Spanish at Bryant University

Beatrice S. Demers Foreign Language Scholarship Award Winner Jillian Cash

2019-05-07T09:33:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Jillian Cash, a sophomore International Business major and Spanish minor, who has been awarded a Beatrice S. Demers Foreign Language Scholarship by the RI Foundation toward her semester abroad this fall in Salamanca, Spain.

Jill (front row, center) at the book making even she recently organized

Jill is an active member of our Spanish program at Bryant.

In fall 2018, Jillian competed in the Northeast Intercollegiate Sales Competition with a Spanish-language Sales Pitch. Of this experience, Jillian writes: “This competition was in personal selling, and I explained to employers why they should hire me in Spanish. Competing with students across the country, it gave me a great opportunity to network and build confidence in the Spanish language.”

In January, Jillian traveled with Bryant University faculty on a 10-day trip to Argentina and Chile where she visited local businesses as well as cultural sights, using her language skills. Inspired by her visit to the Hogar el Alba orphanage during her trip, Jill recently organized a storybook making event for her fellow classmates, with all books created donated to the orphanage.

In spring semester 2019, Jillian has chosen to contract her advanced level Spanish course, SP404 Spanish for Business, for Honors Program credits. As part of this contract, and in addition to the course’s normal assignments, Jillian will create a multimedia project showcasing specific companies of the Spanish-speaking world, their business structure, and their participation in the global economy. She will also research leadership qualities and create a video-curriculum about herself that she can share with future employers. All aspects of this project will be completed in Spanish.

As an International Business major /Spanish minor Jillian will participate in one of the customized study abroad programs offered jointly by Academic Programs International (API) and Bryant University. These programs combine traditional study abroad coursework and homestays, with a 3-week course taught by a Bryant faculty member plus a semester-long internship (in Spanish) in a small local business for academic credit. Jillian will study in Salamanca, Spain and we wish her all the best!

¡Enhorabuena! 2019 Commencement Award and Spanish Award Winners

2019-05-07T07:22:00.000-07:00

Profesora Gómez, Nick, Kerri, Anthony, Mia, Rachel, Profesora Moon, Kafui

2019 Department of Modern Languages Commencement Award

It is with pleasure that we announce that the 2019 Department of Modern Languages Award goes to Rachel Lagasse! Rachel will graduate with a dual degree: a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Spanish and a concentration in Actuarial Mathematics and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Concentration in Finance.

First and foremost, Rachel´s academic performance in her Spanish major coursework has been outstanding. Her GPA in her Spanish major is 3.95. She placed into SP305 as a freshman, the highest placement we allow for non-native speakers, and has taken all of her coursework at the advanced level. In addition to working to improve her language skills through courses such as Reading and Writing and Conversation and Composition, she has also taken coursework in a variety of content areas including film, literature, culture (2 courses), and Spanish for Business. In the classroom, Rachel is thoughtful and focused; she makes connections between courses and other disciplines, and her quiet leadership keeps her groups focused and in the target language.

As a freshman in SP310 Spanish-Speaking Cultures, Rachel researched and presented on La Bestia, the name given to the network of cargo trains in Mexico on top of which Central American refugees and immigrants ride to reach the U.S./Mexico border. In her sophomore year, she teamed up with another student (also a Spanish major) in SP308 Survey of Literature in Spanish to adapt the short story «No oyes ladrar los perros» by Juan Rulfo into a written play, which they then performed for the class as their final project. In her junior year, she created a website about present day social and cultural topics in Costa Rica, highlighting issues such as LGBTTTI rights, the ecotourism industry, and afro-latinos in politics, as her final research project in SP403 Cultures of Spanish-Speaking nations. Her project can be found here: https://costa-ricaaa.weebly.com/ She is finishing her Spanish major by completing a directed study on film and literature by women of Spanish-Speaking world this semester.

Rachel spent one month studying and interning abroad in Alicante, Spain during summer 2018. In addition to living with a host family and taking an advanced grammar class 5 days a week, she also interned 3 afternoons a week at Ingegratur, an international company that helps business become more accessible for disabled or elderly customers (hotels, retail stores, any type of business). Of her experiences, Rachel states “The study abroad experience overall was amazing-- I met some lifelong friends, learned so much about the language and the culture, and had so much fun. I think I grew a lot as a person being there alone and with a host mom who spoke zero English and was a little older than I was expecting. I'd definitely recommend studying abroad in the summer to anyone else who wants to knock off some extra credits or get a different internship perspective than the typical/traditional.”

Finally, Rachel was our nominee for the Spanish Representative for the CAS Dean's Advisory Council for the 2018-2019 academic year, and has served with distinction, making keen observations and recommendations to the Council on behalf of the Department of Modern Languages and the College of Arts and Sciences. Her work for the February 14th Love Your Major event last month was outstanding: she recruited another Spanish major student to help her and the two of them created posters, baked food, and staffed our department´s table for the entire event.

Congratulations, Rachel!

Spanish Awards

Awards are given to Spanish majors, concentrators and minors who have distinguished themselves in the following areas:

The Academic Achievement Award recognizes learners who can communicate effectively in the target language on academic subjects such as business, culture, film, history, linguistics, and literature. Due to all we have already mentioned about Rachel´s success in her coursework across our Spanish curriculum, it is our honor to present the Academic Achievement Award to Rachel Lagasse.

The Intellectual Entrepreneur Award recognizes a student who has the curiosity and imagination to make connections across disciplines and who who actively seeks out opportunities to learn.

Kerri O´Connell, a senior, studying Global Supply Chain Management with a concentration Spanish, recently finished her Senior Thesis as part of the Honors Program at Bryant.

Kerri choose to complete her Thesis entirely in Spanish, completing a 60 page research paper based on a full year’s worth of research! Kerri shared her work with the Bryant community, completing 2 presentations - one in English and one in Spanish on REDay. Kerri’s research, entitled, ¡Viva Latino! The Rising Popularity of Latin Music in the US, included traditional humanities research, as well as data analytics, including interview that she conducted with Leila Cobo, an expert in Latin Music at Billboard, as well as data analysis of a survey Kerri conducted, and analysis of Spotify data on the presence of Latin Songs on traditionally English-language playlists. It has been my honor to work with Kerri as her faculty advisor, and I can assure you all that she is an amazing young woman, and that her project is, without a doubt, the best work that I have ever seen come out of the Spanish program at Bryant. Congratulations, Kerri!

The Social Entrepreneur Award recognizes learners who demonstrate personal and intellectual growth through community engagement.

An International Business major with a concentration in Spanish, Kafui Gozey traveled on SIE Argentina and Chile with Profesora Gómez and this is where her love for the language was further ignited. It was on that trip that she decided that Chile would be the country she would choose to study abroad her junior year. Upon her return, this student took an advanced course with me and her fluency was stronger and she performed academically well in this course. She was a student that consistently volunteered and was confident in her speaking ability.

Kafui then approached Profesora Moon in December of her senior year, interested in pursuing something unique to finish her concentration in Spanish, something that would allow her to interact with the Spanish-speaking community in RI and give her the opportunity to use her language skills in the ¨real-world¨, much as she had done during her internship in Chile during her junior year abroad. For the past 12 weeks, Kafui has spend 3 hours every Saturday at Progreso Latino in Central Falls teaching math and literacy skills to native Spanish speakers. In her weekly reflections, Kafui ponders the difficult questions about how social topics such as minimum wage, the high cost of education, and the unique problems that immigrants face in our communities affect the people that she works with. In so many ways, Kafui is already changing the world for the better! Congratulations.

The Language Mastery Award recognizes learners who have acquired communicative and intercultural competence through formal study and application.

