By Hazel Denother

Senior Malachi Cecil is a shining example of the bright young students on Lindenwood’s campus. This May, he will graduate with a triple-major in International Relations, Political Science, and Spanish with minors in French and Chinese Studies. During his time at Lindenwood, Cecil has explored his interests in languages, cultures, and international affairs in his ambitious interdisciplinary curriculum, and he will leave Lindenwood with the multicultural know-how and global awareness so vital in our modern world.

Cecil displays an inspiring love of foreign languages and a constant drive to master new material. He’s always practicing one language or another, and he pushes himself to reach impressive levels of fluency and expertise. Cecil’s linguistic fascination and deep cultural empathy have led him to develop highly valuable language skills that will benefit him for the rest of his life. He explains, “I really enjoy being able to communicate with people in other languages, and especially being able to speak with someone in their first language—I think you get to know people much better if you are able to speak their first language.”

His thoughtfulness, warm demeanor, and infectious academic enthusiasm make him easy to communicate and collaborate with. He’s a wonderful classmate and student, and his professors say that he’s a joy to have in class. Cecil was recognized for his academic dedication in April 2020 when he was awarded the prestigious School of Humanities Spanish Award.

Cecil’s ambition extends far beyond the classroom door. He is actively involved in the Lindenwood community; he co-founded a martial arts club on campus his freshman year, and he co-founded the Lindenwood chapter of the John Quincy Adams Society his junior year. Off campus, Cecil completed a challenging and deeply enriching Spanish internship with Refugio in St. Louis, after which he was offered a longer-term position with the organization. At Refugio, Cecil helps people navigate the United States immigration system and offers interpretation services while also helping with fundraising and grant writing.

After graduation, Cecil will work at Flashpoint Intel as an analyst on the tactical threat monitoring team. He states, “My career aspirations have been basically to work using languages on international security issues, so I was really lucky to get the opportunity to work for Flashpoint.”

Cecil appreciates the flexibility that Lindenwood has provided him, allowing him to pursue his several fields of interest. He is grateful for the faculty’s encouragement and guidance: “My advisors (Dr. Maite Nuñez-Betelu, Dr. Brian Arendt, and Dr. Nancy Durbin) have been incredible, as have so many other professors. They helped me so much through my whole time at Lindenwood.”

Lindenwood commencement is a bittersweet affair. The university will miss our talented seniors like Malachi Cecil, but we are thrilled to watch them go on to achieve wonderful things. Cecil’s advanced cultural sensitivity makes him a caring and thoughtful community member, and his passion and skill will surely take him far.