As my time at UMass comes to a close, I have begun to ask professors for recommendation letters to send to grad schools. As a Spanish major, the professors that know me best are those who teach within the Spanish Department, and they have asked me how my major ties to my desire to earn my Master of Social Work. My goal to become a LICSW is tied in every way to the pursuit of my Spanish major over the last 6 semesters. When I first started the major, it was because I had a talent for it, and I didn’t really know where it would lead me. I grew to love it, and eventually made the goal to become a medical interpreter. It seemed like a natural choice, given my experience with the healthcare system as a result of my mother’s ALS and that, as anyone that knows me knows, I love people and interacting with those from all different backgrounds and walks of life. However, as a result of taking the first course required for the Interpreting Certificate here at UMass as well as my time studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I realized that medical interpreting may be too restricting of my personality. I began to consider what career I could pursue where I would have more professional freedom to exercise my compassion and investment in the well-being of others, all the while using my Spanish language skills. Witnessing the lack of social organization in Buenos Aires to address the needs of refugees from other countries (mainly because of the drug trade in Northern South America) as well as gaining further insight into the lives and struggles of Puerto Rican Americans in Holyoke while volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club really solidified Social Work as the career I wish to pursue. I aim to focus my skills and clinical training towards addressing the needs of underserved hispanic populations, whether here or abroad. Both the language skills I have cultivated during my time as an Undergrad at UMass Amherst as well as the personal experiences it has led me to has steered me towards continuing my education and earning my MSW because they have fostered a deep love for the the many cultures tied to the Spanish language and their unique places in both the world and U.S. society, and I feel blessed that I have found an career path that fits both my Spanish language skills and experience, and my personality as a deeply emotional and caring human being. I plan to spend a few months starting in January as an au pair for a family in Spain, in order to further develop my language skills and experience another culture tied to the Spanish language, and in the fall of 2015 I will move on to earning my MSW at either Simmons College or Bridgewater State University.