Author Archives: Luis Marentes

Mi vuelta a los Estados Unidos

(Brook Hansel se graduó de UMass el año pasado y tuvo que ser evacuada de Ourense, España. Comparte aquí con nosotros un texto que escribió para La Voz de Galicia.)

El viernes 13 de marzo fue mi cumple. Ya yo sabía que iba a ser un cumple inolvidable para mí; era la primera vez que iba a celebrar mi cumpleaños en otro país. Pero nunca me hubiese esperado que fuese un cumple inolvidable por razones tan impredecibles. Nunca me hubiese esperado que ese fuera el día en que tuviese que hacer mis maletas para marcharme de Ourense, la ciudad que se había convertido en mi hogar durante los últimos siete meses.

Ese mismo día por la tarde, yo recibí un correo electrónico de mi beca y el gobierno de los EEUU que decía que debía volver a los EEUU debido al COVID-19. Solo veinte horas después estaba en un tren dirección al aeropuerto. Yo sabía que el día en que tuviese que marcharme de Ourense iba a ser difícil, pero nunca me esperaba que iba a marcharme así- tan repentinamente y sin despedirme de mis alumnos en el instituto Otero Pedrayo, ni de mis amigos ni de toda la gente tan simpática que me había ayudado durante mi estancia en Ourense. Continue reading

Where my Spanish major has brought me

Fran Burns graduated from our program in 2015. We are happy that he has contacted us to let us know about his UMass experience, his last two years in Mexico, and his future plans.

“So you wanna study Spanish, huh?” This moment will forever stay in my mind. I was at my grandmother’s funeral my senior year of high school, and one of my grandmother’s friend, who I didn’t know, was baffled that I wanted to study Spanish. She repeatedly said “Spanish, huh?” and was completely perplexed by the idea of me studying Spanish. It started making me second guess myself since she was so concerned. I think that was one of my first times I started questioning my major. Since then I’ve gotten asked multiple times “Well, what can you do with Spanish?” and luckily there isn’t a clear answer. As a Spanish and Italian major I’ve been able to explore and consider many job opportunities. Maybe if I were a nursing, an engineering, or accounting student I wouldn’t have considered these opportunities as being realistic or making sense for me. I’m sure that for many of you Spanish is one of your passions and I can easily say it’s one of mine. There were times when I felt guilty or maybe lost about studying Spanish, thinking I should study something more practical or with a clear career goal in mind. However, I am so happy that I was spent four years studying something that I love. If it’s something you are really passionate about, you’ll find a way to incorporate it into your work or daily life Continue reading

How studying Spanish helped prepare me for a career in the fire service


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Royal Collin Gardner graduated from our program in 2016. We are happy that he has contacted us to let us know how his preparation in our program helped him to become a better firefighter.

I’ve taken a pretty unconventional career path for a Spanish major: I’m pursuing a career as a firefighter. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from UMass last May, I enrolled in a firefighter training course at Jefferson Community and Technical College in Louisville, Kentucky. I’ve been travelling all over the country testing and interviewing for various Fire Departments. When I mention my major in relation to my career path, or vice versa, I’ll often get a confused response. It seems counter-intuitive: most Spanish majors tend to gravitate towards careers in education, interpreting, or international business, while the average college-educated fire candidate usually majors in Fire Science or Emergency Management. However, I believe that studying Spanish in college has taught me some valuable lessons that I will take with me throughout my career in the fire service.

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Research Assistant Possibilities in Emerging America Project

The Collaborative for Educational Services in Northampton is engaging in a very interesting research project that requires the assistance of some Spanish and Portuguese majors. Emerging America is a project in which the Collaborative is gathering primary resources for teachers to use in their classrooms. Spanish and Portuguese majors could be very helpful in finding material related to the United States Hispanic and Lusophone populations.

Internships at Tan Cerca Tan Lejos

WMUA’s Tan Cerca Tan Lejos, a weekly bilingual radio program of interviews, seeks two undergraduate interns. The interns will help us by transcribing audio interviews in Spanish and English and translating in both directions. At least one of the interns should also be able to help us manage the show’s Web page and social media. While these are the main responsibilities, the show is absolutely open to train and allow the interns to participate in all aspects of radio creation, including: (1) preproduction (reaching out to possible guests, doing research about guests, and writing drafts for the interviews); (2) production (leading interviews and managing the board); and (3) postproduction (editing interviews). Interns are expected to work approximately 10 hours/week and can receive 3 credits. Continue reading