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ENGLISH ALUM WRITES HIS WAY AROUND THE WORLD

From right here in Denver to across the world in Kyrgyzstan, Denis Illige-Saucier (M.A., English, 2009) is a prime example of a University of Denver liberal arts renaissance man: a writer, educator, traveler and returned Peace Corps volunteer.

Born and raised in Denver, Illige-Saucier felt that the option to receive his M.A. without leaving this community was very appealing — but, as he said, "I wouldn't have gone somewhere that didn't meet my standards just for the sake of staying in Denver."

"I feel very fortunate that DU provided me with the chance to study with outstanding faculty while also being a smaller, nimble program that gave me the flexibility to incorporate all of my scholarly interests into my studies," he added.

He chose to pursue a Masters in English because, as he explained, "I have loved books for as long as I could remember, and although I love experiencing great stories on their own terms, I also like to tease apart why and how things work. It's a commonplace to dismiss things as 'mere rhetoric', but I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to understand more about the power that human beings possess to use black marks on a page to put ideas into the minds of other people."

On campus, Illige-Saucier worked as a consultant at the Writing Center, where he had the opportunity to help students working on writing in a variety of disciplines. "There's nothing like the light bulb moment when a student realizes the power their ideas can have when they put them into words effectively," Saucier explained.

Upon graduating from DU in 2009, Illige-Saucier taught composition for half a year before joining the Peace Corps, where he served primarily as an English instructor at the University of Central Asia in the mountainous province of Naryn, Kyrgyzstan. While in practice, he did a lot of teacher-training for local secondary school English teachers, he feels that his most significant work was actually helping the university, which had only been founded a few years before his arrival, to develop and implement its English programs.

One special accomplishment of Illige-Saucier's during his time in the Peace Corps was his work in organizing the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps celebration in his province of Naryn. This event featured the U.S. Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, as well as local dignitaries like the provincial governor, with over 100 locals in attendance. They received positive coverage both in their local newspaper and from the Ambassador, who additionally gave a speech written by Illige-Saucier for the event.

After completing his Peace Corps service, he got a job as a program manager for Language ETC, a non-profit that provides educational programs, most of which are low-cost English classes, to adult immigrants in the Washington DC metro area. He gives DU ample credit for the career path he continues on today, especially its faculty. "My time at DU helped me grow from someone who enjoys learning interesting new things to someone who is able to dig deeply into what I learn and then share it effectively with others," he said. "My passion for education could not have been better served by the professors who were not only role models, but actively shared their wisdom."

"Denis' professional journey thus far demonstrates creativity, success and desire to improve the world – all of which are important aspects and results of a liberal arts education at DU," Dean Anne McCall stated. "He is a wonderful role model for our students today."