We are pleased to announce the newest addition to TIRF, as Iris Koppenheffer fills the position of Impact Intern! This role aims to expand the reach of our work and promote the ways the Foundation improves language education around the world. Specifically, Iris will look at the ways that TIRF research funds are used by researchers and other awardees through surveys and interviews, with the end goal of crafting a narrative that will be circulated on social media and on the TIRF website.

Originally from Washington, DC, Iris Koppenheffer is a junior majoring in International Studies and Linguistics and minoring in French at Macalester College in Saint Paul, MN. She is passionate about languages and language equity, and studies Japanese and French. She recently returned from a semester abroad in Paris, where she interned at a non-profit focused on social work, assisting elderly immigrants as they navigate French bureaucracy. She also has strong interests outside of school in music, crochet, dance, and art, to name a few. This summer, she will be working with a professor to research and edit a collection of letters between Langston Hughes and a South African history teacher named Sylvia Titus, which will culminate in a published work.

TIRF’s internship will allow Iris to continue her path working in the non-profit sector, and gain new skills in effective communication through media. This internship is an opportunity for Iris to apply her expertise in linguistics to a foundation that makes a tangible impact on language education research across the globe, connecting academia with the professional world.

Please join us in welcoming Iris to the TIRF community!