Monthly Archives: December 2022

Get your TESOL certificate while studying Spanish at UMass!

I began my time here at UMass with a lot of uncertainty as to what my career path would be after school. As I have come to learn choosing a career path is a decision that can be made concretely, or you can adapt yourself to life’s circumstances as your desires change. In order to make myself more adaptable for the future, I decided to get my TESOL certificate while pursuing a major in Spanish. The TESOL certificate certifies me to teach English as a second or other language. I hope to use this certificate to teach English in a Spanish-speaking country while I enhance my Spanish fluency. After I feel more confident in my Spanish skills, I’d like to either further my education in the field, or perhaps if I am enjoying teaching English as a foreign language continue in that field.

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Community Service with Holyoke Homework House

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In my final semester here at UMass Amherst, I have been volunteering for two hours, once a week at Holyoke Homework House. Homework house is a national organization that has sites throughout the U.S. One of these locations is in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The organization is a non-profit that provides teachers, and tutors, to underserved communities to function as afterschool caretakers. These teachers and tutors help students with their homework afterschool free of charge. It provides underserved working-class families a place for their kids to go after school while they are at work.

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UMass Spanish STEP Program

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Interested in teaching Spanish after you graduate? You should consider applying for the STEP (Secondary Teacher Education Program) program here at UMass Amherst! The program gives students an opportunity to graduate with a license to teach Spanish (grades 5-12). You’ll work closely with the director of the program to complete the required exams, enroll in the required courses, put together a portfolio that demonstrates your knowledge and experience, and you’ll even be able to student teach during your Senior year! Though it seems daunting, the experience has been an incredibly fulfilling one for me. I love student teaching and it only makes me that much more excited to teach in my own classroom in the future. And don’t worry if you didn’t know about the program early on – I only found out about it halfway through my Junior year.

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Injured abroad

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What is a parent’s biggest fear when sending their child off to school or on a trip? Most would say having the kid getting hurt or sick and being too far away to help. Well my parents had to live through that.

They were having a casual Thursday night watching Game of Thrones on the couch when suddenly my mom’s phone started ringing. When she picked it up she was greeted by me sobbing so hard I was barely able to speak. I kept repeating “I hurt my knee” and “I can’t walk”. Of course, they went into a panic. I was 3,600 miles away from them and claimed to be seriously injured. A parent’s worst nightmare.

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Spanish & health certificate and possible job opportunities

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What brought my interest to the Spanish field? Well, as a child I have seen that there are a lot of language barriers that don’t allow individuals to have access to healthcare or other public services. My parents both speak Spanish because they are from Guatemala. They understand a little bit of English, but they can’t speak it. They always need an interpreter, but sometimes there isn’t one available. Due to this, I decided to practice my Spanish more in order to develop it further and support my community, since being bilingual in Spanish and English I could help my community to not feel uncomfortable when there isn’t a person who can translate the language they don’t understand.

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Fit, fun, and abroad.

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Ever since my first trip to Spain in 2017 with my high school exchange program, I knew I would do whatever it took to be able to return. Four years later as I began to pack my bags for my semester abroad, I was filled with anxiety. There were many factors contributing to that feeling. I was nervous about being in a new place, my Spanish not being strong enough, making friends, and being thousands of miles away from my home. But at the forefront of my mind, was how/if I was going to be able to maintain my health and fitness.

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What is Portuñol and how to Avoid it

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I grew up speaking Spanish in my home and learning Spanish throughout school. I lived in Miami for a bit and we frequently traveled back and forth from Buenos Aires to visit family and friends. I have been able to utilize my Spanish so much while growing up in the US and I have witnessed the first hand value of having two languages, which pushed me to learn a third. Portuguese is quite similar to Spanish. With sharing so much vocabulary and having similar grammar rules, going from Spanish to Portuguese I felt like I already had a foot in the door. However, due to the close proximity in the languages I have begun speaking the hybrid of Portuñol.

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A Summer Abroad in Salamanca 2022

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Ever since I was a little kid, I had always wanted to travel around the world. In high school, I had the opportunity to go on a trip during spring break to Costa Rica. I was extremely excited and thought that this was something I could not pass up. As my first time abroad in a Spanish-speaking country was wrapping up, I knew I wanted more. I had indeed gotten the travel bug, and I knew for sure that my next stop abroad would be Spain.

Fast forward to Summer 2022, and my dream was finally coming true. during the Spring semester I attended an information session for the UMass Salamanca Summer Program and knew that this was the program for me. Originally when I was searching for an abroad program to do for my Spanish major, I wanted to do a program that was not too long, and if I ended up enjoying it, I would potentially do another program for a longer duration, like a semester long program. Since the Salamanca program is only 1 month, it was an ideal choice for me and what I wanted at the time.

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Why study a foreign language?

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Many people are confused when I tell them that I chose to study Spanish as my primary major at UMass. The majority of my peers question what successful careers I could possibly qualify for through a degree in a foreign language. The answer? In comparison to some of the experiences I have heard about from my friends in other majors, the bonds that a foreign language concentration allows you to make in both academic and personal realms of life are limitless and bounding. Throughout my time studying Spanish at UMass, I have accumulated several high-demand certifications, resume-building life experiences, strong academic and personal relationships, and have been fortunate enough to travel the world.

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A Month Abroad Amidst a Pandemic

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Going into UMass as a freshman, I saw myself taking a semester abroad at some point; hopefully in Central or South America. I saw myself doing a lot of things actually… then Covid. My Sophomore year was remote, and the summer before going back to campus as a junior was when I finally had the chance to study abroad. I chose to go to Salamanca because the program was brief and I wouldn’t miss an entire semester at UMass. This would be my first time traveling since the lockdown began.

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