Ayelen Costa

Ayelen (pronounced Ash-eh-LEN) is a first year MA student.  Born and raised in Argentina, she moved to the United States as a young teenager with her immediate family.  It was then that she started to study French, as part of fulfilling a promise to a childhood best friend.  She continued on to earn a BA in French and Psychology from the University of Missouri in 2012, as well as a minor in Women and Gender Studies.  She then worked in Bordeaux, France as an English language assistant through TAPIF.  In 2014, after falling in love with the art of French pastry, she moved to Chicago, IL where she eventually attended the French Pastry School and worked as a pastry cook and baker for several years.  During some of those years, her love of French and her interest in second language acquisition translated as tutoring on the side, taking French conversational classes, and teaching Spanish to children.  She then decided it was time to return to school to pursue graduate studies, and is moving to Colorado with her dog.