When I first came to UMass, I had no idea what I wanted to major in…even less of an idea that I would end up getting a degree in Spanish. I knew shortly after I learned to walk, however, that I am not the type meant for an office job, or for that matter anything that restricts me from running around, kicking down doors, and catching bad guys. Maybe I watched way too much Law and Order growing up, but nevertheless I decided one day that I wanted to pursue military service and eventually a career as an FBI agent. I ended up enrolling at UMass in the fall of 2010 as a Political Science major.

I chose Polisci because a good friend of mine’s parents are both agents and told me it was the most useful major to pursue Government work. I also started a Spanish minor simply because I got good grades in Spanish classes in high school and figured a second language would only help my chances of making the rigorous cut into the Bureau. I didn’t even know what Political Science was before I got to my very first POLISCI101 lecture, but figured I would do whatever it took to get to where I wanted to be in the long run, right? Within a week I realized, however, that I hated politics, slept through every class, and really only was interested in studying crime and war. I also realized I knew little to nothing about American history, had never voted in my life, and had spent half of my life living in Europe, so I felt out of place, uninformed, and unwelcome in the class. So I switched to Sociology, pursued a Criminal Justice Certificate, and never gave POLISCI a second chance.

I enjoyed being a Sociology major throughout the remainder of my freshman year, but I also quickly realized that only a few of the major requirements involved Criminal Justice. I wanted to take every class possible that involved crimes, murder, delinquency, etc., but nothing else…especially the two Statistics requirements. I just couldn’t find my niché in college, so I considered dropping out after freshman year and joining the Marine Corps – to pursue the FBI from the strictly military angle. I had a contract written up solely awaiting my signature on my kitchen table that summer, but my mother begged me to get an education first: to stay because she never had the opportunity to go to college growing up in Ireland. And thus I felt too guilty to say no to my mother for all that she has done/does for me every day, and I returned to UMass for sophomore year, with no idea what I was still doing here besides trying to make the most important person in my life proud.

At the start of my sophomore year I happened to be enrolled in a few Spanish classes for my minor and liked them a lot, so took a leap of faith and decided I would become a (SPAN) major, changing yet a third time. I had no idea what I could do with a Spanish degree besides teach, which I had no interest in at the time, but figured it was better than anything else I had tried. I more or less became a Spanish major completely by accident and without any idea why I was doing so, yet it was the most beautiful and best thing that could have ever happened to me.

At first I had no idea what classes I would have to take after I finished my grammar, culture, and composition requirements, because after all how much could any language entail? My thoughts were so ridiculously wrong and naïve that they are embarrassing to admit to this day. But I am proud to say today, two years later, my perception of the major, the importance of language, and my love for my studies have changed completely and have exploded beyond belief. There are roughly 10-11 Spanish courses that you have to take to complete a Spanish major at UMass, but after this semester I will have taken about 20 classes within the Spanish Department and related disciplines (ie. Catalan, Portuguese, and Latin American Studies).

As a senior I cannot stress enough to underclassmen how UNBELIEVABLE and UNIQUE this major really is, because you can satisfy several of your requirements according to your personal interests and take classes in a variety of ways. For instance, I have Spanish courses at UMass in Literature, Linguistics, Grammar, Oral and Written Composition, Cinema, Culture, and History. In addition, I have taken a Foreign Languages Teaching Methodology course, a Business Spanish course, and an Independent Research Study. I have taken the majority of these courses in the stereotypical manner of a regular class meeting a few times a week in Herter Hall, but also have received direct GPA credit to my major for tutoring at the Boys and Girls Club in Holyoke, taking a class online, participating in the Integrative Experience Blog, studying Portuguese as a third language, and best of all, by taking two classes 4,000 miles away from UMass in Spain.

Once I started taking multiple Spanish courses at the same time, my interest in the major truly flourished and my perceptions of the major expanded to see how much is really involved in any/all language(s). I also improved my speaking, listening, and writing skills in this way, because I stopped taking classes in English entirely and immersed myself as much as I possibly could at UMass (which is a little trick that underclassmen should take advantage of!).??I have to say that the MOST memorable classes I have taken for the major are the two classes that I took abroad in Spain this summer: “Spanish Culture” and “Spanish Cinema”. It sounds clique, but you cannot understand until you go that studying abroad is a life changing experience. Simply the reality of living and breathing the same air of the people that lived during the time periods that you read about in class is a very authentic and unique experience. It is one thing to study Franquismo, for instance, and is totally another to walk the very streets of Spain where he ruled as dictator and see how life has gone on/what remnants remain of his reign decades after his death. Studying in Salamanca and spending time in a Spanish speaking country for the first time where I couldn’t rely on English/was forced to speak the language was the most moving and special component of my time as a Spanish major. It made me realize how Spanish is far more than just a language to me, and that it is my passion, a part of how I think and see the world, and perhaps the music of my soul.

