When I applied to college I had no idea what career I wanted to pursue. I knew I was going to major in Spanish because I excelled at learning the language and enjoyed learning about different cultures and wanted to continue to broaden my horizons. I knew that my career probably wouldn’t be centered around Spanish, but I thought it would be helpful to apply a second language to whatever career I landed on. Fast forward spring semester Freshman year and I’m trying to decide what I should add as my second major. The beauty of the Spanish major is that it is only 36 credits so I had plenty of room to explore different options. I landed on Communication because at that point I still wasn’t sure what path a was headed towards, and this was a broad enough choice with a variety of career options so I didn’t feel trapped in a niche. After taking a few Communication classes I was starting to think I wanted to do something with social media marketing or media production. I was taking classes like Intro to Studio Directing and was my sorority’s Marketing Director so everything seemed to be pointing me in that direction.
Continue readingCategory Archives: After UMass
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at UMass
I would like to eventually become an English teacher for speakers of other languages. At UMass I study Spanish as well as linguistics, and am in the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages program. The program is a 15 credit mix of linguistics and language literacy and culture (LLC) classes that lead to certification in TESOL. The certification can be used to teach English both in the United States and abroad, and knowing Spanish could open many doors for me in a variety of places in the world. I hope to teach in Latin America, and knowing Spanish will help me understand better the people I want to work with one day and assimilate myself into the culture. Learning Spanish has helped me understand the similarities and differences between Spanish and English, and linguistics has helped me understand language in general, which will ultimately make me a better teacher. If one day I decide to teach domestically in the U.S, knowing Spanish will be useful because of the large population of Spanish-speakers in this country. Also by learning Spanish and Linguistics, I am able to understand how people acquire new languages, and I have first-hand experience and knowledge about the experience of learning a second language.
Continue readingMy UMass Experience as a Spanish and Fashion Marketing Double Major and Post Grad Plans
I started off my UMass career as an Undecided major in the SBS track. Before that, while I was applying to colleges I wanted to study fashion, so I was applying to schools that offered that major. I was looking for big universities that offered fashion and had that traditional college experience feel. I ended up at UMass Amherst, not because it was my top choice, but it was just how things came together. So after my first semester freshman year I decided to major in Spanish and was thinking about Communication as well, but I wasn’t really sure. Still, I wanted to also incorporate a fashion major into my college career. I heard about the BDIC program (build your own major) but I wasn’t sure if it was for me, because I’ve never heard of anything like it before and didn’t know anyone that had done it. It wasn’t until I rushed a sorority and talked to a couple older girls that I learned they also created their own fashion majors. That inspired me to do the same. So sophomore year I signed up for BDIC and created my own Fashion Marketing major. Come senior year and going into my final semester I am so thankful that I studied those two majors.
Continue readingThe Spanish Major Experience
Currently I am a senior at UMass and I have spent all four years as a Spanish Major. My experience was filled with learning different dialects, norms in different countries, different meanings for words that are the same, and lots of vocabulary and grammar. I would say I had a pleasant experience because of everything I have learned and everything my Major has allowed me to do.
Continue readingMi latinidad and love for science
Hello! I am a student double majoring in Biochemistry and Spanish. I am also planning on getting the Spanish and Health Certificate offered at UMass. My spanish major relates greatly to my biochemistry major because it allows me to formulate my thoughts through different lenses. Many times in the biochemistry core classes students only focus on memorizing and analyzing material in a more factual way. My Spanish major has allowed me to take classes where we discuss humanitarian problems occurring not just in medical settings, but all over the globe. I truly believe taking Spanish classes have allowed me to mentality relax during the semester and not stress too much over my science courses. I do believe studying is important but my Spanish class discussion reminds me that there are far more important things than just your studies to worry about. My Spanish class discussion reminds me there is work to be done, not until I graduate from college or medical school, but change that can be worked for currently. I truly believe my Spanish and biochemistry majors complement each other. Taking classes in the liberal arts and science college is such an amazing curriculum to follow. The Spanish classes allow me to stay true to my roots by reminding me of the beauty in my latinidad and learning to embrace it, even as it shows up in my science careers. Being aware of one’s identity is super important as it allows youth to acknowledge what position you are in and how to manipulate this in a beneficial way for others. Helping others looks differently, but the reason and passion to help should always come from selfless motives.
Continue readingMy Spanish Major
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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.
Continue reading![](https://websites.umass.edu/spanportie/files/2020/10/AmeriCorps-graduation-2019-624x468.jpg)
My life after UMass
After graduating in December 2018 as a Spanish and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies major, I had a soild yet broad understanding of what kind of work I was interested in. I had always wanted to be an educator, but I wasn’t ready to commit to being a teacher. I loved working with kids, valued education, and saw the importance of social justice. I applied to a handful of different jobs in the non-profit and education worlds, but I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about any of the opportunities I had applied for, and I was not getting many calls back.
Continue reading![](https://websites.umass.edu/spanportie/files/2020/05/83898430_253474082463752_7274843115230330880_n-624x460.png)
From Spanish Major to Trash Hauler : My Unconventional Path After Graduation
Since graduating in the spring of 2015 with a Spanish major and Portuguese minor, my life has certainly taken some unusual and less-than-expected twists and turns. For me, that’s been completely fine. Even before I graduated, I never saw myself becoming the typical “careerist” type. At least not right away, and definitely not until I found myself in a fulfilling position working for a company with a suitable ladder to climb, so to speak. So what did I choose to do instead? Teach English abroad of course. This was quite fun while it lasted. Probably the most memorable two years of my life to be honest. But looking back, it wasn’t the English teaching aspect that really made these years stand out for me. It was more the fact that I had this amazing opportunity extend my foreign language education for two consecutive years. Each time in completely new, yet equally engaging and exciting international environments.
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Societas keynote speech given by Siobhan Elvin (2014) at Boston Latin School (2019)
SOCIETAS
BOSTON LATIN SCHOOL MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGE HONOR SOCIETY
2019 INDUCTION CEREMONY
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: ALUMNA SIOBHAN ELVIN, CLASS OF 2010
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I cannot express what an honor and a privilege it is to be invited to speak to you all here today at my alma mater for the 2019 Boston Latin School Societas Induction Ceremony. First and foremost, I want to extend my sincerest congratulations to all of this year’s inductees: you should truly all be proud of what an amazing achievement it is to join the Societas Modern Foreign Languages Honor Society. By meeting or acceding the rigorous qualifications necessary to be invited to join Societas, you have demonstrated that you possess an invaluable skillset that will only continue to open doors for you after your time at BLS comes to an end. I also want to recognize on this evening all of the inductees’ families and teachers that played a role in preparing these students to get where they are today. Without all of you, none of this would be possible.
It was Charlemagne who first said, “To have another language is to possess a second soul.” I don’t remember when I heard this for the first time or where I may have picked it up along the way, but this powerful quote has always been something that has really stuck with me and summed up everything I feel about Modern Foreign Languages in just 10 simple words. Continue reading
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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