Stories

Octavio (Tavi) De Leon ’23 will be an English teaching assistant in Mexico for the coming academic year. A San Francisco native, De Leon is an English major, with a double minor in theater and political science.  At SCU’s Department of Theatre and Dance, he has been an actor, costume designer, and set designer. He has performed in several SCU productions including “Eurydice,” “Charisma,” “To the Bone,” and “The Giants Have Us in Their Books.” He also worked on costume and scene designs for “The Book of Will” last fall.

De Leon is the president of the University’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society, and recently presented talks on “The Threat of Inflammatory Fake News” and “Film and Media: Film and Cultural Studies” at the society’s annual conference in Colorado.

As a Canterbury Scholar, he conducted research on “Teaching Writing Instruction Equitably to Multilingual Students at SCU.” On May 23, De Leon will present his research on ways that the English department can better support the growing community of multilingual and international students to the English department. That research will be published as a website at the end of the year.

Since his sophomore year, De Leon has worked as a writing tutor at The HUB writing center, an experience that t inspired him to apply to the Fulbright program. “I have met many international and multilingual students at SCU from this job, and have found tutoring, especially with students with different backgrounds, language histories, and nationalities than me, to be so rewarding,” he said. 

While in Mexico, he is looking forward to expanding his Spanish skills and being fully immersed in the country’s language, culture, food, and art. After completing the Fulbright Program, De Leon plans to attend law school, with an interest in international law.

About the Fulbright U.S. Student Program
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 155 countries worldwide. For further information please visit https://us.fulbrightonline.org/.