INTEGRATIVE NARRATIVE
My experience with the Spanish language began since birth. I was born in Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico and immigrated to the U.S. at seven years of age. Since then, I have considered myself to be Mexican-American and I was always spoken to in Spanish at home. Although Spanish is my native language, it was until early college years that I really became interested in pursuing a career within the language. My path as a Spanish major perhaps is really peculiar. After I realized that the Biology pre-med major was not what I wanted, I was really confused as to what career path to take. It was a counselor at my community college that actually suggested majoring in Spanish. Although at the moment we did change the majors, I was hesitant because I naively believed that I already knew everything regarding the Spanish language. However, once I started attending Spanish university courses, I realized how mistaken I was. The amount of academic work and in-depth analysis that these courses required, really helped me learn cultural and linguistics aspects that I was not familiar with.
Through my years at CSUMB, many professors impacted my life in a very positive manner. These professors made my journey at this university a very enjoyable and enriching experience.
First and foremost, in the service learning course taught by Dr. Rafael Gomez, I learned how many of the subjects studied in an academic background influence the Latino community. Dr. Gomez's teaching style was very welcoming which facilitated classroom discussions and encouraged learning from each of my peers.
Since I have always been mainly interested in literature and culture, I had very limited knowledge regarding Spanish linguistics. Therefore, through the courses I took with Dr. Pablo Oliva, I was able to learn new concepts that I was not aware of. Dr. Oliva not only helped me in my academic journey but also helped me achieve one of my dearest dreams: to study abroad in Argentina. Since I was very young, Argentina caught my interest because of their culture that (according to the various books that I read) included an of influence of European and Latin American aspects. Therefore, I was intrigued with this country and wanted to visit and know more about their lifestyle. Dr. Oliva provided helpful resources that made the process of applying and living abroad easier. For that matter, I have nothing but complete gratitude for all the help and advice he gave me.
I really enjoy reading different literature from a wide variety of authors. So when I took the courses of Hispanic Literature and Chicano Literature with Dr. Maria Zielina and Dr. Donaldo W. Urioste, respectively, I was really intrigued and fascinated. Both of these professors showed that they were really passionate about their discipline of literature. Therefore it was really enjoyable to come to class and see how much they cared that their students not only would comprehend the subject at hand but also created an environment that was engaging for the students.
Although I am nowhere near where I would like to be, I am really thankful for all the lessons that I learned from the various courses that I took. The knowledge gained not only was academic but also allowed me to be more open-minded to the cultural differences around me. I plan to continue taking courses in Spanish and continue learning about cultures in other Spanish-speaking countries.