Alexander Rogers
Alexander Rogers
Class Year
’21
Current home
New Jersey
Major(s)
Spanish and Japanese
Current Position
PhD Student, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Bilingualism and Second Language Acquisition Track at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ.
Alexander Rogers ’21, who majored in Spanish and Japanese at Carthage, is now a PhD student and graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Mr. Rogers conducts research on the bilingual mind and how immersion environments affect the language acquisition process.
He credits his Carthage classes and professors for helping him find his passion for academia and pushing him to further his education.
What have you enjoyed most about your career?
“I’ve enjoyed studying and deepening my knowledge of my field. It’s very rewarding to be able to continue to see myself grow as a researcher and as a writer. This year particularly, working as a graduate teaching assistant, I’ve loved having the chance to step into a teaching role in addition to my 8 year-long role as a student.”
How did Carthage prepare you?
“When I was at Carthage, I had the opportunity to do a SURE project with Professor Yan Wang, and that experience really helped me realize my love for research and learning and gave me the push I needed to step into my PhD program. Additionally, working as a Spanish and Japanese tutor at Carthage gave me some of the skills necessary to succeed as a teacher this year!”
How has your liberal arts education benefitted you?
“The problem-solving, critical thinking, and research skills I acquired at Carthage really helped me this semester when I began working on my qualifying paper. Without that background in working through tough situations and adapting to changes on the fly, I don’t think I would have been able to finish the paper.”
Why did you choose Carthage?
“I chose Carthage because the beautiful campus, the great study abroad program, and the fact that Carthage has an established Japanese major and a great Modern Languages Department.”
What Carthage professors played a part in your success and how?
“Professors Matthew Borden and Yan Wang, my advisors from the Spanish and Japanese departments, were invaluable assets to me not only as an undergraduate student, but also as I moved into graduate studies. They supported me throughout my time at Carthage, have helped me get into first my master’s program, and then my doctoral program. I’m very much looking forward to thanking them for all of their help once I get my PhD.”