"Sometimes people discouraged me from pursuing a language major if I didn't want to become a language teacher, interpreter, or use my language as my core job skill, but it has been a main attraction for all my employers."
Major(s) and Certificate(s): International Studies: Politics & Policy in the Global Economy, Spanish Language; Certificate in African Studies
Language(s): Spanish, Yoruba
Graduation Year: 2013
What motivated you to study this/these languages?
I chose to study Spanish beginning in 8th grade because it was the most-spoken language in the world offered by my junior high school. I kept going with it in college because I wanted to study abroad, and once I studied abroad I saw I had enough credits to make it a 2nd major. I chose to study Yoruba as part of a First-year Interest Group (FIG) I thought it would be nice to take a FIG due to the smaller class size and potential for making friends as I came from a small town. My random roommate and I agreed to take the Yoruba Life & Culture FIG together so we had at least one built-in-buddy. We were both interested in International Studies, so it was most aligned. I didn’t continue with Yoruba because it was much harder for me probably because I started learning so much older than Spanish and because I didn’t see it fitting with my IS major requirements beyond the coursework I had already completed as part of the FIG. I felt a lot of pressure to take 18 credits each semester and graduate early to save money and I’m so glad I did that. I still have student loans, but not nearly as bad as if I had gone another semester.
What do you remember about your UW language classes? How were they different from other classes you took?
I loved how most of my Spanish professors came from many different countries so I was exposed to accents and cultures from the U.S, Spain, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Nicaragua through my coursework. My language classes had the smallest class sizes, so we’d get a lot of time to ask questions, work in small groups, and speak with our professors. I also enjoyed how I learned a lot more than Spanish grammar, I really learned about Spanish history, Chilean and Argentine memory politics, the environment, journalism, and more all in Spanish.
Was there value to your out-of-classroom experiences? How did they add to your undergraduate experience/coursework?
Study abroad was the best experience of my life. I was truly immersed in Spanish language while staying with my host family in Sevilla. I have visited them twice since my stay in 2012 and recently invited them to my wedding. Not only did I begin dreaming in Spanish, I made 12 lifelong friends in Spain and from other U.S. colleges in my program, not to mention gained a Yaya, mom, dad, two brothers, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Spain who always tell me “siempre tienes casa aqui en Sevilla.” My classes at CIEE were also wonderful and taught by amazing professors from Universidad de Sevilla. I will always remember them and the knowledge they shared with me. My favorite was the human rights and social justice practicum which included volunteering with Romani children at an early childhood center in the El Vacie neighborhood of Sevilla. This spurred my future work in social justice and refugee resettlement in Detroit, MI and love for the important yet under-appreciated non-profit sector I have always worked in since college. I earned so many Spanish Language credits while studying abroad that I was able to add a 2nd major in Spanish while still completing my IS major and African Studies certificate in 3.5 years.
I also served as a conversational English tutor with Greater University Tutoring Services (GUTS) and became close friends with my tutee, a South Korean graduate student working on improving his conversational English for his career with Samsung. We keep in touch to this day and enjoyed many Madison traditions together. It made me sad to hear that he felt most American students didn’t go out of their way to speak with international students (like himself) on campus. Having studied abroad myself, and benefitting from an Intercambio (language exchange partner) in Sevilla, it was important to me to do the same back home at UW.
What have you done in a professional capacity since graduating from UW-Madison?
I started as an AmeriCorps VISTA in Dearborn & Detroit, MI working at the Arab Community Center for Economic & Social Services (ACCESS) in human services. This consisted of working with with refugees, mainly from Iraq at that time, in language learning and working alongside the operations manager to build staff and organizational capacity. Part of this was learning how to write grants to support ACCESS’s work and staff, which is what I do full-time now. After my VISTA year, I was hired in as a Caseworker at the Detroit office advocating for parents receiving TANF cash assistance on Detroit’s west side. From there I was hired by a funder of ACCESS’s, The Kresge Foundation, the 16th largest private foundation in the United States. There I learned how big philanthropy works and saw the grantmaking side of nonprofits in action. Since 2019, I’ve been grantwriting for a community college, locally governed nonprofit health system, trauma healing collective, and public radio show.
What are ways, either expected or unexpected, that your language study has benefited you in your career?
Despite never having had to speak Spanish as a work requirement, all my bosses have said my Spanish major is what drew their attention more than my International Studies major. This was unexpected to me as so many people in our nation are native or heritage speakers of Spanish and have a better grasp of the language, yet it has certainly benefitted my career.
How have you maintained or improved your language(s) since graduation?
For the most part I have maintained my Spanish language skills practicing with colleagues, friends, and my host family whenever possible. I have actually used my rudimentary Yoruba frequently while traveling around the United States and here in New York as well as Spanish. It has been invaluable at times and helped me understand and advocate for others as well as myself in many situations. Spanish is also helpful in that I can read and understand a bit of Portugese, Italian, and French due to the similarities.
What advice do you have for students who are studying language(s) about how to incorporate their interests and skills into their future goals?
I think being multilingual will only become increasingly desirable and perhaps required by employers (and it’s already extremely desirable). Sometimes people discouraged me from pursuing a language major if I didn’t want to become a language teacher, interpreter, or use my language as my core job skill, but it has been a main attraction for all my employers. I’d say if you don’t see yourself using language as your core job, still pursue that language major and consider a project management certificate, or something else that may help you lead diverse teams of people in your field of choice. Also I advise not stressing about it. I know that’s easier said than done, but I wish I had stressed less and just enjoyed the journey and stage I was at more. My path has been very winding, but extremely fulfilling. There were times I was so ready for the next step, so hungry to get a promotion or raise, but looking back it is mainly good memories and a lot of learning that ended up with me getting the work-from-home, unlimited PTO, job of my dreams. Language majors do not make the most money on average, but there’s money out there, and I, by far, have the richest experiences and lifestyle benefits of any of my college roommates in law, retail, finance, and engineering.