Posted on August 10, 2020 at 9:57 AM by Denise Cartina
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Karina Duncker Hoffmann is a proud Naperville resident since 2005. She received her M.A in English in Foreign Language and Secondary Education from Hamburg University, Germany. She worked as a director of international professional training at Beiersdorf AG in Hamburg, Germany, and taught English and German at high schools, companies, and universities in Japan, Italy and USA. In Germany and Japan she also worked with programs for cultural orientation and integration.
She has been teaching German and English as a Second Language at North Central College since 2008, and German at Loyola University since 2011. She left Loyola in 2018 to concentrate on North Central College and her Ph.D. Students rave about her cutting-edge teaching style and creativity. Karina is known for challenging students to think critically; organizing excursions to museums and conferences; cooking delicious German dinners at home; and, her magnetic personality. She accomplishes all this while working on her Ph.D. degree from UIC in Germanic Studies.
Karina has impacted the lives of many international students studying and living in Naperville. Through the Friendship Family Program at North Central College, she and her family have generously opened their home to give students the opportunity to build relationships and share cultures in a unique, personal, and fulfilling way. As a host mom, Karina teaches students about both American and German cultures, intercultural communication, English conversation; and, introduces them to the beauty of Naperville and Chicago. Karina has built lifelong relationships with her international students, and they have forged many unforgettable memories in Naperville, their second home."
Nominated by Jelena Sanchez