Mônica Salerno, PhD

Mônica Salerno, PhD

Portuguese Instructor

Hello! My name is Mônica Senna Salerno and I’m a Brazilian scientist born in Rio de Janeiro. I hold a MSc from Brazil and a PhD from Australia. I’m a native Portuguese speaker, and fluent in English and Italian, having lived and worked in Brazil, Australia, Italy, and NZ. The experience of working effectively as part of teams with very diverse cultural backgrounds (scientific labs are real Babel Towers in miniature) have allowed me to develop a broad understanding and proficiency in working on multicultural environments. However, Aotearoa is the place I call home. Besides the biological sciences I have a special interest in mythology, and I enjoy literature, cinema, pottery and football (the real one) and cheese making (I had an award winning boutique goat cheese company). Language is culture, and I am hoping to be able to help students enjoy themselves while attaining new knowledge.