Nick Walker, a senior, an International Business and Spanish double-major, began his Spanish studies at Bryant at the intermediate level. Throughout his 4 years, he gradually worked his way through our intermediate and advanced level courses, studying courses including conversation, literature, culture, and Spanish for business. During his junior year, he studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain where he completed an internship in Spanish at the Chamber of Commerce. In his final semester, this Nick has used his language skills in some amazing ways, including conducting a phone interview - in Spanish- with contacts from Chile as part of his IB Practicum, and a directed study to finish his Spanish major. Inspired to use and to deepen his languages skills in a new way, Nick chose to dive deeply into one primary source in an effort to master both the language and the content of that source. Entitled The Life and Death of Pablo Escobar, his research offered an intimate analysis into one of history’s most notorious drug-lords, which he presented - in Spanish - at REDay a few weeks ago. Congratulations, Nick!

The Cultural Ambassador Award recognizes learners who apply a cosmopolitan outlook to global citizenship. We have two recipients for this award:

Mia Broderick, a senior will finish off with Human Resource and Spanish double-major. She began her studies at the intermediate level and she traveled with me to Argentina and Chile on SIE her sophomore year. She had a love for the language and knew that she wanted to study abroad given that she was majoring in the language. Her junior year she studied abroad in Malaga, Spain. I was privileged to have her as an advanced student that same year. Upon her return on campus she has helped me with the Cameron Fitzpatrick Grozinger tournament that honors an IB/Spanish student that passed due to a peanut allergy. Mia herself knows the importance of this allergy and helped spread the awareness on our campus. Most recently, this student has served on my eboard for BUSCO (Bryant Univ. Spanish Cultural Org.) as the treasurer. As a senior and well versed student at Bryant I can’t thank her enough for all her help with organization and balancing that excel sheet. Countless emails, texts and contributions to our campus. Congratulations, Mia!

Antonio Deluca, a senior with a major in International Business and double minor in Spanish and Chinese, he began his Spanish studies at Bryant at the advanced level. His first course with me with Spanish 307 a conversation and composition course. From day 1 of meeting this student, it was obvious to me that he wanted to not only master Spanish but Chinese as well. There were moments where he got both languages confused early on. He traveled with me on SIE Argentina and Chile his sophomore year and it was here that I was truly able to see his confidence in the language. He studied abroad in China as he knew that he needed to in order to increase his fluency in his third language. Upon his return to Bryant this student was that one that I always knew would become involved in the activities that the could prove his fluency in Spanish. Two years in a row, he has been the winner of a Karoake in Spanish contest during latin night. This past fall, he joined in along with 15 other Bryant students to compete in a national competition with an elevator pitch with the Sales Department and won first place amongst 25 contestants.

¡Viva Latino!

2019-04-19T05:46:00.000-07:00

Kerri O’Connell, a senior studying Global Supply Chain Management and Spanish, recently finished her Senior Thesis as part of the Honors Program at Bryant. Kerri choose to complete her Thesis entirely in Spanish, completing a 45 page research paper based on a full year’s worth of research! Kerri shared her work with the Bryant community, completing 2 presentations (one in English and one in Spanish) this past week. Kerri’s research, entitled, ¡Viva Latino! The Rising Popularity of Latin Music in the US, included an interview that she conducted with Leila Cobo, an expert in Latin Music at Billboard, as well as data analysis of a survey Kerri conducted, and analysis of Spotify data on the presence of Latin Songs on traditionally English-language playlists. Below is the abstract and Introduction to Kerri’s paper.

¡Viva Latino! El crecimiento renombre de la música latina en los Estados Unidos

Abstracto

Este proyecto va a examinar la historia de la música latina y los elementos y eventos significativos que influyen el gusto de la música en los Estados Unidos. Luego, el propósito es diseccionar que constituye una canción popular y porque a las personas les gusta un tipo de música y combinar esta información con la historia y datos cuantificables para analizar la popularidad actual de la música latina. Expertos ya han estudiado la música latina, pero incluyendo esta información en la conversación sobre la popularidad de la música Latina podemos observar un mejor estudio de las características que influyen el gusto de la música en los Estados Unidos. Los datos no pueden decir todo sobre la popularidad de la música latina en años recientes, pero pueden añadir algo nuevo, algo cuantificable, que no ha sido investigado aún. Al final, voy a tratar de determinar las causas principales de la extraña popularidad en la música latina en los Estados Unidos para crear una base extensa en los futuros estudios en la música latina.

Introducción

Esta tesis va a investigar el crecimiento, influencia, presencia y futuro de la música latina mundial. La tesis provee una ancha y detallada vista de la posición presente de la música latina y cómo ha llegado a este punto. La tesis va a investigar las causas de la popularidad explosiva en los últimos años y va a analizar los datos que ya existen y la nueva información que puede ayudar a predecir si esta tendencia continuará y cómo evolucionará. Va a probar como la prevalencia de la música latina mundial ha aumentado exponencialmente en los años recientes y cómo esto es probablemente un resultado directo de los servicios streaming y cómo produce un cambio en las actitudes y percepciones de la música popular. El punto más importante es que una causa principal de la creciente popularidad en la música latina, especialmente en los Estados Unidos, es el resultado de los servicios streaming. Por lo tanto, es ventajoso incluir los datos de estas plataformas en la conversación de los expertos ya que ofrecen una nueva perspectiva.

Después de mi investigación inicial en la revisión de la literatura, todavía tenía preguntas que no fueron contestadas por los recursos que había leído. Entonces, me di cuenta que sería necesario conducir una entrevista con intento a explorar las otras preguntas de investigación y decidí hablar con Leila Cobo, una escritora y experta en la música latina. Con esa entrevista, descubrí la importancia de los datos de los servicios streaming y cómo estos datos pueden ayudar a contestar mis preguntas. Como resultado, añadí una pregunta a las preguntas de investigación sobre el papel de streaming y la utilización de los datos en la popularidad: ¿Es esta popularidad del género sólo una novedad o tiene un futuro exitoso?

REDay habla español

2019-04-19T05:38:00.001-07:00

Two seniors, both International Business and Spanish double majors, presented their independent research at REDay 2019. Both conducted and presented their research entirely in Spanish.

¡Enhorabuena a Dan y Nick por su trabajo impresionante!

Daniel Ryder, whose semester abroad in Bilbao, Spain inspired his research topic, presented on The Basque Country: A Region of Cultural Independence. His research highlighted the many cultural aspects that differentiate the Basque region from the rest of the autonomous regions in Spain. Topics such as the region's history as well as language, food, sports, and many other unique cultural identifiers of the region were highlighted.

Nicholas Walker was inspired to use and to deepen his languages skills in a new way, diving deeply into one primary source in an effort to master both the language and the content of that source. Entitled The Life and Death of Pablo Escobar, his presentation offered an intimate analysis into one of history’s most notorious drug-lords.This presentation contrasted fact from fiction, and unraveled the truth behind the Netflix series “Narcos”, as Escobar’s story as recalled from the perspective of his own son through his book Pablo Escobar, Mi Padre.

Modern Language Award Ceremony 2018

2018-04-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

The Department of Modern Languages held its annual Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, April 25th in Bello Grand Hall.

The Department of Modern Languages Commencement Award winner was announced. Kevin Ludemann is a Spanish and Human Resource Management double major, and President of Bryant´s chapter of the Phi Sigma Iota international foreign language honor society. Read more about Kevin´s accomplishments in this blog post.

The Department also recognized student achievement in the following categories:

Academic Achievement
Intellectual Entrepreneur
Social Entrepreneur
Language Mastery
Cultural Ambassador

We would like to congratulate the award winners in Spanish: Kevin Ludemann, Claire Gracia, Kevyn Madrigal, Jenna Lamb, Michael Dalton, and Gabriel Barrett. You can read what Profesoras Gomez and Moon had to say about each recipient below.

