Sarah O'Neill

2026 Outstanding Graduate Mentor of the Year Award

College of Arts & Sciences | World Languages & Cultures

Sarah is an educator whose practice involves teaching beginning and intermediate Spanish learners while also directing a graduate program for language teachers. At the core of her work with graduate students lies a deep respect for students’ agency and how they will leverage their experiences in the Master of Second Language Teaching program. She aims to prepare them for careers in language education characterized by strong pedagogical practice, leadership opportunities, and contributions to their field. In Spring 2025, Sarah became the director and graduate program coordinator of the Master of Science in Second Language Teaching program. This was at the precise moment that MS-SLT became a completely online, asynchronous program. Since then, her perspective has expanded to include considerations of connection-building on a program level. She is striving to create an online master’s in which graduate students know and interact with their cohort, engage with their local teaching community, and connect meaningfully with USU mentors as well as experts in pedagogical research and best practices.

In addition to her teaching and leadership roles, Sarah remains committed to continual improvement of her own teaching and mentorship through robust engagement with USU’s Empowering Teaching Excellence program.