth,” she said. “I love to talk about my experiences abroad and help push others to realize their international dreams as well. The topic of diversity is also extremely important to me. Our modern world is connected in ways we have never seen before, which lends us to a very unique blend of diversity and multiculturalism. There is so much beauty to be seen in other cultures and so much to learn from those unlike ourselves. I believe that international experiences, like study abroad, are profoundly important for young adults still in their formative years.”

While at Salve Regina, Roberts was active in the Pell Honors Program, Service Advocates, Service Plunge, Multicultural Student Organization, Psychology Club, Student Outreach and Recruitment, Student Networking Association and International Student Club.

She praised her academic advisor, Dr. Paula Martasian, associate professor and chair of the Department of Psychology, for her ongoing support. “I still remember listening to her speak about Salve’s psychology program during a visit I made while in high school,” she said. “She has always been 100% supportive in my endeavors; she always sat down with me every time I found an opportunity I wanted to pursue and helped me devise a plan to bring said course of action to life.”

Roberts is interested in a career with the government and, as a Gilman Scholarship recipient, has noncompetitive eligibility status for federal employment. “Using my extensive international experiences, passion for behavior analysis and academic study in both business and psychology courses, I would be able to offer a very unique perspective,” she said.