Overview & Summative Reflection
When I entered Drake, I was not confident that I would continue to be a part of a language learning program, but the rich culture and academic value of pushing my brain to learn proved one of the most important of my college career. This portfolio contains more than just small examples of the work I have completed within the program, it contains evidence of growth, passion, and adventure. From a classroom in Des Moines to a coffee shop in Havana, Spanish has opened doors.
Culture
While I had certainly learned about Spanish culture prior to my travels abroad, I found that I learned more in those weeks away from home than I could ever read in a book. Talking with natives for me enriched my historical and political understandings of the countries I visited and brought me into the fold of culture. This is documented in my portfolio as a conversation held between me and a fisherman in Trinidad, Cuba. Our conversation was a unique experience because it was such an intimate and unplanned expression of commonalities. Of all things, we talked about sports. It turns out that the fisherman, named Joél, was a major fan of Futból Americana. He often roots for the Vikings whose headquarters are located in my town in Minnesota and we bonded over our shared interest in changing team dynamics. Finding our mutual interests and learning about his life in Cuba in such an informal and natural setting really showed me the value of language to learning about Spanish culture.
Listening
Like in culture, my listening ability was best put to the test abroad. While in Cuba I was placed in a number of situations where I was one of the only students able to communicate outside of our group and it became my responsibility to help out in emergencies of all sorts. A night when we were living in the home of a woman Leticia stands out most clearly. As one of the only students on the trip comfortable with communicating in Spanish, when one of my classmates was ill in the middle of the night I was tasked with translating between her and Leticia. Armed with my pocket-dictionary I quickly augmented my vocabulary to describe to our host mother what was happening and was able to stay the night with my peer to make sure that she could call for help if need be. This experience really demonstrated my strength in listening because my ability was tested by being the only connection between my sick friend and our native host mom.
Reading
I grew significantly as a reader over my time at Drake and that growth can be seen most clearly in my writing because I was conducting secondary research in Spanish, something I had never even dreamed of attempting before arriving at Drake. Without a strong grasp, both of the language itself and of the tools and strategies required to navigate advanced academic research I was able to document my comprehensive abilities. While at the start of my time at Drake I was reading at an elementary level from beginner’s novels, by the time I finished the program I was able to fully comprehend and engage with academic texts within my field, the very goal of my language studies.
Speaking (Interpersonal and Presentational)
I would consider speaking to be my strength in Spanish and my largest asset when traveling. Like mentioned during the listening segment, speaking with natives while abroad is the best way to enrich cultural understanding and to encourage growth. The strongest example of Speaking stems from my Community Outreach project in Mutlilingual Societies my Junior year. My team was tasked with interviewing and doing work for an organization in Guatamala called INCEDES (Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Sociales y Desarollo). With two other students we created a cohesive presentation on the structure and goals of the organization for them to use in their own publicity and promotion. We also completed a write-up which would be used for future classes to continue the work we began with this organization. The highlight of this experience was an interview between the Director of the Institute and their Volunteer Coordinator. While only scheduled to last 20-30 minutes we spoke on skype for over an hour, discussing the work they were doing the bring development and human rights to Guatemala. This example provides proof of professional competencies in both interpersonal speaking through the interview, and presentational speaking as our final project.
Writing
Writing has always been my weakness in Spanish and something I have continuously struggled to improve. While I usually avoid conversation about this weakness looking back at my writing over the course of the past three and a half years has exposed enormous growth I otherwise did not know existed. While putting together this portfolio I was able to dig through my old files to discover earlier writings from my very first semester at Drake to the last semester of Spanish in the Spring. From the Fall of 2014 to the Spring of 2017 I saw an exponential leap in advanced verb and noun usage and huge improvement of grammar. I learned to take risks and to discuss topics utilizing language I normally would not be comfortable working with (gender and sexual violence laws in Guatemala, for example). It is simply incredible to see this growth as I wrap up my time in college and to understand how slow progress really does add up over time. I am proud to look back on my writing and even if it’s still not perfect, I know I only have to put in the time and effort to continue improving it!
