“When Stephanie Antetomaso read The Lord of the Rings at the age of 12, Tolkien’s classic fantasy inspired her to learn Elven, a language created by the author. She spent hours poring over the book’s appendices and doodling in Dwarvish runes. That spark ignited a fire.” (from “The science of language” in Wheaton Magazine, May 10, 2012)
“As a child, Mary Bisbee was shy and more interested in books than in people. Then her grandmother started taking her on trips to such distant places as Ecuador and Italy. The exposure to foreign cultures opened her mind and kindled in her “a sense of adventure and a desire to learn about other languages,” she says. (from Wheaton Magazine, Fall 2012)