Spanish Minor

Why did I pursue a Spanish Minor?

I was in a Spanish Immersion program in my Elementary School. In the third grade, I started learning English in classes. By 5th grade I passed both the English and Spanish Standardized Exam for Elementary Education. My class took a trip to Mexico for a week and I had a blast. I grew up speaking French at home and my mother spoke Spanish too. She had traveled to South America throughout her 20s and saw the need for learning new languages and cultures often. I grew up so fond of the experiences and opportunities my mother had due to speaking Spanish and how often she used her Spanish here in California. I am so thankful my parents put me in a bilingual elementary school program. I remember the first time I heard people outside of my immediate family, and school speak Spanish. I barely understood that my dad couldn't understand Spanish and I had just learned that I had this superpower of knowing multiple languages. This allows me to interact with a wider variety of people and travel to more countries and know the local language and discover their culture. Since Elementary School, I continued Spanish classes through to High School and took both AP Spanish Language and AP Spanish Literature with only 1 year break during my first year in Switzerland. That year I did travel to Madrid and Mallorca with my family and I had decided to continue my Spanish classes. Once I moved to college, it took me two years to realize I still wanted to practice my Spanish and I saw how useful speaking Spanish is in the healthcare setting as I had internships with Spanish Speaking clients and families.

Since declaring my Spanish Minor I only had 4 classes remaining to complete (two were abroad in Spain over summer). I took a Service Learning Course which introduced me to RotaCare. This free clinic providing medical consultations for people without health insurance took me in as a Spanish Interpreter and a Medical Scribe. I volunteered there until the Global Pandemic of COVID-19 broke out and closed down the clinic in March of 2020. This opportunity allowed me to not only practice my Spanish skills and learn more about health consultation but most importantly about the interaction of Spanish speaking patients with their health providers. I learned more medical and health related Spanish vocabulary and gained valuable interactions with patients. I then took two Spanish courses that took place in Spain. Check out my experiences and what I learned by clicking the button below. This experience also allowed me to travel throughout Spain, in a group and individually. In AP Spanish Language I had made a penpal in Zaragossa, Spain and had then connected on Social Media. This trip allowed me to go meet her in person and kindle that friendship. It was so valuable to meet someone who had been there for me in my Spanish Speaking journey. Lastly, my last semester of undergraduate studies I completed the remaining course exploring various Spanish speaking countries' cultures through movies and literature. This was so valuable as I learned more on the Spanish speaking world and over the summer of 2020 I further researched each country.

Though I am not Latina by birth or decedent, the Latin culture has made an impact on my life and I plan to serve the Spanish speaking community as I am able to.