Our History
“I NEVER DREAMED I WOULD EVER BE HERE! I MEAN, I DREAMT IT,
BUT I NEVER ACTUALLY BELIEVED IT COULD BECOME MY REALITY.”
Those were Makeva’s words as she stood, teary-eyed, beneath the Eiffel Tower during her first study abroad experience. For her, a girl who grew up in the St. Bernard Projects of New Orleans and later relocated to Jackson, Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina, speaking French in Paris once felt impossible.
But that moment became the spark for everything that would follow.
Where the Vision Began:
As the oldest of three to a single mother, Makeva learned early about resilience, responsibility, and the power of opportunity. Her passion for languages took hold as a 9th-grade student—one year after losing her home to Katrina—and quickly grew into a pathway that opened doors to travel, study abroad, and global connection.
Studying French and Spanish at the University of Louisiana Monroe led her to teach her first French classes as a college student, tutor language learners, and eventually live and study in Belgium. Her graduate experience in Intercultural Communication at UMBC deepened her understanding that language learning is not just academic — it is transformational.
It shifts perspectives.
It builds bridges.
It expands possibilities.
And Makeva couldn’t ignore the reality: students in low-income communities, like the one she came from, rarely had access to these opportunities.
Turning Passion Into Purpose:
After years of teaching in middle and high schools across Louisiana, Maryland, and Mississippi, coaching student groups through World Language Festivals, French Quarter tours, and international study programs, Makeva saw the same pattern again and again:
Students loved languages.
Students thrived when exposed to new cultures.
But access depended entirely on zip code.
By 2020, after a decade of teaching, travel curation, and cultural programming, she founded Immersed Global with a clear mission:
To bridge the gap between underserved communities and global opportunities through world languages, intercultural competence, and global communication training.
Makeva is driven by the quote, “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world,” by philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein — a belief that continues to guide our mission today.
And no community should be limited simply because of income or geography. Her career shows a consistent thread: connecting people to the world through language, culture, and transformative experiences.
Forming the Immersion Cities Model:
In 2023, Makeva established Madame Armant’s Immersion Cities, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit branch of Immersed Global, to expand this mission beyond classrooms.
Immersion Cities was designed as an ecosystem—a place where children and families could learn languages, experience culture, and discover new talents through:
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Community events
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Global arts programming
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Leadership development
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Summer language immersion camps
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Cultural exchange opportunities
The model was inspired by her own journey: the teachers and mentors who bridged the gap for her, the international experiences that shaped her identity, and her commitment to ensuring those opportunities weren’t reserved for the privileged few.
A New Chapter: Immersed Global 2.0:
In 2025, Immersed Global & Madame Armant's Immersion Cities launched a more intentional, structured approach to making global education accessible:
A 3-step journey that includes
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Pre-camp virtual language learning (Parts A & B)
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Daytime Summer Immersion Camps for children ages 6–11
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Post-camp cultural learning abroad trip
The first pilot is being developed in partnership with JA BizTown in Salisbury, MD, with plans to replicate the model in Baltimore City.
Through language instruction, global readiness training, financial literacy, cultural arts, storytelling, and community leadership, Immersed Global continues to evolve into a hub for world-class, culturally rich programming for families who historically have not had access.
Our Commitment:
Immersed Global exists because one young woman realized that her world expanded the moment she learned a new language — and that every child deserves that same chance.
We envision a world where:
No neighborhood is left out of global opportunity.
No child is told that travel or languages “aren’t for them.”
Every family has access to tools that build confidence, connection, and cultural awareness.
The journey began with Makeva standing under the Eiffel Tower, whispering a dream she hardly believed she could claim.
Now that dream is a mission, a movement, and a promise:
To open the world to communities who have always deserved it.