Internship Profile: Spanish

Hoping to incorporate within the foreign languages curriculum at McPherson College, the college’s mission statement of commitment to service, students who enrolled in Spanish I and Spanish III classes during the fall semester participated in volunteer work opportunities which placed the college students in community public schools. These placements in the schools were coordinated by Chris Wiens, director of career services at McPherson College. The college students were paired with McPherson elementary and middle school students who speak Spanish as their primary language in the home.

Spanish I students volunteering at Roosevelt Elementary School and Eisenhower Elementary School, both in McPherson, included: Laura Hoelscher, Jamie Schropp, Angelina Fiorenzi, Amanda LeClair, John Brown, Rebecca Martin and Kelsey Buffo.

Spanish III students who volunteered at McPherson Middle School were William Riley, Israel Ortiz, Jose Reyes and Brandon Babcock.

All student volunteers were required to keep a journal summarizing their experiences with the tutoring project.

Internship Profile: History/Spanish

Jadelle Thomas served as editor of “Murales” for three years. The student-oriented newsletter is designed to inform the McPherson College community about Hispanic culture. Written in Spanish and accompanied by English translations, the newsletter is all inclusive.

While “Murales” provided Jadelle the opportunity to present a variety of cultural topics, she often consulted with foreign exchange students to determine the elements that are important to highlight. Her collaboration efforts resulted in stories about music, television, history, art, celebrations, and current events.

The challenges Jadelle encountered included learning new vocabulary and translating her thoughts. She also had to learn how to manipulate the English keyboard to accomplish select Spanish notations. In addition to strengthening her Spanish skills, Jadelle was pleased that she could provide information that helps others understand and appreciate cultural differences.