When I came to college, I originally planned to minor in Hispanic Studies as a casual way to keep up with the Spanish I studied in high school. However, after earning so many credits through the Cádiz summer program in 2015, I decided to pursue the Hispanic Studies major alongside Public Policy, and I am so glad I made that decision. The Hispanic Studies classes I’ve taken have widened my understanding of other cultures, increased my confidence in speaking and writing in Spanish, and sharpened my analytical skills. I have been pushed and challenged by my professors and peers, but I have become a better student because of it, and I have learned so much from them. Professor Cate-Arries has been especially integral to my Hispanic Studies experience: from jumping into her freshman seminar my very first semester of college, to developing an original research project with her in Cádiz, to learning the practical skills of Spanish-to-English translation and creating subtitles for a documentary, and finally rounding out my college years in her senior seminar on Francoism and its legacy, she has encouraged and challenged me to become a better student these past four years. I also especially enjoyed Hispanic Cinema with Professor Buck, Spanish Phonetics with Professor Arries, and Advanced Grammar and Composition with Professor Greenia. Another one of the highlights of the Hispanic Studies program has been the small class sizes, enabling me to develop relationships with other students and having at least a few familiar faces in my classes from semester to semester. I can’t wait to bring the analytical, communicative, research, and writing skills that I’ve learned in the Hispanic Studies department with me to law school at the University of California, Irvine starting in Fall 2018 and into the legal profession.
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