One theme that you will see throughout my profile is internationalism and multiculturalism. I was raised in a small town in northern Wisconsin and my life started to take an international turn when I was a high schol exchange student for a year to the Netherlands 38 years ago. My own childen think that I was the original exchange student, but even though it was long ago, it headed my career, marriage and experiences in a global direction. I again went overseas to the Universite d'Aix-Marseille in France during my junior year at Carroll College. I met my husband of 31 years, Herb, at college. I completed a Master of Arts Degree in French at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and started my teaching career of over 30 years in MIchigan. I taught ESL and French in Mott Adult Education and public high schools. My husband was teaching at the University of Michigan at the time and we both had an opportunity to teach at the University of Jordan for two years. We went with a two month old daughter and returned with her plus a two month old son. Many years of teaching followed in Wisconsin, New Mexico and Alaska. In these three states, I worked in schools and programs with a strong Native American population. While teaching in Wisconsin, I returned to get a second Master's Degree as a Reading Specialist. Our children mirrored our international experiences and both became exchange students during high school and college. During the school year 1993-94, I was on leave for a year from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa where I have been Director of Reading and Study Skills for 10 years. During my leave I taught for Indiana University in a program for Malaysian students in Shah Alam, Malaysia.

Currently, I work with adults of all ages. In fact in one class this semester, the ages range from 19 to 60. Most of the students I work with are people who are just emerging from their teen years into adulthood. It is exciting to see college students grow and mature over four years. I am especially interested in learning styles, cross cultural issues in the classoom, collaborative learning, paired classes and critical thinking skills among our student population. I look forward to the challenge of pursuing these in the ACE Doctoral Program.

Email: clyon@saunix.sau.edu