Author Archives: ebonanno

Relationship with the Spanish Major

I think that at some point in a Spanish major´s career we all say something to the tune of, I have no idea what I want to do with my life and I do not know what I can do with a Spanish major once I graduate. If not everyone at least I know that this has happened to me on more than one occasion. I started out studying Spanish as most majors do because Spanish was the only field of study that really interested me. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life so I stuck with the path that most interested me. And I can honestly say that I am glad I did because even though I have had my doubts about my studies, I can say something that most college students probably cannot, I love what I study. Continue reading →

WestCoast Connection (a different integrative experience)

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Since I heard about this wonderful experience that I had in Luis’s 394 class when the Seniors came to visit, I feel that it is my responsibility to share it with everyone else so that they can to do what I did. I wasn’t able to study abroad while I was at UMass and when I signed up to do the Holyoke tutorial it just didn’t fit in my schedule. Lucky for me, I had found an alternative that my advisor deemed valid to count for my IE.

It all started when I was sitting in 394 and one of the Seniors, who came to visit and tell us about their IEs, mentioned that he got to travel for free to Spanish speaking countries over the summer. He went on to say that “Teen Tour” companies would take college students who spoke Spanish and pay for them to be a sort of counselor on these teen tours. I was immediately intrigued by the possibility of being able to travel and use Spanish for free over the summer so I went home and googled “Teen Tours”. Continue reading →

“Not Knowing” and the Future of a Spanish Major

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So far in class and online and in many ways we have discussed the future. The future that we want to pursue and the ways in which we can prepare ourselves now in order to be successful in our pursuits. For the most part our discussions have begun the same, “what do you want to do with your major?” or “what do you want to be when you grow up?”, questions we have all heard and been asked a million times. Questions that as a Spanish major are maybe just a little more open ended than for someone studying say Engineering. Ever since probably junior year of High School people have been asking me what I want to do with my life and although I have tried many times to give answers that will satisfy whoever is asking me, now I realize that one of the bravest answers you can give is “I honestly don’t know, and I am okay with not knowing right now.” Continue reading →