As a transfer student from Cabrillo College, I didn't really know what I wanted to major in. Nevertheless, my passion for literature guided me towards the Spanish B.A. path. I decided to be part the Spanish program at CSUMB because as a bilingual student, I saw the loss of the Spanish language and culture among students of second and third generations in my community. Since Spanish is my native language, I strongly believe that by majoring in Spanish and becoming an educator, I'll be able to not only restore that loss of language and culture, but also become a positive role model for students.
For a Spanish native speaker, I believed that this program was not going to offer any new information, but I was wrong. The Spanish program helped me to develop many of my first language skills that I had learned for over 10 years. With the help of my professors, I was also able to improve my efficiency in grammar, literature, and critical analysis. For example, the linguistics courses allowed me to understand how the structure of the Spanish language works. I now have a better understanding about the connections of written and phonetic words, and how important this relation between both are for the Spanish language in general. On the other hand, through the literature and culture courses, I gained knowledge of the most important pieces of literature in the Hispanic cultures and how to critically analyze them. Most importantly, I learned about literary movements and where and who initiated them, one of them being the most important literary movements in Latin America; Magical Realism.
Overall, the Spanish program I had the opportunity to expand my knowledge about the origins of the Spanish language, the many different cultures where the Spanish language is the most important tool of communication, and important pieces of Latin American literature. This program has also made me realize about the importance of the Spanish language not only in Spanish speaking countries, but also in the United States, which is the second country in the world where the Spanish language is spoken, the mixture of different cultures, and the history and presence of Mexicans in the United States.
The most important decision I've made in my education was to be part of the Spanish program at CSU-Monterey Bay. Every single course that I took gave me the opportunity to learn something new that I will be able to share in the future with students. As educators, one should share their knowledge with their students, because knowledge is a gift and education is the most important path to success, and by combining both, dreams are not longer dreams but can became a reality.
For a Spanish native speaker, I believed that this program was not going to offer any new information, but I was wrong. The Spanish program helped me to develop many of my first language skills that I had learned for over 10 years. With the help of my professors, I was also able to improve my efficiency in grammar, literature, and critical analysis. For example, the linguistics courses allowed me to understand how the structure of the Spanish language works. I now have a better understanding about the connections of written and phonetic words, and how important this relation between both are for the Spanish language in general. On the other hand, through the literature and culture courses, I gained knowledge of the most important pieces of literature in the Hispanic cultures and how to critically analyze them. Most importantly, I learned about literary movements and where and who initiated them, one of them being the most important literary movements in Latin America; Magical Realism.
Overall, the Spanish program I had the opportunity to expand my knowledge about the origins of the Spanish language, the many different cultures where the Spanish language is the most important tool of communication, and important pieces of Latin American literature. This program has also made me realize about the importance of the Spanish language not only in Spanish speaking countries, but also in the United States, which is the second country in the world where the Spanish language is spoken, the mixture of different cultures, and the history and presence of Mexicans in the United States.
The most important decision I've made in my education was to be part of the Spanish program at CSU-Monterey Bay. Every single course that I took gave me the opportunity to learn something new that I will be able to share in the future with students. As educators, one should share their knowledge with their students, because knowledge is a gift and education is the most important path to success, and by combining both, dreams are not longer dreams but can became a reality.