“Words That Work: Transforming Your Life with Language”
Lachlyn Soper, Diplomat, U.S. Department of State
- Boost Your Career Prospects with Linguistic Skills: Discover how mastering a less commonly-taught language can enhance your employability, broaden your network, and offer unique job opportunities;
- Harness the Power of Generative AI in Language Learning: Explore practical strategies and innovative ways to use artificial intelligence tools effectively to speed up your language acquisition process;
- Uncover the Hidden Benefits of Language Learning: the transformative impact of language learning on cognitive abilities, cross-cultural understanding, personal development, and more, far beyond the mere ability to converse in a new language.
Introduction
Erlin Barnard, Distinguished Teaching Faculty in Indonesian Language, UW-Madison Asian Languages and Cultures; Language Director for Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI)
Speaker Bio
Lachlyn Soper is a seasoned diplomat with the U.S. Department of State, boasting over 20 years of distinguished service in public service roles. Her most recent assignment was at the U.S. Consulate Leipzig, following her tenure as the Chief of Staff for the Assistant Secretary of State’s European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau in Washington, D.C.
From 2016 to 2019, Lachlyn broadened her horizons with a detail to the U.S. military, serving as a Senior Advisor for U.S. Africa Command. This role earned her a Superior Honor Award.
Before her commitment to the State Department, Lachlyn gained valuable experience as a researcher and senior advisor for the U.S. Department of Defense in Baghdad. In recognition of her dedicated work with the Department of Defense, she was honored with a Meritorious Civilian Service Medal.
Additionally, she has worked for the United Nations, tackling challenges in the West Bank and Syria and working in Arabic.
Prior to joining the UN, she worked for the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program in Nagano, Japan, where she studied Japanese and learned to snowboard.
On the academic front, Lachlyn is an alumna of the University of Wisconsin with a degree in International Relations, and holds a Masters in International Relations from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.
While studying, her interest in languages led her to secure a National Security Education Program Scholarship, allowing her to learn Indonesian in Bali, where she also picked up Balinese and Javanese interacting with her host families.
Lachlyn was also awarded a National Security Education Program Fellowship at Princeton to study Arabic in Damascus, Syria. Her focus on different Arabic dialects has been fueled by her postings throughout the Middle East. She was sad to part with her Arabic books in 2015 when evacuated from the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a, Yemen, and is slowly recovering the textbooks she lost.
Lachlyn now lives near Munich, where she works in German but makes friends in Bavarian.