2025-2026 Social Media Sub-Committee
Anthony Lin
Anthony is a Ph.D. student in Teaching, Learning, and Culture (TLAC) at Texas A&M University, originally from Taiwan. Before moving to the U.S., he taught English to adult learners and Mandarin Chinese to college students. His research focuses on bilingual (Chinese/English) literacy development, second language acquisition (SLA), Global English Language Teaching (GELT), and technology-assisted instruction. He currently serves as a graduate research assistant and lab manager in the Cross-Linguistic Literacy & Cognition Research Group (CLIC) and works as a program assistant in a world language program. His long-term goal is to become a professor of world language education. In his free time, he enjoys reading and gaming. As an AAALGSC Social Media Subcommittee member, Anthony aims to foster inclusive engagement, promote professional development opportunities, and support graduate students in applied linguistics through accessible and dynamic social media content.
Nilima Hakim Mow
Nilima Hakim Mow is a Ph.D. student in Linguistics at George Mason University. Her research mainly focuses on language documentation and revitalization of endangered Indigenous languages through community collaboration. Currently, she is working with the Akuzipik language of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, and the Hawrami language, spoken in regions of Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. In addition to her work in language preservation, Nilima is dedicated to the development of pedagogical approaches and materials for teaching English as a Second Language (ESL). She also creates educational resources for Indigenous heritage language learners, ensuring that these languages are not only preserved but actively used by future generations. Nilima also serves on the International Student Advisory Board at her university advocating for international student needs. Her goal as a member of the AAAL Graduate Student Committee’s social media subcommittee is to foster knowledge-sharing, elevate graduate student voices, and enhance the online visibility of the committee’s initiatives. She aims to create an inclusive digital space that informs, connects, and celebrates the contributions and achievements of graduate students.
Rika Nakano
Rika Nakano is a doctoral student in the Multilingual Language Education (MLE) program at The Ohio State University. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, she worked as a Japanese language instructor at Emory University in Georgia. Drawing on this experience, her research focuses on the identity shifts of language teachers teaching abroad. As a member of the GSC social media sub-committee, her goal is to facilitate easy access and scholarly communication for those interested in applied linguistics.
Mushaal Albugami
Mushaal AlBugami is a doctoral student at Ole Miss specializing in Applied Linguistics. Her research interests focus on pragmatics, discourse analysis and linguistic landscape studies to enhance cross-cultural communication. Currently, she is investigating the role of multimodal discourse.
Originally from Saudi Arabia, Mushaal brings substantial teaching experience in higher education. Prior to her doctoral studies, she worked for 10+ years as a lecturer at King Saud University's College of Languages Science, where she contributed to various academic and administrative initiatives. She is deeply committed to advancing understanding of language use in social contexts and exploring how linguistic research can enhance cross-cultural communication and education. Her experience in translation and interpretation has informed her current research on the intersection of pragmatics and intercultural communication.
As a member of the AAAL Graduate Student Committee’s social media subcommittee, Mushaal is dedicated to promoting the committee’s initiatives, showcasing innovative research, and highlighting professional development opportunities. Through the committee’s strategic social media outreach, she aims to create an inclusive platform where graduate students can share their academic journeys and research contributions.
Li Peng
Li Peng is a Ph.D. student in Educational Studies (Language Acquisition) in the Department of Integrated Studies (DISE) at McGill University, Canada. Her research interests focus on plurilingualism, pluriculturalism, translanguaging, plurilingual pedagogy, teaching Chinese as an additional/heritage language, teacher education, and teacher identity. She has extensive experience as a language teacher. More specifically, besides working as an English teacher for college students in Guangzhou, China for two years, she has also been a Chinese teacher for Canadian and international students for about a decade at different levels, including K-12 and university level students and instructors. Li also proactively takes part in volunteer work at conferences, including serving as a photographer for the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics (ACLA/CAAL) . As a member of the GSC social media subcommittee, she is passionate about advocating for graduate students presenting in AAAL as well as their research to a larger audience.
Member Testimonials
"Being a part of AAAL GSC has been a great experience for me since I feel a sense of belonging. AAAL GSC members are helping the AAAL grad student community by providing helpful resources and interacting with students via multiple platforms. This has taught me a lot about how to build a community and how to serve an academic community as an aspiring professional researcher."
- Yunjung (Eunice) Nam
"During the 2017-2018 academic year, I was a member of the GSC social media sub-committee. As a social media sub-committee member, I was able to connect with other graduate students in the field. Additionally, I acquired various skills that I was able to use in my future service endeavors. For members who are considering applying to be a part of the social media subcommittee, I highly recommend doing so as it can provide professional opportunities to expand one's network and to learn from others in the field."
- James Coda
"I have benefited a lot from serving in the GSC Social Media Sub-Committee in 2018 and in the GSC Event Planning Sub-Committee in 2017. Through these experiences, I got the opportunity to talk with many talented and well-known scholars in the field, as well as junior scholars (like our graduate fellows!) who could be long-term collaborators and friends. Such experience broadened my view towards the field and opened a conversation that was just not limited to the sub-field that I am interested in researching. More importantly, I feel really proud to have the autonomy and voice to be heard as a graduate student."
- Yi Wang
2024-2025 Social Media Sub-Committee
Michol Miller, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Mukib Khan, Oklahoma State University
Rika Nakano, Ohio State University
Nilima Hakim Mow, George Mason University
Anthony Lin, Texas A&M University
Mushaal AlBugami
2023-2024 Social Media Sub-Committee
Wei Xu, Arizona State University
Myssan Laysy, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Ayako Hiasa, Arizona State University
Minghui Sun, Pennsylvania State University
Michol Miller, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
2022-2023 Social Media Sub-Committee
Eva Jin, Arizona State University
Juyeon Yoo, Ohio State University
Wei Xu, Arizona State University
2021-2022 Social Media Sub-Committee
Yunjung (Eunice) Nam, Georgia State University
Tetiana Tytko, University of Maryland, College Park
Gordon West, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Sophia Minnillo, University of California, Davis
2020-2021 Social Media Sub-Committee
Yunjung (Eunice) Nam, Georgia State University
Larissa Goulart, Northern Arizona University
Tetiana Tytko, University of Maryland, College Park
2019-2020 Social Media Sub-Committee
Josiah Murphy, Kent State University
Yunjung (Eunice) Nam, Georgia State University
Yi Wang, University of Arizona
Larissa Goulart, Northern Arizona University
Svetlana Koltovskaia, Oklahama State University
2018-2019 Social Media Sub-Committee
Nicole Deschene, New York University
Andrea Lypka, University of South Florida
Maria Ruiz-Martinez, University of Colorado
2017-2018 Social Media Sub-Committee
James Coda, University of Georgia
Shyam Pandey, Purdue University
Jui-Hsin (Renee) Hung, Indiana University-Bloomington
2016-2017 Social Media Sub-Committee
Jessica Lian, Georgia State University