Karen Munoz-Foster is from Santiago, Chile, and studied in our ELL Program in fall of 2016. While a student in ELL, she continually reached out to befriend her classmates as well as help them academically—one of her teacher’s described her as the “glue” that held her class together. In 2018, she was hired by ELL as a student assistant and always goes above and beyond her job description to ensure students receive the aid they need, even if it means walking them down to the admissions office herself to translate and help resolve an issue. This past year, in particular, has been busy whirlwind full of change and milestones for her. She married Josh Foster last fall, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy in July, and graduated with a BS in Psychology from UVU in August, 2020. She plans to start UVU’s brand new Mental Health Master’s Degree Program in Fall of 2021. Although Karen is extremely generous, kind and empathetic, she can turn those qualities into a powerful force when advocating for minority, students’ and women’s rights. Congratulations Karen--we’re so proud of you and look forward to what the future will bring

Kevin Larc is originally from Mexico, and has been living in Utah for almost four years. Kevin and his wife Brittney have two adorable twin girls, Harper and Charlotte, who are seven months old. Kevin works full time at DoTERRA, and is also a full-time student. Kevin excels in his studies and is an inspiration to his classmates. He enjoys spending time with his family, meeting people from other countries, playing Xbox, traveling, watching movies and soccer (Real Madrid!), and eating tacos, arepas and pupusas. Kevin also loves to swim. As a teenager, he swam competitively, and was a high-performance athlete in both swimming and running (10K and 20K). Kevin is friendly, kind and outgoing. Whenever his classmates need help, he’s always first to lend a hand. He works hard to achieve his goal of learning all he can until he is fluent in English. After he completes the ESL program, Kevin wants to get a bachelor’s degree in business at UVU.

Kevin is a tenured associate professor in the Program of English Language Learning, and has been teaching at the university since 2001. He had a rather unique childhood in that he grew up in Herriman State Park, Idaho, with seemingly endless miles of pristine nature serving as his backyard. As a child, he spent long summer days exploring the park on his own, developing a deep love, sense of awe, and profound respect for the great outdoors. Kevin’s unique and somewhat “wild” childhood, served as a catalyst for him developing ELL’s signature “Capitol Reef” curriculum, focusing on local and global environmental issues of land, natural resources, wildlife, and sustainability. Teaching this curriculum steered Kevin into his dissertation topic examining a place-based eco-pedagogy. Kevin received his Ph. D. in Education, Culture & Society with an emphasis in Language, Culture & Curriculum from the University of Utah in December 2020. Kevin, we’d all like to congratulate you on completing your dissertation—an eloquent culmination of your life’s work and passion!