Another extremely memorable class that I have taken at UMass is the Holyoke Tutorial Program (398A). In the fall of 2012, I volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holyoke (with fellow UMass Spanish/Portuguese majors) as a tutor for 5-8 year old underprivileged Hispanic children. This class stands out amongst my experiences as a Spanish major because it was the most unique way that I have received credit as an Undergraduate. I earned 3 credits doing more than just reading books, doing homework, and taking tests like I would in a normal course. I actually had the opportunity to work with people, apply what I had learned over years of studying Spanish language/culture, and mix my knowledge/use of both Spanish and English while speaking to the children at the Boys and Girls Club. I was able to make friends with many of the children who constantly made me laugh, cheered me up after a long day of classes, and opened my eyes to how lucky I am to pursue higher education. I left the Boys and Girls Club every night often worrying about the well-being of “my kids” in inner-city Holyoke as if they were my own, thinking of the “what ifs”: What if Jasmine needed more help with her math homework? Her mother hated math. What if Nana wanted to tell someone about her day? The other kids wouldn’t listen, she told me. Or if Xavier needed a friend to shoot some hoops with? LATINAM398A was an extremely memorable experience for me because it opened my eyes to the importance of teaching and peer mentorship. I hope to apply what I learned and loved by participating in this program to a teaching position in the near future and am particularly interested in working with bilingual students in a similar, inner-city setting. As a result, I am in the process of seeking summer employment at the Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester, in hopes of working with underprivileged youth in neighborhoods around my own city.

Another exceptionally memorable class that I have taken in the Spanish/Portuguese Department that has changed my perception of the major and informed me of the depth of the major is (SPAN597J) “Foreign Language Teaching Methodology”. I loved this class because it was the first course I have taken in my life, both at UMass and in Salamanca included, where my classmates were natives from Spain. It was a very beautiful thing to return to UMass this semester as enrolled in this class, because I felt like I had a little bit of Spain with me at all times, something that I had been missing a lot since my return from Salamanca. We often compared cultural differences in class, and not only studied teaching, bilingual education, and language acquisition theories, but we were able to practice and prepare for future careers as language instructors. It was a very hands on and informative experience that I recommend to anyone that is interested in teaching English or Spanish domestically or abroad. You will improve your speaking skills in this course immensely by working alongside native Spanish speakers, and will definitely enjoy making a lot of new and interesting international friends.

Finally, I must say that the Integrative Experience has been a memorable course of my Spanish major. I think it is an amazing idea to hold this requirement as a two part course, in which a group meets to discuss study abroad/service learning options and fears prior to departure, and then a year later meets a second time to discuss what we learned/how we have changed. I was fascinated in class last week to see how my classmates Will, Ariel, Rima, etc. have both improved as Spanish speakers and have grown as people after they have participated in various programs open to UMass students of the Spanish/Portuguese Department. I was truly moved and couldn’t help but smile while listening to their stories and watching their eyes light up when thinking back to Uruguay, Sevilla, and working in a South Hadley Nursing Home. I really don’t consider the I.E. for Spanish/Portuguese majors as a dreaded additional Gen Ed requirement, as many of my friends in other disciplines have told me their Integrative Experiences can be. More so, I think the SPANPORT IE is more of a life-learning course that celebrates the language, culture, and people that we have crossed paths due to our common passion for. It is a class that enables Spanish and Portuguese majors to be informed about the various service learning, study abroad, and volunteer opportunities available to them as UMass students, which is not as common to larger majors at UMass and therefore should not be taken for granted. The Integrative Experience course for me has more or less been a reminder of how I don’t believe there more unique, fascinating, or more limitless Department you can select on the UMass campus than Spanish and Portuguese, as well as how proud and grateful I am to call myself a part of our unique community.

For the past 5-10 years, I have planned on graduating college and going directly into the United States Marine Corps. I have wanted to follow this dream as a token of gratitude to the country that my mother migrated to and provided my family with a better life since as long as I can remember. However, my powerful experiences as a UMass Spanish major/member of the SPANPORT community have inspired me to also seek other options before doing so. I have applied to continue studying Hispanic Literatures and Cultures at UMass in the fall of 2014, the only change being advancing to the Graduate level. I have also applied to teach English abroad in Spain for a year under a grant provided by the Spanish Ministry of Culture, Education, and Sport. To be honest, I have no idea where I will be in year and have stressed about this since the first day of senior year. However, no matter what I know that the knowledge, experience, and cultural insight that I have gained as a UMass Spanish student have prepared me beyond measure for what greatness and endless possibility lies ahead.