Growing up in Texas, I had my decent share of exposure to Spanish. It was something I was curious about since elementary school. I completed my minimum of two years in middle school and continued onto my third year in high school. After deciding I was going to continue on into a fourth year, I spent a week in Monterey, Mexico with a family friend in efforts to practice what I had learned. Little did I know that I would be extremely embarrassed at my accent and spoke as little as possible during this trip in fear of being looked at funny. Nevertheless, I finished my fourth year of Spanish (including four days spent in Barcelona, Spain!) and decided to call it quits.

 

Once I got into college, it was always in the back of my head that I should keep up learning Spanish before I lost it completely, but always kept myself too busy with little time to study and practice. It wasn't until my junior year when I was preparing for a trip to Italy that my love of languages fully returned. Now, whether it is watching a Netflix movie in Spanish, meeting up for coffee or texting with a Spanish-speaking friend, creating nutrition education handouts, learning vocabulary via online resources, or ordering food at a Mexican restaurant, I am consistently learning and practicing to become completely fluent!

 

With this rediscovered love of the Spanish language and culture, I would love to pursue work with Spanish-speaking communities and bring nutrition education to this often overlooked population.

 

Current level of Spanish: Elementary-proficiency