Profe Moon, Kevin, Claire, Kevyn, Gabby, Miguelito, Jenna, and Profe Gomez
Photo by James Imrie '18

The Academic Achievement Award recognizes learners who can communicate effectively in the target language on academic subjects such as business, culture, film, history, linguistics, and literature.

Our award winner is a Spanish and Human Resources Double Major who has taken nearly every advanced level Spanish courses that we offer, in a wide variety of subject areas including film, literature, culture, linguistics, business, conversation and more. He traveled to SIE Latin America his sophomore year with professor Gomez and was able to experience Latin American culture first hand. As we heard a few minutes ago, he is currently piloting a directed study with Professor Gomez in the area of medical Spanish in which he shadows members of the Bryant PA program in clinical settings in Providence, interpreting for Spanish-language patients. And he is the first student to complete his senior Honors Capstone in the Department of Modern Languages. His research presentation entitled the “Role of Drag Art in Modern Day Spain.” In his four years of Spanish studied he has earned a perfect 4.0, and is a member, and President, of the Phi Sigma Iota honor society and also served as BUSCO president. Kevin Ludemann has impressed us year after year during his time at Bryant. Congratulations.

The Intellectual Entrepreneur Award recognizes a student who has the curiosity and imagination to make connections across disciplines and who who actively seeks out opportunities to learn.

A member of the Phi Sigma Iota honor society, this young woman has successfully combined her Global Studies major with a major in Spanish, and the two majors have often connected. For example, in the 400 level literature and film course that took with me last spring, her final research project explored the portrayal of immigrants, in particular female and child migrants, in film and how this portrayal has contributed to our national perceptions of immigration.

Another example includes the directed study she has just completed. Building upon her coursework in Global Anthropology she worked with a classmate to completed ethnographic research in Miami in January, which they used as a foundation for a semester-long research project on the various Latin American cultural influences on the city. They presented their research, which was nominated for Best Student Research Paper, at REDay last week.

This young woman studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain, where she also worked in an elementary school teaching English and U.S. culture. She said of these experiences: “I returned from my time abroad with a different idea of travel. I no longer wanted to just visit other countries; I wanted to fully interact with them.” And indeed she will be doing just that. Claire Gracia will soon be off to Peru where she will work as a Youth Development Facilitator with the Peace Corps. Please join me in congratulating in her.

The Social Entrepreneur Award recognizes learners who demonstrate personal and intellectual growth through community engagement.

This student is an International Business major with dual concentrations in Accounting and Spanish. He studied in Salamanca, Spain where he interned as an Assistant Project Coordinator and used his Spanish to help translate business proposals and investigated potential business opportunities in Latin America and Europe. Here at Bryant he has served on campus in a variety of organizations; ALPHA (Assoc. of Latino Professionals for America) as co-president last year and serves as President of ISO (International Student Organization) this current academic year. He has also also served as a member of MSU (Multicultural Student Union). He has been a great liaison in many campus wide events throughout his four years at Bryant. I have had the privilege of collaborating with him on events during September and October to highlight Hispanic Heritage month, primarily PLAFF (Providence Latin American Film Festival), Noche Latina in April and the I am an Immigrant campaign that has taken place two years in a row in the late Fall. He is a student that has involved himself in the Bryant community to highlight International and Multicultural events. It is with great pride that I congratulate Kevyn Madrigal to accept this award.

The Language Mastery Award recognizes learners who have acquired communicative and intercultural competence through formal study and application.

This International Business major began his study in Spanish in SP105, our introductory course. He is finishing his career at Bryant with dual concentrations in Spanish and Accounting he has a great control of the language as a non-native speaker. I can speak of that first hand as I have had him for a total of 6 courses from beginner to intermediate and advanced courses. I still remember the first beginner class that he took with me and I could see the desire he had to speak Spanish and he often questioned/wondered if he would actually ever get there. He traveled with me to SIE Latin America to Argentina and Chile where he become immersed fully into the culture while in both countries his sophomore year. This is where he fully engaged and I could see him wanting even more from the language as he was determined to speak with the locals. It was as if this was that first taste of Latin American culture that had him ready for his study abroad experience in Bilbao, Spain.

His junior year In Spain he completed internships with multiple companies, not by choice but rather because one of them closed part way through his semester. This year he worked with a classmate to on a directed study that researched modern music from Spain and Hispanic America including the Spanish rock group Jarabe de Palo, the origins of Reggaeton in Panama and Puerto Rico, and more, which they presented at REDay last week, this directed study was lead by Professor Moon. Along the way, this young man has shown enthusiasm for the Spanish language, and a desire to continually improve his skills. As one of his language professors that was given the pleasure of having him from his first year, second, third and fourth year, it is exciting and rewarding to see the complete growth of this student and stand back in awe of how much he has grown in the language and where he has taken those skills. It was my privilege having him as a student and there is no doubt that he will carry on using his language skills after graduation.

Professor Moon has asked me to share a excerpt of one of his weekly journals while he was abroad in Spain, because it exemplifies all that he has accomplished. It was written in Spanish so I’ll translate.

“I have traveled to Catalunya, Cantabria, Andalucia, Pais Vasco and more, have seen the different regional cultures of Spain, and I have talked with people in each of the regions. I am happy that, in general, people can understand what I say, and I have had many conversations in Spanish with people from different parts of the world. At the end of the day, this is my primary reason for learning Spanish, to be able to speak with more people and have diverse experiences.” This student will be missed immensely.

Congratulations to Miguel Dalton.

The Cultural Ambassador Award recognizes learners who apply a cosmopolitan outlook to global citizenship. We have two recipients for this award today, one whose work to promote culture on the Bryant campus and one whose time and research abroad….

Our first recipient is an International Business Major with a Concentration in Marketing and a minor in Spanish. She will be inducted into the Phi Sigma Iota honor society this afternoon. This student studied abroad in Bilbao, Spain her Sophomore year where she interned as a Marketing assistant and was able to use her Spanish skills there. I have had this student in the classroom and outside, as she has been a part of BUSCO, the Spanish Club on campus for a total of 2 1/2 years, she was abroad that other half year. In her time working as the Secretary I can honestly say she is an extremely organized person and kept the BUSCO in line and each year came up with better ideas year after year. This year for Noche Latina or Latin Night, we raised a total of $500 to donate to San Miguel School here locally in Providence, a school for boys between 5-8th grade who come from underprivileged areas of Providence. I am sure that she can attest that I am the professor at Bryant that she has received the most texts, en español, from to check locations of meetings and planning of events. She will be missed. Please join me on congratulating Jenna Lamb.

Our second recipient, also a Phi Sigma Iota honor society member, studied abroad in Barcelona her junior year. As can sometimes happen, the coursework abroad did not work well with this student’s credit needs. So, I offered to have her work with me to pilot a new directed study option on ethnography. She may have accepted this offer out of necessity, but what she did with this project was amazing. After some background work on the theory and practice of ethnography, she chose to study Catalan nationalism as viewed through FC Barcelona soccer culture during her semester abroad. Completing background research, cultural observations in multiple cities, and numerous interviews with native speakers, she produced a website with her research findings. This student’s work did not stop when she returned to Bryant’s campus. She presented her work at REDay 2017, and to a gathering of the Modern Language faculty and an invited guest speaker from Dartmouth, whose work with ethnography and language learners inspired this pilot project, which has gone on to become a regular course offering to our students while they are abroad. But were it not for the enthusiasm and dedication that Gabby Barrett showed for this project, it may have never come into existence. Please join me in expressing my gratitude and my congratulations to Gabby.

Department of Modern Languages Commencement Award Winner

2018-04-26T09:15:00.000-07:00

It is our pleasure to announce that the 2018 Department of Modern Languages Commencement Award is awarded to Kevin Ludemann. Kevin is a Spanish and Human Resources Management Double Major.

