Student Reflection: Hannah Perhai

by Hannah Perhai

¡Hola!

I'm Hannah Perhai, a sophomore Spanish and Psychology major. Spanish has been a part of my life since I was twelve years old and first set foot in my seventh grade Spanish class. I always had a knack for understanding the language and memorizing vocabulary, so that's what drew me initially to continue with Spanish into high school. Now, I've completely fallen in love with the language, and I've made it a part of my future by majoring in Spanish here at the University of Illinois!

I have always wanted to help people in my career, and ideally, I would be able to use my Spanish skills in conjunction with this. When I was told about SPAN 232 and the premise of the class, I knew I would have to register. This class will encompass my desire to help people while using and improving my Spanish, as well as challenge me in ways I have never before experienced.

So, before the semester progresses any further, I would like to set some goals for myself and my community learning.

1. I want to become more comfortable with my Spanish-speaking skills. I consider myself to be pretty shy in new situations, so hopefully participating in a semester long program will help me feel more open to speaking Spanish in a public setting. 

2. Make a difference in the community. I am working at Booker T. Washington Elementary as a tutor for a bilingual student with the after-school program S.O.A.R. for my community project. While I'll blog about this later specifically, I want to set the goal for myself to really help these kids to the best of my ability. 

3. I want to have fun! In the end, I love Spanish, even though it can sometimes be scary. I want to learn alongside these kids and enjoy every second. :)

I hope these goals aren't too difficult to accomplish, and I look forward to writing more about my experiences in the community!