Major(s) and Certificate(s): French and Journalism, Global Cultures Certificates
Language(s): French, Spanish and Hindi
Graduation Year: 2010
What motivated you to study this/these languages?
French and Spanish: studied in high school and wanted to continue because they were the classes I did the best in and enjoyed the most
Hindi: I wanted to learn a new language that was not a Romance language (and Arabic was only open to double majors in African languages or studies [at the time])
What do you remember about your UW language classes? How were they different from other classes you took?
Class sizes were usually smaller.
How valuable were your out-of-classroom experiences? How did they add to your undergraduate experience/coursework?
Yes, study abroad was the best experience of my life. It motivated me to move abroad again. I’ve lived in seven countries and hope to leave the US again in several years. Study abroad helped me develop immensely as a person and learn about things I couldn’t do in the US. I also joined AIESEC but really didn’t get much out of that experience.
What have you done in a professional capacity since graduating from UW-Madison?
Worked in Argentina, gotten an MPH at UM twin cities, done program evaluation in Chicago, moved to Europe and South America to teach English as a foreign language, worked as a professional translator, and now I work as an outdoor educator at a non profit in Milwaukee.
What are ways, either expected or unexpected, that your language study has benefited you in your career?
While living in Europe, my French helped me from time to time to communicate in my job or while traveling. Other than that, French has not offered me a lot of opportunities. Spanish has opened so many doors for me—all of the jobs I’ve gotten I’ve needed Spanish for. But the classes at UW weren’t enough, I needed to go abroad and be immersed in the language and cultures. I found opportunities to do so through UW for both French and Spanish.
How have you maintained or improved your language(s) since graduation?
I participate in language exchanges whenever possible to maintain and continue learning. I also read books in different languages. I’ve learned more languages since college and my French has taken a back burner, but I took classes again at the alliance Française for the past year and traveled to Senegal to improve it. Because of my work, I speak Spanish almost every day. I no longer speak Hindi as I took only a year and didn’t have the opportunity to practice.
What advice do you have for students who are studying language(s) about how to incorporate their interests and skills into their future goals?
Talk to career counselors and anyone else you can. No one suggested I go into translation or interpretation, which would have been a natural fit. And go abroad if at all possible. Each student should be required and supported to go abroad. If you really like languages, find a language that you can incorporate easily into a career. And do as many language and cultural exchanges as possible. You will learn so much!