It was quite a wonderful surprise and honor to be chosen as the Kevin Cleary Invited Speaker for the 2025 JALT International Conference. In honor of Kevin Cleary’s distinguished contribution to JALT, I have chosen to present on a topic that I am sure will resonate with educators, researchers, and JALT volunteers. This year’s conference theme is LanguageS: Learning, Teaching, Assessing—JALT 50 Years—Challenges and Perspectives. JALT has flourished for 50 years and overcome challenges through the power of collaboration, developing professional partnerships, and service. As Dykes, referring to working on a conference team, wrote, “it’s more honest and real. Ideas and opinions are shared more freely (…). You walk away with an idea of who that person is in a way often is not possible from many other scenarios” (personal communication, May 20, 2025).
