I chose to be a Spanish major as an incoming freshman, although at first I was a World Language and Cultures major, I decided to be specifically a Spanish major since that was where my focus was anyway. I began my college education at CSUMB as a World Languages and Cultures major. I decided to switch to being specifically a Spanish major, because my focus and intent as a WLC major had been on Spanish language from the start. The inspiration behind being a Spanish major came from the community I grew up in. There was a large increase of Hispanics in my community and there was a lack of Spanish speaking services offered. Not only did I want to learn what my Spanish-speaking friends were saying, but I also wanted to be of use to the families in my community who did not have the necessary resources in order to communicate with the school district or other community services.
During my studies as a Spanish major there are several things that I have learned both scholarly and socially. I have learned many historical and cultural aspects of several groups of people throughout the Americas and Spain. I have also learned how to apply the knowledge I have of these different cultures and histories to the communities I live in today. Every type of people has their own type of traditions and customs, and now that I have a general knowledge and understanding of most of these traditions and customs, I am able to apply it to my own community.
My initial goal was to become fluent in the Spanish language, learn about new cultures and histories, and have the capacity to apply my language ability and knowledge to real life experiences as well as a future career. These original goals are still the goals I have today although I now have a realistic idea of what those goals mean. Even though I have been studying the Spanish language since high school and have lived in Spain with the intent to immerse myself in the language and culture, I still have not reached the language level I had hoped to during my college career. I now understand that learning a language is something that will take a lifetime to master and there will always be more to learn.
During this program here at CSUMB, I have become most proud of my knowledge regarding society and giving service to the local community. The importance of taking care of our neighbors and community members is of the upmost importance, but this does not have to remain a local ideal. I believe that through my knowledge of history in different countries and the social changes and difficulties others have been through and still go through today, I can give back to people in both international and local settings. I have been given the tools to apply this knowledge both locally and globally through critical thinking and the service learning classes here at CSUMB.
There is a global knowledge I have gained through this program, as well as through my study abroad experience. This is where I found the inspiration for my capstone project. I am proud to be able to understand and listen to other people’s perspectives of their world, and I believe I am able to do this because I have gained an extensive knowledge of how the world has worked in the past and how cultures compare and contrast to each other. Keeping an open mind is critical while understanding a different culture, which is why I picked a dense and sometimes controversial topic for my capstone. I had questions about a society that I wanted answers to, so I used this research project to discover the truth.
Although I do not have a specific future career in mind, there are new short-term goals that I have to further my education. I have a good deal more to learn about the Spanish language, and I believe the best way to acquire a language is by immersion into a Spanish speaking country. My goal is to live in either Spain or Chile for the next 2-5 years working as an English teacher or as a snowboard instructor. This will give me the opportunity to focus on expanding my speaking ability and truly immerse myself into the language with the intention of becoming fluent. I never want to stop learning about history and culture, and the easiest way to develop my language and my knowledge is through literary readings. Life is about learning, and the learning will never stop as long as I continue to read, critically think, and use my language every chance I get.
During my studies as a Spanish major there are several things that I have learned both scholarly and socially. I have learned many historical and cultural aspects of several groups of people throughout the Americas and Spain. I have also learned how to apply the knowledge I have of these different cultures and histories to the communities I live in today. Every type of people has their own type of traditions and customs, and now that I have a general knowledge and understanding of most of these traditions and customs, I am able to apply it to my own community.
My initial goal was to become fluent in the Spanish language, learn about new cultures and histories, and have the capacity to apply my language ability and knowledge to real life experiences as well as a future career. These original goals are still the goals I have today although I now have a realistic idea of what those goals mean. Even though I have been studying the Spanish language since high school and have lived in Spain with the intent to immerse myself in the language and culture, I still have not reached the language level I had hoped to during my college career. I now understand that learning a language is something that will take a lifetime to master and there will always be more to learn.
During this program here at CSUMB, I have become most proud of my knowledge regarding society and giving service to the local community. The importance of taking care of our neighbors and community members is of the upmost importance, but this does not have to remain a local ideal. I believe that through my knowledge of history in different countries and the social changes and difficulties others have been through and still go through today, I can give back to people in both international and local settings. I have been given the tools to apply this knowledge both locally and globally through critical thinking and the service learning classes here at CSUMB.
There is a global knowledge I have gained through this program, as well as through my study abroad experience. This is where I found the inspiration for my capstone project. I am proud to be able to understand and listen to other people’s perspectives of their world, and I believe I am able to do this because I have gained an extensive knowledge of how the world has worked in the past and how cultures compare and contrast to each other. Keeping an open mind is critical while understanding a different culture, which is why I picked a dense and sometimes controversial topic for my capstone. I had questions about a society that I wanted answers to, so I used this research project to discover the truth.
Although I do not have a specific future career in mind, there are new short-term goals that I have to further my education. I have a good deal more to learn about the Spanish language, and I believe the best way to acquire a language is by immersion into a Spanish speaking country. My goal is to live in either Spain or Chile for the next 2-5 years working as an English teacher or as a snowboard instructor. This will give me the opportunity to focus on expanding my speaking ability and truly immerse myself into the language with the intention of becoming fluent. I never want to stop learning about history and culture, and the easiest way to develop my language and my knowledge is through literary readings. Life is about learning, and the learning will never stop as long as I continue to read, critically think, and use my language every chance I get.