As a transfer student, I didn’t feel like I had enough time to spend an entire semester studying abroad during my time at UMass. I would have had to start figuring out all the logistics during my first semester on campus and then leave for my second semester. I potentially could have studied abroad during my senior year, but I also had to think about completing my Honors College thesis. While I don’t regret my decision to stay at UMass instead of spending a semester abroad, I am determined to find another way to go abroad after graduating.

I spent one month in Guatemala taking Spanish classes before I transferred to UMass and that was a wonderful experience. It was the first time I had left the United States, and it shifted my world view in ways I did not expect. However, I don’t believe that one month is enough time for language immersion. I had only begun to get settled and feel comfortable where I was and before I knew it, it was time to leave. A semester is a solid amount of time to be abroad, but I think that a year is ideal for language learning and getting to know a new place.

The Spanish Department at UMass has wonderful professors and really interesting classes, but let’s be honest: one does not achieve fluency in a language by taking the 12 or so classes required to be a Spanish Major. In order to get fluent in a language, you have to be using that language like every day! You need to understand language in use as opposed to only knowing lo que dice la Real Academia Española.

For this reason, I am going to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in Latin America after I graduate. Fulbright Scholarships are prestigious awards with which you can spend a year in another country either teaching English or doing research through an institution in that country. UMass has a great record of applicants who have received Fulbright scholarships, and the Office of Nation Scholarship Advisement (ONSA) on campus helps you a lot to make your application great. Some countries have more positions than others, for example, places like Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic usually only have two positions while Mexico and Colombia usually have at least fifty. If a Fulbright scholarship sounds interesting to you, don’t wait to talk to the people at ONSA. The application process is long and if you want to apply for the year after you graduate, your application has to be complete by late August before your senior year.

There are other ways to get jobs/scholarships/internships abroad after graduating and I’m currently looking into those other options. One way or another, I definitely want to spend a year abroad. I don’t want to lose my Spanish, and if I don’t use it, I’ll lose it.