Jill Trites
Senior teaching specialist

Educational background

• Certificate in Chinese language and linguistics
  Nankai University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
• B.S. in chemistry, Chinese, and communications
  Minnesota State University, Moorhead, Minnesota
• M.A. in teaching English as a second language
  University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Additional graduate coursework in second languages and cultures education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Jill (JT) Trites is a senior teaching specialist in the Department of Postsecondary Teaching and Learning in the College of Education and Human Development. Prior to teaching in PSTL, JT taught in several other programs at the University of Minnesota, including the Minnesota English Center (CLA), international teaching assistant program (CLA, IT), Neighborhood Programs (CCE), and the General College. JT has also taught English at Nankai University and Tianjin University in the People’s Republic of China and cultural orientation courses for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Nairobi, Kenya. In addition, she has spent time during the past two summers volunteering as an English teacher to elementary and high school students in Mozambique.

Trites’ activities include traveling throughout the U.S. and overseas; volunteering annually for Hurricane Katrina relief in Ocean Springs, Mississippi; talking to anyone who will listen to her in English, Spanish, or Mandarin Chinese; and spending quality time with friends and family.

Trites’ research interests include the impact of disrupted education on higher education attainment in East African immigrants and refugees living in the Twin Cities, the acculturation of the Lost Boys to life in Fargo, North Dakota, and technology-enhanced learning in communication courses.