Kevin with Profesoras Moon and Gomez

Kevin Ludemann’s contributions to the academic and co-curricular life at Bryant are numerous, and extend far beyond his contributions specific to the Department of Modern Languages. However, his dedication to academic excellence, and his extensive involvement in the co-curricular offerings within Modern Languages make him the obvious choice for the 2018 Department of Modern Languages Commencement Award winner.

Kevin has been the student representative and public face of the Spanish program in a number of organizations on campus, including (but certainly not limited to): the My Path program (2 years), the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Council (2 years), and as President of the student cultural organization, BUSCO (1 year), a member of Phi Sigma Iota foreign language honor society since 2016, and President of the Bryant chapter during 2107-18. He also traveled abroad to Argentina and Chile for the Sophomore International Experience. His enthusiasm for Bryant’s Spanish program is seemingly boundless, and he represents our program exceptionally well in all of his interactions on campus. His perspective on the importance of acquiring language and understanding culture demonstrate his awareness of how intercultural competence helps all of us respond and adapt to the communicative and social needs of culturally different others. This perspective earned Kevin the Cultural Ambassador Award from the Department of Modern Languages in April 2017.

As a Spanish major, Kevin has also excelled academically, earning a perfect 4.0 GPA in his Spanish major courses.

Kevin is currently piloting a directed study in the area of medical Spanish in which he shadows members of the Bryant PA program in clinical settings in Providence, interpreting for Spanish-language patients.

Kevin is also the first student to complete his senior Honors Capstone in the Department of Modern Languages. Written completely in Spanish, his capstone explored how the modern day Spanish Drag Queen has come to be, and the role that they play in society.

By looking at the role that cross dresser played in “Comedias”, or plays, that mimicked
Spanish society during the 16th century, the repression of sexual identity under the Franco dictatorship in the 20th century, and the post dictatorship period, known as La Movida Madrileña, through two films, “Ocaña” and “La Mala Educación” that both have Queens as protagonists and demonstrate the transition away from Franco’s strict laws that sought to prevent individual expression. Finally, the capstone included a look at various modern day drag performances and interviews with Drag Queens who live and perform in Spain.

This project was truly a culmination of the entirety of Kevin´s Spanish coursework here at Bryant.

Kevin is also the recipient of The NEHRA Management Department Commencement Award for Excellence in Human Resources Management, The Bryant University Good Citizenship Award, and The Student Senate Service Award.

REDay 2018 Presentation

2018-04-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

REDay 2018

On Wednesday, April 18th, four seniors completing majors or concentrations in Spanish presented their research from two separate directed study projects. Both groups completed their research entirely in Spanish, and presented their findings in Spanish as well.

Alison and Michael

The first project, presented by Michael Dalton and Alison Feehan explored modern music from Spain and Hispanic America including the Spanish rock group Jarabe de Palo, the origins of Reggaeton in Panama and Puerto Rico, and more. Listen to their playlist here.

Claire and Danny

The second project, by Claire Gracia and Daniel Giacomuzzi, built upon ethnographic observations they conducted in Miami and explored the various Hispanic cultural influences on the city of Miami, Florida. Visit the website they created using this link.

Students from all levels of our Spanish language program attended the presentations.

Learn more about REDay here.

Student Profile: Kevin Ludemann

2018-04-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

Kevin Ludemann
Class of 2018

Kevin Ludemann, a Spanish major, will present his Senior Honors Capstone on Friday, April 20th at 1:30pm. His presentation, entitled the “Role of Drag Queens in Modern Day Spain,” is the culmination of a year´s worth of research and writing.

Abstract:

This capstone serves the purpose of better educating the public and debunking some common
stereotype about Drag Queens. Written completely in Spanish, the piece examines how the
modern day Spanish Drag Queen has come to be, and the role that they play in society. The piece starts by looking at the role that cross dresser played in “Comedias”, or plays, that mimicked Spanish society during the 16th century. By examining these performances, the audience can establish a baseline of what the role of Drag Queens was. Flash forward nearly 400 years, and the role of the Drag Queen changed drastically when Francisco Franco, the Dictator from Spain between 1939-1975, came to power. He put into place legislation that limited gender and sexuality expression in society and drastically threatened Drag Art. Serving as a major transition, this piece examines this legislation and the time period after it fell, La Movida Madrileña, as they have both helped construct the modern day Drag Queen. More specifically, the capstone examines two films, “Ocaña” and “La Mala Educación” that both have Queens as protagonists and demonstrate the transition away from Franco’s strict laws that sought to prevent individual expression. Finally, the capstone reveals insights gained after interviewing Drag Queens who live and perform in Spain. These interviews, the analysis of them, and the history that helped form them all work together so society can finally answer the question, “What role do Drag Queens play in modern day Spanish society?”

Kevin is the first Spanish major to complete his capstone for Spanish credit. He is writing his capstone in Spanish, but his presentation on April 20th will be in English.

Student Profile: Emily Katz

2018-04-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

Emily Katz
Class of 2020

Bryant University is often known for being one of the three “B’s” of the business schools in New England. I mean, that is why I decided to come to Bryant. However, I had no idea what Bryant would offer me in the world of Modern Languages. Throughout high school, I had always loved learning Spanish and I was lucky enough to have an amazing language program at my high school. Having such an amazing experience with Spanish in high school influenced my decision to enter Bryant as an International Business major. I have always dreamed of studying abroad in a Spanish speaking country, and by majoring in International Business, I now have the opportunity to do so, as I touch upon down below.

One of the requirements of an International Business degree is to minor in a modern language. Sure, I could have only minored in Spanish, but I decided to fill my open credits with Spanish classes and bumped my minor up to a major. Even further than that, I have the opportunity to earn a dual degree; a Bachelor of Science in International Business and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish. This is pretty rare, and only a few students in Bryant’s history have majored in a modern language. I feel blessed to have the credits from high school to be able to earn a second degree and to experience the number of Spanish classes I have been able to take.

Another requirement of an International Business degree is a study abroad experience. I have chosen to study abroad in Chile during the fall semester of my Junior year. I had the choice to study in either Spain or Chile, but having already been to Europe and knowing the level of English spoken in both countries, Chile became the obvious choice for me. I personally feel that study abroad is the best chance to increase my proficiency in Spanish and I want to take full advantage of the opportunity to do so. I know that my fluency will increase dramatically after living with a host family and studying at the University in Chile.

While I am in Chile, I plan to start to collect research for my Honors Capstone project. I will be working with Professor Heather Moon to craft my topic and determine the best methods of research collection. No matter what topic I choose, I know that my study abroad experience will give me the first-hand knowledge and observations that I need to present an interesting and informative capstone project. Not only will observing and communicating with the Chilean natives help my language skills, but it will also teach me the norms of Spanish communication styles that I will use in my future career.

With these increased language skills, I will be better prepared for my career in the future. I do not know exactly what I want to do for my career yet, but I know that I definitely want to work for a company where I can frequently use my Spanish skills. In addition to double majoring in International Business and Spanish, I am double concentrating in Global Supply Chain Management and Applied Analytics. With this combination of studies, I set myself up for a career that is international by definition. I imagine myself traveling often and not staying in the same place for too long.

Reflecting back on my almost two years here at Bryant, I could not ask for a better experience. Bryant has given me an amazing education that has been the perfect combination of business and the arts. For those interested in pursuing an education at Bryant in a modern language, I could not recommend it more. I can only speak for the Spanish program here, but increasing your language skills even just a little bit will set you apart from the competition when applying for internships and jobs. Do not be afraid of foreign languages, embrace them!

Language Learners as Ethnographers

2017-10-01T16:20:00.003-07:00

Read about the ethnography directed study offered to study abroad students in Italian and Spanish, created by Lecturers Elisabetta Misuraca (Italian) and Heather M. Moon (Spanish). Bryant Stories

And take a look at one of the student ethnography projects: Catalan Nationalism and the Soccer Culture of FC Barcelona by Gabby Barrett '18.

