For Lauren Jewell, volunteering at the Swahili booth at the Lesser-Commonly-Taught Languages Coffee House was the perfect opportunity to combine her passions for tutoring and language learning. The coffee house, which took place in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room, featured 25 language booths run by volunteers from all language departments.

The coffeehouse, hosted by the Less-Commonly-Taught Languages Center, will take place in the Assembly Room of the William Pitt Union and feature 25 language booths run by professors and student volunteers representing all language departments at the university.

A “less commonly taught” language doesn’t translate into an unimportant language, and Pitt’s Less-Commonly-Taught Languages Center is working daily to spread that message to students on campus.

Marie Young left her home in Galway, Ireland, in 2001, intending to visit her brother in Pittsburgh for only three months. But what was meant to be a chance to see a little more of the world turned into...