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A glimpse into my academic experience and personal interests

I graduated from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. During my time there, I studied Political Science and Criminology. While those were my main areas of study, I also took Spanish language classes throughout to connect further with my culture. Ever since my sophomore year of college, I had a dream of visiting Spain and learning more about the origins of my culture.

Little did I know I would end up living in Spain after college!

In my studies in school, I was always passionate about social justice issues and the evolution of political systems/ideals. Ever since I was young, I had an inclination to help people or wanting to teach others. As I grew up, I realized I wanted to pursue a career in law in order to reform the criminal justice system in the United States and help those who are wronged by this unjust system. But, I still knew I could make an impact teaching others to think about social concepts critically and constructively.

This is where the Language Assistant program (NALCAP) comes in.

I requested to teach at a Secondary school because my previous academic studies are more applicable to older students, and I felt like I could teach them a lot about what I learned in college. When deciding what topic to choose, there were many factors to consider: the varying ages of my students (12-18), the global applicability of the issue, and it being fun enough for students to say interested.

That being said, I decided to teach about the commercialization of holidays.

I did not have many expectations for what the Auxiliares de Conversación program would be like, and I think that was for the best! This is a once in a lifetime experience that is hard to form expectations for because it is so unique. I entered into the program, Spain, and my school with optimism and goals. Thus far, this program and my school have far exceeded any possible expectations. I developed an interest in teaching that I had never been able to foster before, and my teachers have made all the difference in that.

They have exemplified what it means to really care about their students and their progress.