Culture
While I had certainly learned about Spanish culture prior to my travels abroad, I found that I learned more in those weeks away from home than I could ever read in a book. Talking with natives for me enriched my historical and political understandings of the countries I visited and brought me into the fold of culture. This is documented in my portfolio as a conversation held between me and a fisherman in Trinidad, Cuba. Our conversation was a unique experience because it was such an intimate and unplanned expression of commonalities. Of all things, we talked about sports. It turns out that the fisherman, named Joél, was a major fan of Futból Americana. He often roots for the Vikings whose headquarters are located in my town in Minnesota and we bonded over our shared interest in changing team dynamics. Finding our mutual interests and learning about his life in Cuba in such an informal and natural setting really showed me the value of language to learning about Spanish culture.
Listening
Like in culture, my listening ability was best put to the test abroad. While in Cuba I was placed in a number of situations where I was one of the only students able to communicate outside of our group and it became my responsibility to help out in emergencies of all sorts. A night when we were living in the home of a woman Leticia stands out most clearly. As one of the only students on the trip comfortable with communicating in Spanish, when one of my classmates was ill in the middle of the night I was tasked with translating between her and Leticia. Armed with my pocket-dictionary I quickly augmented my vocabulary to describe to our host mother what was happening and was able to stay the night with my peer to make sure that she could call for help if need be. This experience really demonstrated my strength in listening because my ability was tested by being the only connection between my sick friend and our native host mom.
Reading
I grew significantly as a reader over my time at Drake and that growth can be seen most clearly in my writing because I was conducting secondary research in Spanish, something I had never even dreamed of attempting before arriving at Drake. Without a strong grasp, both of the language itself and of the tools and strategies required to navigate advanced academic research I was able to document my comprehensive abilities. While at the start of my time at Drake I was reading at an elementary level from beginner’s novels, by the time I finished the program I was able to fully comprehend and engage with academic texts within my field, the very goal of my language studies.
Speaking (Interpersonal and Presentational)
I would consider speaking to be my strength in Spanish and my largest asset when traveling. Like mentioned during the listening segment, speaking with natives while abroad is the best way to enrich cultural understanding and to encourage growth. The strongest example of Speaking stems from my Community Outreach project in Mutlilingual Societies my Junior year. My team was tasked with interviewing and doing work for an organization in Guatamala called INCEDES (Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Sociales y Desarollo). With two other students we created a cohesive presentation on the structure and goals of the organization for them to use in their own publicity and promotion. We also completed a write-up which would be used for future classes to continue the work we began with this organization. The highlight of this experience was an interview between the Director of the Institute and their Volunteer Coordinator. While only scheduled to last 20-30 minutes we spoke on skype for over an hour, discussing the work they were doing the bring development and human rights to Guatemala. This example provides proof of professional competencies in both interpersonal speaking through the interview, and presentational speaking as our final project.
Writing
Writing has always been my weakness in Spanish and something I have continuously struggled to improve. While I usually avoid conversation about this weakness looking back at my writing over the course of the past three and a half years has exposed enormous growth I otherwise did not know existed. While putting together this portfolio I was able to dig through my old files to discover earlier writings from my very first semester at Drake to the last semester of Spanish in the Spring. From the Fall of 2014 to the Spring of 2017 I saw an exponential leap in advanced verb and noun usage and huge improvement of grammar. I learned to take risks and to discuss topics utilizing language I normally would not be comfortable working with (gender and sexual violence laws in Guatemala, for example). It is simply incredible to see this growth as I wrap up my time in college and to understand how slow progress really does add up over time. I am proud to look back on my writing and even if it’s still not perfect, I know I only have to put in the time and effort to continue improving it!
INCEDES in Guatemala
Presentational Speaking | Community Engagement
As part of a class on Guatemalan history and Mayan culture, I was able to work on a project which engaged a Guatemalan think tank. INCEDES (Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Sociales y Desarollo). With two other students we created a cohesive presentation on the structure and goals of the organization for them to use in their own publicity and promotion. We also completed a write-up which would be used for future classes to continue the work we began with this organization. The highlight of this experience was an interview between the Director of the Institute and their Volunteer Coordinator. While only scheduled to last 20-30 minutes we spoke on skype for over an hour, discussing the work they were doing th bring development and human rights to Guatemala.
