Sara Young
Senior Lecturer of Spanish
Language
New Cabell Hall 466
Office Hours: TTh, 3:00-4:00pm & by appt. via Zoom
Education
Graduate Certificate in AI in Teaching and Learning, University of South Florida (expected May 2027)
M.A. in Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literatures (concentration in Hispanic Studies), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (2013)
M.A.T., concentration in Secondary Education (6-12), James Madison University (2009)
B.A. in Modern Foreign Language (concentration in Spanish); minors in Pre-professional Secondary Education and Teaching English As A Second Language, James Madison University (2008)
Teaching
University of Virginia (2016-Present)
SPAN 2010: Intermediate Spanish
SPAN 1060: Accelerated Elementary Spanish
SPAN 1020: Elementary Spanish
Elon University (2014-2016)
SPN 121: Elementary Spanish I
SPN 122: Elementary Spanish II
SPN 124: Intensive Elementary Spanish I and II
Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute (2014, 2016)
GLS 150: Grammar, Listening, and Speaking 150
GLS 350: Grammar, Listening, and Speaking 350
RW 450: Reading and Writing 450
Other Teaching Experience (2009-2011)
High School Spanish Teacher
Service
Faculty AI Guide, Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost / Center for Teaching Excellence, 2026-Present
Member, Ad Hoc Promotion Committee (AGFM), Department of Spanish, Italian & Portuguese, 2026-Present
Participant, Talkio AI Pilot Program, Learning Design & Technology, 2026-Present
Member, Sponsored Events Committee, Department of Spanish, Italian & Portuguese, 2026-Present
Speaker Series Coordinator, Institute of World Languages, 2025-Present
Co-Creator, Club de corredores y caminantes, Department of Spanish, Italian & Portuguese, 2023-Present
Pre-Major Advisor, College of Arts & Sciences, 2023-2025
Member, Committee for Three Assistant Professors of Spanish (AGFM), Department of Spanish, Italian & Portuguese, 2024
Spanish Faculty Advisor, Department of Spanish, Italian & Portuguese, 2021-2023
Creator, Free Spanish Tutoring Program (SPAN 1060-2020), Department of Spanish, Italian & Portuguese, 2017-2023
Co-Organizer, ePortfolio Peer Consultant Program, College of Arts & Sciences, 2021-2022
Member, Committee for Lecturer of Chinese (AGFM), Department of East Asian Languages, Literatures & Cultures, 2021
Member, Fall 2020 Planning Committee, Department of Spanish, Italian & Portuguese, 2020
Summer Faculty Academic Advisor, College of Arts & Sciences, 2019
Grants & Awards
Thrive GenAI Course Development Grant, Center for Teaching Excellence, 2026
Language Commons Activity Award: “Spanish Corner: Partner Practice with AI,” Institute of World Languages, 2026
Sponsored Events Committee Grant with Jennifer Barlow: “Spanish Community Dinner,” Department of Spanish, Italian & Portuguese, 2026
Sponsored Events Committee Grant with Jennifer Barlow: “Spanish Community Dinner,” Department of Spanish, Italian & Portuguese, 2025
Thrive Pedagogical Innovation Grant with Jennifer Hogg: “Self-Regulation in Language Learning,” Center for Teaching Excellence, 2024-2025
Learning Technology Incubator Grant: “Volunteer Tutoring Program for Lower-Level Language Learning,” Learning Design & Technology, 2018-2019
Presentations
Young, S., & Simotas, S., “Assignment Redesign with AI in Mind,” GenAI Conversation Series, Institute of World Languages, University of Virginia, Online, October 2, 2026.
Young, S., “Volunteer Tutoring Program for Lower-Level Language Learning: A Pedagogical Model,” SOLPHE 2025: Symposium on Language Pedagogy in Higher Education, Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA), University of Minnesota, Online, October 3, 2025.