Jay Mauro -
not your average AUX
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PICKING UP MY STUDENT VISA AT THE SPANISH CONSULATE IN NYC
Am I Really Going to Spain?
Am I Really Going to Spain?
Hi! My name is Jason Paul Mauro, but you can call me Jay, everyone does. I was born and raised on Long Island, New York and am currently living in Madrid, as a first year Auxiliar de Conversacion (Language Assistant). If you told me a couple of years ago that I would be here today, I would've thought you were nuts. Life is like that, we never know where it can take us if we just keep our eyes and minds open to the possibilities.
My interest in languages started many years ago, at Wantagh High School. I had a knack for Spanish, even the accent, and I took it for six years. I was the only kid in my class to receive 100% on the New York State Regents exam. (Not to boast or anything!)
I have been many things since then including: actor, waiter, balloon decorator, florist, landscaper, costume character for children's birthday parties, church music director, mortgage seller, and funeral singer ... just to name a few.
In 2018, I led the music section of a Vacation Bible Camp, instructing over 80 kids to sing and dance everyday. We had a blast! This led to an opportunity to be a teaching assistant in a PreK class and I took the chance. Although exhausted at the end of each day, I also felt fulfilled. Maybe I belonged in front of a classroom?
I went back to school, first to Suffolk County Community College, and then got my Bachelor's degree in Musical Theater (my passion from a very young age!) from Five Towns College.
I heard about the NALCAP program through a friend who had been a language assistant in the Canary Islands, and felt inspired when he spoke about it. Then, about a year ago I was on vacation in Florida where I met a complete stranger who had also been a Auxiliar in Madrid. WAIT, WHAT?? It was too much of a coincidence to be ignored. He sent me all the information and I began the (arduous) application process.
Then on one beautiful May morning (my birthday) just before delivering the salutatorian address at my college graduation I received an email that I was accepted into the program and placed in a school in Madrid.
It was about to get REAL!
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