Spanish Student Award Winners at the 2017 Modern Language Award Ceremony

2017-04-21T11:01:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Michelle Meneades, Amelia Eppard, Vivian Tejada, Kayla Nikosey and Kevin Ludemann.

Heather Moon and Patricia Gomez (Lecturers), Amelia Eppard, Vivian Tejada, Kevin Ludemann, Kayla Nikosey, and Tony Houston (Associate Professor) Photo by James Imrie (Class of ´18)

The Academic Achievement Award recognizes learners who can communicate effectively in the target language on academic subjects such as business, culture, film, history, linguistics, and literature.
Our award winner is a Spanish major who has taken advanced level Spanish courses in a wide variety of subject areas including film, literature, business, conversation and more. She has researched the films of Isabel Coixet, la movida madrilena cultural post-Franco cultural movement in Spain, and in Spanish for Business her group’s business plan researched Bolivian soccer leagues and invented "Sol Futbol Academy", a not-for-profit raising money to set up leagues for children in Bolivia. She also studied in Bilbao, Spain her junior year where she interned, for credits in Spanish, at CIMAS Innovación y Medio Ambiente. In her four years of Spanish studied she has earned a very nearly perfect 3.9, and is a member of the Phi Sigma Iota honor society. Michelle Meneades has impressed us year after year during her time at Bryant. Congratulations.

The Intellectual Entrepreneur Award recognizes a student who has the curiosity and imagination to make connections across disciplines and who who actively seeks out opportunities to learn.
This student successfully completed her minor in Spanish by the end of her junior year, and then spent the summer in Salamanca, Spain where two things happened: she completed coursework to earn a concentration in Spanish and, more significantly, her view of the world shifted. Her time abroad gave her confidence in her language abilities, and a taste of Spanish culture that has already had significant influence on her goals and plans. Upon her return to Bryant for her senior year she sought out an opportunity to continue to use her language skills in the community, volunteering in an after school program in an elementary school in Central Falls all year. The special bonds she has formed with her students, many of whom are Spanish language dominant, inspired a short essay in Spanish for publication in Phi Sigma Iota literary magazine, which is also published on our departmental blog. The next phase of her learning will take Amelia Eppard back to Spain to teach English in Madrid during the upcoming academic year. Please join me in congratulating in her.

The Social Entrepreneur Award recognizes learners who demonstrate personal and intellectual growth through community engagement.
This student, minoring in Spanish has taken courses in film, heritage learning and Spanish and Conversation. She also took SIE Latin America course with me in our first trip to Argentina and Chile in 2015….and additionally was our first Bryant to study abroad in Cuba. She is currently completing a directed study on Mental Health in the LatinX community, which she presented at REDay one week ago. She has also very recently been accepted to the Coro Fellowship in Public Policy in Los Angeles for the upcoming year which I was honored to write a letter of recommendation for her. One of her biggest leadership roles was seen here on campus this past November when I saw her fully take charge of the I am an immigrant campaign. I was happy to support her and have been privileged to watch her grow immensely in her four years here at Bryant. She will be missed. Congratulations to Vivian Tejada.

The Language Mastery Award recognizes learners who have acquired communicative and intercultural competence through formal study and application.
This Spanish major placed into the intermediate level as a freshman, and has worked her way through our program course by course, honing her language skills and expanding her intercultural competence in each successive course - often taking multiple Spanish courses in the same semester. She first was exposed to Argentina/Chile SIE in 2015 and she then studied abroad in Costa Rica in the summer between sophomore and junior years, an experience that she then expanded upon in a semester-long research project that she completed as part of her Cultures course as a junior. Her application of her skills have been wide and varied: in her literature course, she played multiple parts, including a lion tamer, in her group's theatrical production of the short story Juan Darien, and she is currently analyzing the film Te doy mis ojos by Iciar Bollain, as well as completing a Directed Study in ethnography based on her experiences at Progreso Latino in Providence. Her interest in language and culture even influenced her Honors Capstone in Finance, as she studied the stock markets in Spain, Mexico, and Chile. Finally, she has served as the Secretary/Treasurer of Bryant’s chapter of Phi Sigma Iota honor society this year. Congratulations to Kayla Nikosey.

The Cultural Ambassador Award recognizes learners who apply a cosmopolitan outlook to global citizenship.This Spanish major is the student representative and public face of the Spanish program in a number of organizations on campus, including (but certainly not limited to) the My Path program, the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Council, and as President of BUSCO (Stop by Latin Night tonight in the Roto!). His enthusiasm for Bryant’s Spanish program is seemingly boundless, and he represents our program exceptionally well in all of his interactions on campus. His perspective on the importance of learning language and culture, as he so eloquently expressed a few minutes ago, demonstrate his understanding of how cultural understanding helps all of us respond and adapt to the communicative and social needs of culturally different others. As he is only a junior, We look forward to Kevin Ludemann’s continued advocacy and accomplishments next year. Congratulations.

2016-12-06T14:43:00.000-08:00

Amelia Eppard is a senior majoring in Marketing with a concentration in Spanish. She is also a member of the Phi Sigma Iota honor society. After graduation, she is planning to take a gap year to teach English in Spain, where she will be able to immerse herself in the culture and learn valuable skills (plus enjoy their delectable desserts and coffees).

Amelia wrote this piece about her experiences learning Spanish, and a very young teacher she met while volunteering in a local school.

Gracias, Luis

Por Amelia Eppard

El proceso de aprender un idioma puede ser frustrante, y había veces cuando quería rendirme. Aprender un idioma requiere mucha paciencia, muchas horas de leer, y muchas actividades de verbos. Pero, la satisfacción no está en las clases de español o francés, o italiano. La está en los momentos simples, pequeños, y bonitos en la vida. Para mí, este momento ocurrió con un niño de 6 años.

Ahora, soy una voluntaria en una escuela de Rhode Island. Muchas de los estudiantes necesitan ayudan con su inglés o su español porque ellos son de familias hispanohablantes. En la clase de primero grado, hay un niño pequeño se llama Luis. Luis no puede hablar inglés y por eso, él es muy tímido y no tiene mucha confianza. Sin embargo, Luis se convirtió en un amigo mío. Cada martes y jueves, cuando yo voy a la escuela, Luis tiene una voz un poco más alta. Cada vez, Luis está más emocionado y quiere mi ayuda. Le he enseñado las matemáticas y le he dicho que “Repita estas palabras en inglés.” Me importa mucha nuestra amistad y antes de esta experiencia, no sabía que un niño de 6 años puede ensenarme en una manera tan especial e imprescindible.

Luis es mi razón para continuar este viaje a fluidez. El proceso de aprender es gratificante solo si puede usar el conocimiento en una manera impactante. Espero que cada estudiante de un idioma pueda encontrar su propio Luis. Doy muchas gracias a mi maestro pequeño.

Nellie Gorbea, RI Secretary of State, visited Bryant on Wednesday September 21st

2016-09-28T13:03:00.000-07:00

Thank you to the the PwC Center for Diversity and Inclusion and the Intercultural Center for sponsoring the visit by Nellie Gorbea, RI Secretary of State, to Bryant. Many Bryant students, including Katie Nugent, attended the event. Katie's observations are below.

This past Wednesday, Nellie Gorbea, Rhode Island’s Secretary of State, came to Bryant to speak about her experiences in politics as a Latina. She spoke about her transition into her political role and why she decided she wanted to represent the state of Rhode Island. She discussed the small percentage of latino politicians in American society today and how she was the first Latina to win a state office position in New England. She stressed the importance of millennials taking part in the upcoming election and encouraged students to get involved in whatever field they desire or somehow give back to their community. Gorbea emphasized her willingness to listen to everyone’s perspective in order to improve everyone’s well being in Rhode Island.

