Hamilton’s international and multilingual students come from many different backgrounds, but two things bring us together: the English Speakers of Other Languages Program (ESOL), and our appreciation and love for the intelligent, kind, and dedicated woman behind it. ESOL Program Director Barbara Britt-Hysell (aka Ms. Hysell) will step down in June 2021 after 17 years on the Hill. We want to celebrate her lasting impact on students, alumni, and the larger Hamilton community.
Ms. Hysell came to Hamilton in 2003 after serving as the Dean of Students at an independent secondary school in Florida. She began working at Hamilton as a HEOP tutor. The following year, she was appointed coordinator and then director of Hamilton’s ESOL program. In 2014, she was awarded the Beverly S. and Eugene M. Tobin Employee Award for Administrators. In her annual report that year, Ms. Hysell articulated the mission of the ESOL program: “Non-native English speakers come to Hamilton with complex literacy backgrounds and experiences. As a language program, ESOL provides these students: non-native, native bi-lingual, non-native bilingual, immigrant and Generation 1.5 students, with key opportunities to gain realistic insight into how English fits their literacy and linguistic identities.”
Throughout her time on the Hill, Ms. Hysell has provided academic support through ESOL courses and tutorial sessions that help students adjust to college-level writing. However, her impact spans far beyond the classroom. Her office is the recording studio for ESOL’s weekly WHCL radio show. She helps and encourages multilingual students to share their experiences and opinions in the Spectator’s “From Where I Sit”
column. Her brunches and Thanksgiving dinners, in which charades, Utica greens, and laughter are almost always present, are the highlight of many multilingual students’ college experiences. Muhammad Najib ’18 from Pakistan describes her as “an inspiration, a shining beacon on a cold rainy night” and as “an angel, a mentor, a teacher, a role model, a parent, a host, a friend, a Godsend for us Internationals in the middle of nowhere in upstate New York.”
President of Intercultural Student Association (ICA) Maroun Mezher ’23, who hails from Lebanon, echoes that sense of gratitude. He writes, “Thank you for always being there with us [ICA], supporting us throughout our every move, every event, every program and everything. Your support really means a lot to me and to all the students of international origins on campus.”
Two professional ESOL Academic Writing Tutors, who have worked with Ms. Hysell since 2006 and 2007, also shared their thoughts. ESOL Writing Tutor Susan Goldberg notes that “in Ms. Hysell’s American Academic Essay class, students learned how to assert their ideas and opinions clearly, paving the way for success in writing at Hamilton.” ESOL Writing Tutor Nadia Greasley calls Ms. Hysell “a unique teacher.” She says, “Ms. Hysell encouraged [students] to become better writers, editors, and speakers. And to never give up.”
Long before they were in vogue, celebrating diversity, championing equity and fostering inclusion were at the core of Ms. Hysell’s work on the Hill. While teaching at Hamilton, Ms. Hysell has helped hundreds of students create their unique American context as they come to “know themselves” not only as Hamiltonians, but as literate and empathetic citizens of the world. On behalf of the international and multilingual community at Hamilton, we want to thank Ms. Hysell for her dedication, care, and tireless work. Happy retirement Ms. Hysell!
With love and appreciation,
Jiin Jeong ’21, Zhaosen Guo ’21, Aurora Cai ’21Jenny Tran ’22, Kirubel Tesfaye ’21, Amr Abdelhady ’21, Ian Nduhiu ’22, Preston Comer ’22, Liuhui Xiao ’21, Ken Fung ’21, Ishan Mainali ’21, Brian Komen ’21, Yi (Kasey) Shi ’23, George Herrera ’22, Haruna Shimizu ’21, AB Abera ’19, María Portal (Spanish TF), Yumeng Li ’24, Duc Pham ’21, Sosina Abuhay ’23, Athena Yue Zeng ’23, Yannis Makridis ’22, Belal Shaheen ’23, Christa Ingabire ’24, Matthew Shang ’22, Chiara Bondi ’22, Huzefah Umer ’21, Billy Geach ’23, Javier Pereira (Faculty — Economics), Sabrina Audisio (Faculty spouse), Hersheena Rajaram ’19, Cherry Zhang ’22, Nejla Asimovic ’16, Ujjwal Pradha ’15, Ivy Akumu ’15, Salome Kuchukhidze ’14, Ying in Mei ’16, Asad Javed ’16, Byron Johnson ’09, Luvuyo Madasa ’09, Ronald Wai ’10, Mbuotidem Isaac ’15, Luka Modebadze ’18, Ana María Diaz ’10, Agne Jakubauskaite ’13, Melissa Young ’09, Pauline Wafula ’13, Lennox Chitsike ’13, Tsion Tesfaye ’16, Almahdi Mahil ’20, Julia Hysell Ruther ’04, Jon Hysell ’72, Fan (Fiona) Xiang ’22, Lóri Fejes ’22, Michelle Liu ’23, Yongyi (Lesley) Lu ’23, John Bartle (Faculty — German and Russian Languages and Literatures), Khuslen Tulga ’23, Josephine Chong Foo Yuen ’22, Christopher Akuleme ’23, Haoying (Ivy) Huang ’22, Sandra Saldana ’19, Bitong (Shelly) Cao ’23, Gabrielle (Gab) Venne ’22, Ade Sotinwa ’21, Tianyu(Max) Wu ’23, Nick Ng ’23, Yuheng Zheng ’21, Sanju Koirala ’19, Muhammad Najib ’18, Yinjia (Missy) Hou ’24, Kate Nguyen ’15, Allen Cao ’24, Nick Chkonia ’19, Weihan Lin ’22, Lucas Jonathan Wang Zheng ’23, Rachel Lee ’22, Erol Balkan (Faculty — Economics), Risper Kirui ’19, Neha Jain ’21, Keyu Liu ’22, Emmerson Zhaime ’17, Yunlu (Luna) Zou ’24, Jafar Sharipov ’21, Susan Goldberg (ESOL Tutor), Tatenda Chakoma ’18, Kwasi Amoako ’18, Sanjog Karki ’20, Jiayue (Vanessa) Wang ’23, Nadia Greasley (ESOL Tutor), Allen Harrison, Jr. (Assistant Dean for International Students and Accessibility), Phyllis Breland ’80 (Director of Opportunity Programs, retired), Regina P. Johnson P ’20 (Staff Assistant Dean Of Students office), Chris Willemsen (Administrative Director, Levitt Center), Abishek Amar (Faculty — Asian Studies), Shalini Swaroop (Faculty spouse), Sadiq Abubakar ’15, Tawanda Mashavave ’10, Bianca Dragan ’10.