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Translations for the Drake University Department of Philosophy & Religion | Reading
In the Spring of 2016 two students from Drake's Spanish program were chosen to work on translations for a project on the Cult of Santa Muerte, Along with another student, I worked to translate traditional prayers to Santa Muerte to English. Over the course of a month I translated 15 works of varying size to be used by students in the philosophy & religion program at Drake. The experience helped teach me the importance of checking with native speakers who can clarify syntax and grammatical influences on meaning. In addition, this project allowed me to demonstrate my competence in translating documents in different fields of study. |
Prayer for the Santa Muerte for Acceptance
The right hand of Santa Muerte has been made to see his force; the right hand of Santa Muerte has shown his power throwing off this confinement; the right hand of Santa Muerte has given tastes of your infinite gratitude. Recover the freedom and power to sing the wonders of the blessed death and direct my praises. They are like this. Santa Muerte, has punished me for his justice, but his goodness has liberated me of great infortunes. Oh! Santa Muerte! Whose compassion and goodness has no limits, give me the grace to accept a love as vast for you, as the number of my sins. |
Oración A La Santísima Muerte Para Ser Liberado
La diestra de la Santa Muerte ha hecho ver su fuerza; la diestra de la Santa Muerte, ha mostrado su poder sacándome de este encierro; la diestra de la Santa Muerte, ha dado pruebas de su gracia infinita. recobrare la libertad y podre cantar las maravillas de la santísima muerte y dirigirle mis alabanzas. así sea. la Santa Muerte me ha castigado por su justicia, pero su bondad me ha librado de grandes infortunios. ¡Oh! ¡Santa Muerte! cuya compasión y bondad no tiene limites, hazme la gracia de acordarme un amor tan extenso para ti, como el numero de mis pecados |
El Pescador
Interpersonal Speaking | Listening | Culture While traveling eastward towards central Cuba, our group stopped at a number of small businesses and farms to meet locals who were making meaningful impacts on their community. After meeting with a woman who lead ocean cleanup efforts, we took a walk down the nearby coastline outside of Trinidad. While on this walk, Catey and I met a fisherman standing on the beach with his reel and tackle. While he greeted the whole group, he didn't really speak any English and the majority of our classmates had little to no Spanish so the group naturally wound down to the two of us. Our conversation, though only 20 minutes or so, was a unique experience because it was such an intimate and unplanned expression of commonalities. Of all things, we talked about sports. It turns out that the fisherman, named Joél, was a major fan of Futból Americana. He often roots for the Vikings whose headquarters are located in my town in Minnesota and we bonded over our shared interest in changing team dynamics. Learning about his work life in Trinidad and his family and discovering shared interests helped demonstrate the importance of oral communication in interpersonal relations. |
Writing Growth
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fall_2014.docx | |
File Size: | 496 kb |
File Type: | docx |
spring_2015.docx | |
File Size: | 511 kb |
File Type: | docx |
fall_2015.docx | |
File Size: | 511 kb |
File Type: | docx |
spring_2016.docx | |
File Size: | 128 kb |
File Type: | docx |
spring_2017.docx | |
File Size: | 22 kb |
File Type: | docx |
La Casa De Leticia
Culture | Listening During our time in Habana, we stayed in the home of a Cuban woman named Leticia. Leticia lived with her husband and allowed small groups of students to routinely live in the top floor of her home in the neighborhood of Mazon y Bassarate. As one of the only students on the trip comfortable with communicating in Spanish, when one of my classmates was ill in the middle of the night I was tasked with translating between her and Leticia. Armed with my pocket-dictionary I quickly augmented my vocabulary to describe to our host mother what was happening and was able to stay the night with my peer to make sure that she could call for help if need be. |
Professional Profile
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Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Guatemala
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