Student Spotlight: Nicholas Ludmer

by Ann Abbott

Nicholas Ludmer is someone to watch. I believe that he is headed for truly great things. His drive and talent doesn't come from Spanish community service learning (CSL), but I'm happy to see that it fit very well with his values and desire to learn. (I have highlighted his accomplishments on this blog several times, and I hope to continue doing so.)

When students take their CSL work seriously, it can open many doors for them. If they have excelled in their CSL work, I like students to think about how they can use their experience in the following ways:
  • Request letters of recommendation from their supervisors in the community.
  • Gain insight into different career paths.
  • Add solid information about their accomplishments in their resume (not just a bullet point on their list of volunteer activities).
  • Expand on those accomplishments with specific examples in cover letters and job interviews.
  • Differentiate themselves from other highly qualified college graduates by emphasizing their real-world language skills, cultural know-how and professional skills.

Nicholas did much more than that, he now has a full-time job working at the clinic where he did his Spanish CSL work last semester. He'll go to medical school next year, but in the meantime he has a job that will serve him well. He writes:

"Good News! I decided to work full time at Frances Nelson during my gap year. I feel like it's a great way for me to gain clinical experience, maintain and improve on my Spanish, and save up for medical school all at the same time. I am really excited to start there and wanted to say thank you. I would never have known about it or volunteered there had it not been for the CBL classes."

You know that your student has done a wonderful job in the community when the organization then turns around and hires him. Congratulations, Nicholas. I know you will be a wonderful asset to the clinic and an advocate for all the patients, but especially the Spanish-speaking ones.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vocabulary for Parent-Teacher Conferences

Image
I'm very happy that so many students responded to our community partner's need for help. Our students' language skills will help Central High School's Latino parents better communicate with the teachers during the parent-teacher conferences next week. Central's secretary will contact the students directly to schedule times with them. Here is some vocabulary help for students. Materias. School subjects are "materias" NOT "sujetos." You should remember subjects from your intro Spanish courses, but here are some reminders: historia, matemáticas, inglés, física, química, biología, educación física, etc. General vocabulary. Notas = grades; aprobar = to pass; suspender = to fail; conducta, comportamiento = behavior. Topics. Ms. Citraro offers the following advice: "The topics and vocabulary that would come up are about the subjects at school. For example: no ha entregado las tareas tiene que tomar el examen otra vez habla mucho en clase falta muc
Read more

How to Correctly File Hispanic Names

Image
I know that community-based learning students don't like it when they are asked to file during their time in the community. However, their learning goals are to improve their Spanish and knowledge of Latino cultures. Filing information on clients with Hispanic names helps them with both. And imagine the impact of mis-filing for the organizations where our students work and and their clients. That's why I was unhappy to learn that many SPAN 232 students did not do well on their exam section asking them to put some Hispanic names in alphabetical order. I can imagine that some students feel that putting names into alphabetical order isn't important. It is! It is especially important in the organizations where they work because they are dealing with clients who may not have "accommodated" to the American system of using only one last name. And it is especially important for clients whose papers are so important for their legal status, medical information and oth
Read more

Interview with Jessica Horn of ACCIÓN Chicago

Image
By Carolyn Kloecker , Span 232 student This past week I completed an assignment for my Business Communications class (SPCM 211) which was to interview someone in a field that I am interested in working for in the future. I asked her many questions about the organization, and lots of information can be found on their website www.accionchicago.org . This organization is a Community Partner with Spanish & Illinois, and has an extensive connection with the Spanish-speaking community in the Chicagoland area. Here are a few of the questions and answers from Jessica: Is ACCIÓN a fairly new organization? How did it begin? ACCIÓN Chicago started in 1994, but the parent organization, ACCIÓN was started in 1961. It is the largest micro-lending organization, and it began in Venezuela, and took root in the U.S. in 1991. How do loan officers communicate with clients? Mostly by phone, as people call in to the office to get a loan for their small business. The website is also a main form o
Read more