I originally decided to choose Spanish as my major because I wanted to learn a new language. After my first semester at UMass Amherst participating in the Spanish program I am now questioning what will my future career be, and how can I relate my Spanish major to that field. I want to be a teacher, and after reviewing the STEP program for Spanish majors at UMass, I have decided that I wouldn’t really enjoy teaching a language as much as I thought at the beginning of this semester. Now I have decided to double Major in History and Spanish completing the STEP program for History, because really my fascination with History is what led me to major in Spanish in the first place.

As a student of History I am fascinated with what the world of the America’s looked like before Columbus’ arrival. I would like to get my Master’s in History somewhere along the Andes with a focus on the Inca’s civilization, and their predecessors. Instead of using my Spanish major to teach like I initially played to do, I hope to use the major in my course of study in Latin America. With a Spanish major I believe I could get a job teaching ESL in Latin America while I work towards my Masters in History.

I hope to use the knowledge I attain while working towards my double major in Spanish, and History at UMass to get into a Master’s program that interests me in Latin America. I believe if I achieve these goals, that as a teacher I will have the knowledge and first hand experience to teach in an engaging and inspiring manner. For instance, last summer I went and studied in Antigua, Guatemala for one month, and the inspiration I attained only in a few weeks of time has driven me to continue forward in my quest in seeking to experience first hand the amazing beauty and living History of our world. There I saw the ruins of the Spanish empire, and the Mayan people and the beautiful colors of their dresses and garments. I went into cathedrals built in the 16th century, I climbed a Volcano and spent the night up there in the clouds. I lived with a Mayan family for a week and worked with them to build a fence around one of there children’s newly purchased land. I hope to bring these experiences and knowledge to a classroom of History students and encourage them to go out and seek the world and its languages and to become aware of how we are all entwined in its History. I hope to use my Spanish major to project me internationally in my studies of History, giving me first hand experiences in Historical places around the world.