During her term in office, Gorbea has pushed the implementation of new technology in the voting systems. At this event, her passion and work ethic was apparent as she spoke about why she thought it is important to improve our current system. Overall, this was a very positive learning experience and influenced me to have more of a presence in my community and to also take advantage of my vote in this upcoming election.

Katie Nugent is a sophomore who is business undecided with a minor in Spanish. She is a member of the women’s soccer team and has recently joined a public speaking club on campus to get involved in the Bryant community. This winter, Katie will be traveling to Argentina and Chile on the Sophomore International Experience trip and is looking forward to take advantage of this great learning opportunity.

2016-09-15T08:40:00.002-07:00

Bryant Spanish faculty member, Profe Heather Moon, writes about her travels to Argentina and Chile this summer

This past August I had the opportunity to travel to Mendoza, Argentina and Viña del Mar, Chile representing the Office of Study Abroad and the Department of Modern Languages at Bryant.

Viña del Mar
In Viña del Mar I visited with Bryant students who are currently studying at the Universidad Adolf Ibañez as part of the International Business customized study abroad program, in partnership with the study abroad provider API. It was a wonderful experience to see many of my former students (and several that I met for the first time!), now living and working in Chile. All the students are living with host families, taking classes at UAI and interning at local businesses, where they are able to use their Spanish language skills and to gain valuable business and cultural knowledge.

Bryant students and Profe Moon outside the Museo Fonck in Viña del Mar

I impressed to see...and hear...how much they have learned in their time abroad. At the time of my visit, the students had only been in Chile for a month and already I could hear them speaking better Spanish, and understanding the language and culture around them. I can only imagine how much more they will improve before the return to Bryant at the end of this semester!

We all went out to dinner, with the students choosing an authentic Chilean restaurant with absolutely delicious food for our meal.

Patel de Choclo

I also toured the university UAI, the cities of Viña del Mar and Valparaíso, and visited one of the local companies where a Bryant student is interning. While only there for 3 days, I left with a wonderful impression of the program and the area. The views of the bay, and the twin cities with their wonderful contrasts, the beach just steps away all made it quite clear by this area is one of the major tourist destinations in Chile.

Profe Moon in Viña

The hillside houses of Valparaiso

The view of Viña del Mar and Valparaiso from UAI

Mendoza

I also visited Mendoza, Argentina to evaluate whether or not that city would be a good place for Bryant students to study. Yes, it definitely is! Nestled alongside the Andes, Mendoza is a small, very friendly city in the heart of the Argentine wine country.

Sunset in Mendoza, with the Andes in the distance.

API runs a wonderful program there, and I was able to visit the Universidad de Congreso and several businesses where students could intern, including Bodega Cecchin and the media company Medios Uno, which houses print, digital, television and radio media all in one location. While entirely different companies and industries, both locations would provide Bryant students with high quality internships.

Bodega Cecchin

We ate lunch at Bodega Cecchin, which included some delicious empenadas

During our visit to Medios Uno, we were interviewed about the collaboration between Universidad de Congreso, API, and Bryant for an article that came out in their newspaper, Diaro Uno, which you can read here. (None of us were expecting to be interviewed as we thought we were just visiting the media company....guess we should have known that good reporters can't resist finding a good news story!)

Plaza Independencia on a Sunday afternoon

When I wasn't working, I had the opportunity to be a tourist in Mendoza and to observe a bit of the culture. From having a coffee and people watching at a sidewalk cafe or walking through the many city parks, and enjoying the culinary richness the city had to offer, I had a wonderful time!

Coffee, a necessity when traveling.

The Italian influences on Argentine cuisine are plentiful, from gelato to pizza to pasta.

Santiago

When my study abroad visits were done, I spent 24 hours in Santiago, Chile. While not nearly enough time to truly get to know the city, I stayed in the Bella Vista area and made the most of my time by visiting one of Pablo Neruda's three Chilean homes, La Chascona, Cerro San Cristobal with its amazing views of the city, and visiting the many local shops and restaurants. I also took a 3 hour walk early Sunday morning through the Parque Forestral (along with half of Santiago who were out for a morning run), up to the top of Cerro Santa Lucia, and to many of the historical buildings of Santiago, including La Monda and Plaza de Armas. And of course, there was plenty of time for food and coffee.

La Chascona

Gran Torre Santiago with the Andes in the background

Early Sunday morning, taken from Cerro Santa Lucia

How Chilean....a bit of avocado on my morning toast (along with the required coffee)!

Palacio La Moneda, the Presidential residence

Jackie Lamirande: a graduating senior shares her experiences as a Spanish major

2016-04-25T10:59:00.001-07:00

The following is an excerpt from the speech that Jackie Lamirande made at the Modern Language Award Ceremony on April 20, 2016. Jackie is a senior with double-major in Marketing and Spanish. She also studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain. Jackie also represented the Spanish program on the Dean's Advisory Council.

Professor Houston and Jackie

I have found through my limited professional experience so far that the world has become more global than ever before and a second language is key to most professional careers. Many students graduate from Bryant University with a business degree and when entering the job market they are going up against thousands of other business students with their same qualifications. I believe that is where learning a second language is key. Business is becoming global from large corporations down to family companies and employers know this which is why I believe knowledge of a second language is what will set you apart from the thousands of other seniors in college graduating with a business degree.

I have found from waitressing in a restaurant, to my internship this past year at AAA that I have used Spanish in so many different facets of my life. I am a double major in marketing and Spanish and I have personally found that the pairing of a double Spanish major has opened up more doors for me than I could have ever imagined. I started off as a minor in Spanish, then moved up to a concentration, when going abroad I spoke with Professor Moon who showed me ways to work my schedule while in Spain so I could have enough credits to possibly double major, that way my Spanish concentration would not be finished when I returned and I would still be able to practice and improve on my language skills. Within two times in her office I was sold (be careful though, she’s very convincing). In Spain I saw how much my Spanish was improving and I wanted to try as hard as I possibly could to become fluent to expand the opportunities I currently had, it was one of the best decisions of my life.

On every interview I have gone on since my time at Bryant University I have been asked two questions that I believe help me stand apart from other Marketing candidates, one about my study abroad experience and one regarding my double major in Spanish. Employers seem to be impressed by the knowledge of a second language and it has helped me professionally in many ways. While at my internship for AAA Northeast I was able to assist Spanish members with questions and concerns they may have, I also spoke with our Spanish speaking members during professional events, and my supervisor and manager considered my second language to be a major asset to our team.

My double Spanish major gave me the opportunity to do a directed study which gave me the freedom to do research in Spanish on a topic that I had a particular interest with. In my directed study I was able to merge my interests in marketing with my interests in Spanish to do a research project on the differences in what resonates with Hispanics versus other consumers in advertising campaigns and why companies should be advertising to Hispanic consumers. I found that looking at advertising campaigns specifically targeted at Hispanics doing research on what resonates well with Hispanics was my passion. My knowledge in this field also gained me the opportunity to work as a consultant for AAA on their initiatives for their 2016 Hispanic marketing campaign, which at such a young age was an incredible opportunity. The double major in Spanish has given me direction in my marketing degree and I know now that getting into my career I would eventually love to get into a role where I can use my knowledge from my research to help a company create a marketing campaign targeted toward Hispanics. The Spanish department at Bryant is incredible with professors that will give you the advice and attention you need to succeed, they go above and beyond for their students and I could not have had a more positive experience.

Jackie and Profe Moon

Spanish Award Winners at Modern Language Award Ceremony 2016

2016-04-24T12:17:00.001-07:00

The Department of Modern Languages annually recognizes outstanding student achievement in a variety of areas. The award recipients for Spanish for 2016 are:

Intellectual Entrepreneur: Jackie Lamirande

Language Mastery: Jacob Jansen

Cultural Ambassador: Harlyn Juarez

Social Entrepreneur: Randie Almonte

Academic Achievement: Lexi Zafonte and Maggie Goreczny

(along with Profesores Houston, Gomez and Moon)

¡Felicidades!

