Student Spotlight: Julie Lucas

Ÿby Ann Abbott
I'm just so proud of my students and the wonderful things they go on to do after graduation.

Julie Lucas--she will always be Julia to me--is one of those students. Take a look at what she did while she was a student, the program she went on after graduation, and her plans for the future. Would you would like to follow in Julia's footsteps?

Spanish 

Julia was in my SPAN 332 "Spanish & Entrepreneurship" course. She worked at both the SOAR after-school program and with Vida Alegre. For her community-based team project, she worked on a marketing project for the University Language Academy for Children.

Spain

After graduation, Julia spent two years in Spain, teaching English through the Embassy of Spain. 

Here are her own words about her experiences:

Hola Ann,

Vivo en Salamanca, y este curso será mi segundo enseñando en el mismo colegio que el año pasado. He vuelto porque me encantó la experiencia que tenía el año pasado y siento que todavía hay mucho que puedo enseñar, compartir, y aprender en la comunidad. La verdad es que Salamanca es como un segundo hogar para mi. He creado buenas relaciones con los profesores  del colegio donde trabajo, los niños del colegio, y amigos que he conocido el año pasado.

Este año, quiero dar un gran esfuerzo en un proyecto que tenemos en nuestro colegio que se llama The Comenius Project. Es un proyecto hecho en inglés con otros 10 países. La meta es mostrar a los niños la importancia de saber inglés y entender la cultura de los demás. El año pasado yo estaba involucrada en el proyecto, trabajando con el director del colegio y otros profesores de inglés. También tuve la oportunidad de viajar a Budapest con el director y viajar a Portugal con el director y los alumnos del sexto! Este año, quiero estar aún más involucrada en el proyecto porque el año pasado pude ver que había afectado a los estudiantes en una manera muy profunda. Ellos querían conocer más del mundo, tenían más ganas de aprender inglés, y cuando los alumnos de Portugal visitaron a Salamanca los niños estaban encantadas de mostrarles nuestra ciudad.

Otra cosa que hago en Salamanca es organizar Intercambios de Idioma. El año pasado, empecé a asistir intercambios en Salamanca, donde gente va para practicar inglés y español. Después de ir a unos intercambios, el jefe de uno me preguntó si quería empezar a organizarlos. Empecé y me encantó- he conocido gente de todo el mundo y a la vez puedo practicar mi español con todos. Este año he empezado otra vez y me gusta quedar con la gente de otros países y ayudarles si necesitan ayuda con cosas como alquilar un piso, abrir una cuenta bancaria, o no saben que tienen que llevar a la extranjería, etc. Yo tenía que hacer las mismas cosas cuando vine a España y la verdad es que me gusta mucho compartir mis experiencias y mis consejos con otras para ayudarles. Esta es otra razón que creo que me encantaría ser una consejera de estudios en el extranjero.

Pues, eso es un poco sobre mi estancia en Salamanca! Gracias, Ann! Hablamos pronto.

Saludos,
Julia

The future

Julia is making plans for her future. She wants to be a Study Abroad Advisor at a University, so she has looked into graduate schools for both International Education and Higher Education; both degrees will give her the option to become a Study Abroad Advisor. 

Julia, good luck with whatever you do!

Students, look over Julia's experiences and plans to find something that interests you. Would you like to live and teach in Spain? Would you like to work at a university in the future? Consider my former students your role models: you can do all the wonderful things they are doing, too!

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