When I enrolled in Spanish 394, I really had no idea what would go on in the almost two hour long lecture class. It was the first part of the integrative experience courses that are now required for the Spanish major. The class is small enough that talking and sharing my opinions didn’t make me anxious as I might’ve been in a huge lecture, and made me feel more of a part of the class. The class meets only once a week and only requires some papers and weekly forum posts about events happening in the Latinx world. My professor, Luis Marentes, brought in different people every other week or so which was so, so helpful to me. One week he brought in a woman who knew all about Study Abroad Programs, and since I plan on studying abroad my junior year spring semester, having and hearing her in the class gave me more insight. Luis also brought in someone from career services who gave the class advice on what to do during the rest of our time here at UMass, and even after, when we’re out in the real world. She made me realize I should make an appointment with her so I can figure out/ get a better idea on what career choices I can have after graduation.
Overall, this class was way more helpful than I thought it was going to be. I especially think having guest speakers come in and advise us was super beneficial while maybe not to the seniors in my class, but to the sophomores like me. I’m glad that this class was added to the requirements because of speakers who came in and hearing about study abroad experiences from upper class men Spanish majors as well.