Spanish Majors and Concentrators Present at REDay

2016-04-17T06:05:00.002-07:00

Three students presented independent research conducted as part of their Directed Studies in Spanish at the 5th annual Bryant University REDay (Research and Engagement Day) today.

Jacob Jansen and Jackie Lamirande presented jointly on The Latino Impact on Marketing, Business, and Presidential Politics. Jacob is a senior with a double-major in International Business and Spanish with a concentration in Finance. He studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain and is a member of Phi Sigma Iota national foreign language honor society. Jackie is a senior with double-major in Marketing and Spanish. She also studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain. Jackie also represents the Spanish program on the Dean's Advisory Council.

Here is their session summary: A collaborative effort between Jacob Jansen and Jaclyn Lamirande, each student will present independent research conducted as part of their respective directed studies. Both research projects revolve around the emergence and integration of the U.S. Latino population into the broader American society. The study conducted by Jacob focuses primarily on the Latino impact on the U.S. presidential elections, whereas the study completed by Jaclyn encompasses an analysis of the Latino population and relevant marketing strategies and implications.

Jordan Capleton is a senior with a major in Marketing and a concentration in Spanish. His presentation on The Current State and Future Projections of Gender Roles in the Spanish- Speaking World focused primarily on the country of Guinea Ecuatorial, a country that is traditionally understudied in many curriculums, and its fusion of colonial Spanish and African influences.

An Interview with two Spanish Majors: Tony Carabina ´15 and Claire Denault ´15

2016-03-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

Recently Profe Moon (Lecturer in Spanish and Faculty Advisor for Phi Sigma Iota) had the opportunity to interview two recent graduates, Tony Carabina ’15 and Claire Denault ’15.

Tony (center) and Claire (right) at the Modern Language Award Ceremony 2015, with fellow classmate Tayla Benoit '15 (left).

Tony completed a major in Spanish, an Concentration in Literary and Cultural Studies and a double minor in Business Administration and Legal Studies. Tony was President of Bryant’s chapter of the Phi Sigma Iota foreign language honor society his senior year, served as the Spanish representative to the Dean’s Advisory Council, and studied abroad in Granada, Spain. Tony was awarded the Department of Modern Language’s Commencement Award in 2015. Tony is currently working as a Sales Associate in the Men’s Clothing and Furnishing department at Nordstrom’s in Natick, MA.

Claire was a double major in Literary and Cultural Studies and Spanish, with a double minor in Business Administration and Latin American Studies. Claire also studied abroad in Granada, Spain, served as Vice President of Bryant’s chapter of the Phi Sigma Iota foreign language honor society her junior and senior years, and was recognized with an award for Academic Achievement in Spanish. Claire is currently a Spanish Teacher at LaSalle Academy in Providence, RI.

1. What are your favorite memories of being a Spanish major at Bryant? What are your least favorite memories?

Claire: Being a Spanish major at Bryant is full of wonderful memories and I always had a lot of fun in my classes. I made some great friends and loved being able to serve as VP of Phi Sigma Iota for two years, working with Profe Moon and with Tony. I also became really close with my fellow Spanish classmates as the small class sizes allowed and encouraged me to interact with them in a variety of contexts- from discussing history to culture to film and literature. I loved taking courses that focused on film and literature and being able to delve purposefully into real cultural texts. It’s hard to narrow down my four years to a few select memories – almost every class was a positive experience. My least favorite memory? Graduating! ;)

Tony: My favorite memories include my directed study! That was obviously one of the best experiences at Bryant. Being able to study and develop skills around something that was tailored specifically for me was great and something many other universities may not allow or even push as hard as Bryant did with it. I think another great memory was in one of my classes (I never can remember the names of them!)- it was the one with me, Nikki, and Emily in a group performing our little play thing. Looking back, I dreaded the preparation of it and thought it was pointless but honestly, it gave me more confidence in my ability as a Spanish student since we were not being very serious but using the language. Usually everything was more or less serious and that gave us, well at least me, a new way to use Spanish and everything I learned in a different way. And of course, spending down time with Profe Moon and Claire would probably be the best memories of being a Spanish major. I gained two amazing people in my life from it! You both are individuals that I know I can go to with just about anything and always give me advice whenever I may need it! Least favorite memory would probably be just being asked constantly why I was at Bryant since I was not a Business major. There isn’t one specific time that sticks out for me, it was just the constant questions about what led me to Bryant and (OH) if I was going to be a teacher!!! That’s my least favorite memory haha :)

2. What was it like to be an Arts and Sciences major at Bryant?

Claire: When I first entered Bryant, I was declared as an International Business major. It took me about a semester to realize that I had selected that major for the language component and the requirement to study abroad. I switched over to LCS and Spanish majors as soon as I could. Changing my major to the Arts and Sciences was absolutely the best decision I made academically at Bryant. And not to bash the Business school! While I was an IB major I had some incredible professors who I am still in touch with. I just had found my niche at Bryant within the LCS and Spanish departments. The support I received from faculty and certain members of administration was heartening and encouraging. I had the chance to focus in areas that I was really passionate about and have really interesting conversations with others who shared those passions. There were challenges to being an Arts and Sciences major at a school that is primarily known for its business school. In a lot of the classes I took for my major, I was surrounded by students who were only taking them as core requirements. There were times when the majority of the students in my classes were apathetic towards the material and dismissed it as unimportant, making it hard to feel valued as an Arts and Sciences major. Luckily, though, the network of professors worked really hard to ensure that my academic endeavors were always supported and valued. Even through the hard times as an A&S major, I wouldn’t change a thing about the path I took at Bryant. The faculty and peers I connected with were incredible and made my experience one that I look back on with fondness and gratefulness. I mean, it’s not at every school that you meet professors for tacos to talk about writing or head to office hours to talk about class for a minute and life for a half hour.

Tony: The answer for this kind of is the same as above, in that I enjoyed it because it was what I wanted to do with myself but at the same time, everyone around me was judging me for it, well at least those outside of the Arts and Sciences world. Within our college, however, I felt like everyone supported each other and understood what we were all going through. We never really questioned each other about why we chose Bryant or thought less of each other because we were at Bryant.

3. What advice would you give current Spanish majors?

Claire: There are a lot of opportunities that arise from majoring in a foreign language. One of the biggest is being able to communicate and connect with people in their native tongue when you travel. As a Spanish major at Bryant, I’d recommend taking a survey of the courses offered. Some of my favorite classes focused on film and literature throughout the Spanish speaking world. Having a deeper understanding of the cultural context of these texts challenges and enhances your global perspective. Also, STUDY ABROAD! It’s the most incredible opportunity and honestly the best way to engross yourself in the language and culture. The beauty of majoring in Spanish is the variety of universities to choose from. I studied in Granada, Spain and had the most incredible experience. Living with a host family, taking all of my classes in Spanish, and traveling around Spain allowed me to overcome my nerves and just speak to people in real, authentic conversations. As fantastic as the program is at Bryant, there’s no comparison for language learning than just going for it and throwing yourself into the Spanish speaking world.

Tony: I think I would tell Spanish majors not to listen to those who may try and belittle you for being different and not to be afraid to be different. You can do so much with a Spanish degree that outsiders may not realize. I would tell them to have some sort of Business background so that they might be able to get a job easier, depending of course what they want to do post Bryant. Finally, I would tell them you DO NOT have to be a teacher or professor if you don’t want to be. Everyone will ask you this, but just have to be assertive and give them reasons why not to ask you and prove to them that you can do more than they may think.

4. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Claire: This is a question I ask myself quite frequently. Currently, I’m teaching high school Spanish in Providence, which I really enjoy. I’m currently looking into Masters in Spanish programs and Masters/Doctoral programs in Latin American Studies and Community Development. Hopefully, I’ll be enrolled in a graduate program and on my way to working in a Spanish-speaking community or somewhere in Latin America.

Tony: In five years…. SCARY! If I am still at Nordstrom, I hope to have moved up within the company and be working in Seattle at headquarters. Nordstrom is a great company and one that I enjoy working for. I would love to be able to move up and become a buyer for the company. It may be a long journey to get there, but I’m hopefully that I’ll be able to get there in five years or less! (Hopefully less!)

5. What impact has your Spanish major had on your career so far? On other aspects of your life?

Claire: Majoring in Spanish had a pretty direct and prominent role in my career thus far, as I am currently a high school Spanish teacher. Aside from (obviously) using it on a daily basis in the classroom, I have found myself reading more stories by Latino authors, browsing through the Spanish language films on Netflix when I’m bored, listening to the Spanish radio station in the car and speaking Spanish at any opportunity. Working towards my major, I was pretty hesitant to practice my speaking skills- embarrassed is probably a more appropriate word. But the encouragement of the faculty in the department and my time abroad really helped me to break out of my shell and overcome those nerves. Spanish is taking over my life!

Tony: So being a Spanish major thus far has not had a huge impact on my career yet. I know that eventually, I will be able to use it to communicate with customers who walk in that may not speak English or may not understand English and that will give me a leg up to everyone else that I work with who does not speak or understand Spanish. I will also be able to use it further down the road if and when I have to relocate to another part of the country or even if we, as a company, expand outside to a Spanish speaking country. I have been able to use my Spanish skills to become closer friends with many employees whose primary language is Spanish and am I able to discuss not only my time at Bryant with customers, but also my time abroad whenever I see fit. I have brought one, if not both, up almost every day at work which makes me proud. (On a side note, we have what is called “gratis” at work for free products every so often and everyone pronounces it “grat-is” instead of the proper pronunciation. It killed me every time I heard it and finally told people in my department how to properly pronounce gratis. That was a great moment :) )

The German Doctor Film

2015-11-18T18:32:00.001-08:00

Today, Wednesday 11/18 we had a total of 26 people at the film sponsored by the department of Modern Languages (Spanish) and IFC. The movie was about a notorious doctor and war criminal that becomes obsessed with an Argentine family in Bariloche, south of Argentina to run away from agents tracking him down for his war crimes. There was a short discussion after the film talking about the ethical issues behind the theme of the film.

PLAFF 2015

2015-10-29T20:26:00.002-07:00

PLAFF (Providence Latin American Film Festival) took place here at Bryant University Oct. 2nd-4th. The festival has been in the Providence area for 23 years, Bryant has been a main venue and sponsor since 2010. Local off-campus sponsors such as the Hispanic Heritage Committee and LATIN Providence. Venues for the films are Bryant, URI downtown and the Warwick Library. Bryant sponsors were the College of Arts and Sciences, Modern Languages, International Business, English and Cultural Studies, History and Social Sciences, Global Studies and student organizations such as BUSCO (Bryant University's Spanish Cultural Organization), MSU, ISO and CDI (Center for Diversity and inclusion).

This year we had a total of 9 films from Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, and Guatemala. Our Spanish students were required to attend at least one film. Other faculty, staff and the general public were invited to watch these films at no cost. We had a total of 263 attendees throughout the weekend. Each film averaged between 25-35 people. IXCANUL, a Guatemalan film that is nominated for an OSCAR as the best film in a foreign language, we were fortunate to show this caliber of a film in our festival. This fillm had a total of 85 attendees. URI downtown had 150 at their showing. Patricia Gomez is the faculty member who organized the festival and is also a board member with PLAFF. www.plaff.org has a complete list of films shown and other pertinent information on the festival.

A student's perspective: Isabela Velasquez

2015-10-16T10:57:00.000-07:00

The language department at Bryant University is a small community, but regardless of that, the majority of students are very committed to mastering their language of choice. Bryant offers Spanish, French, Italian and Chinese. Each of the four languages that we have here at Bryant has their own organization that hosts regular meetings and events. In addition, Bryant has a chapter of Phi Sigma Iota, which is a language honors society.

I am a language student at Bryant who is concentrating in Spanish. One campus activity that I enjoy every year is the PLAFF festival. PLAFF is the Providence Latin American Film Festival and each year they show movies at Bryant. It’s always a great experience to have the opportunity to watch movies in another language and from another culture. I especially enjoy PLAFF because of the fact that the movies are in Spanish, so I get to have this experience with the language that I am studying.

I studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain in the spring of 2015. Studying a language definitely promotes the spirit of going abroad and makes it a little less intimidating going to a country whose primary language is not English. I would say that the majority of students go to a country that is oriented to the language that they are studying. That is absolutely the reason that I went to Spain. I also know other Spanish language students that have gone to Chile, Argentina and Costa Rica. There is a multitude of reasons as to why studying abroad is probably the most important experience that anyone can have. As for us language students, it is even more beneficial. There is nothing that can benefit a language student more than being in the country of the language that they are studying. Talking in class to other students or your teacher is not even comparable to the language experience you get when studying abroad. What students really benefit from is learning how to speak. When you are in France, Italy or Spain, you have to speak that language. You become comfortable in speaking something other than English and you gain confidence in yourself. When speaking a second language, confidence is the most crucial trait that you can possess. I know I personally gained confidence speaking Spanish when I realized that the Spaniards actually understood what I was saying to them and I was able to carry on a conversation. Being in country also gives you the opportunity to learn accents and it allows you to receive advice about speaking from native speakers.

I study a language more for personal reasons than for business reasons. I am of Puerto Rican descent. My grandparents were born in Puerto Rico and lived there until my grandmother came to the United States when she was sixteen years old. She and her sister were Americanized immediately and the language was not passed down to their children: my dad and my aunts and uncles. By the time that I was born, I am certain that my grandma did not even know how to speak Spanish anymore. Despite the fact that none of my family knew Spanish, I was still eager to learn it. I don’t know what it is or where the desire came from, but ever since I was a little girl, I have been interested in Spanish. I took Spanish lessons as a child, watched films that taught kids Spanish, and I have been studying the language in school since sixth grade. I will not be satisfied until I am fluent in this language.

I definitely think that having a language is a huge boost on a resume and can only be beneficial in the workplace. Everything is global now; you can’t escape globalization. Especially in the United States where diversity is increasing daily, being able to speak a second language is only to someone’s advantage. That is why I chose to be a part of Phi Sigma Iota. Being in Phi Sigma Iota shows that you actually care about the language that you are studying. The fact that we as members are part of the society shows that we excel in learning the language and are invested in learning it. We are not just taking it as another elective, planning to never really use it again unless we absolutely have to. We actually care about learning how to speak a second language, and with that, we care about the cultures of the country or counties associated with it.

I am in Phi Sigma Iota because I enjoy everything about my language and I am invested in it. Spanish has always been my favorite class and the one that I excel the most in. Being able to speak another language(s) can only benefit people in all aspects of their lives, and it is a skill that is worth working towards.

-Isabela Velasquez
Class of 2016
President, Chapter Chi Zeta #262 of the Phi Sigma Iota Honor Society

Guatemalan Film Director Luis Argueta on campus

2015-10-16T10:48:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, October 24th Guatemalan Film Director Luis Argueta will be on campus to discuss his latest film, ABRAZOS. Following a viewing of the film, the director will answers questions from the audience. This event is free and open to the public.
Bryant University
Fisher Center, Room 2C
3:00 pm

ABRAZOS tells the transformational journey of a group of U.S. citizen children who travel from Minnesota to Guatemala to meet their grandparents for the first time. After being separated for nearly two decades, these families are able to share stories, strengthen traditions and begin to reconstruct their cultural identity. There are 4.5 million US Citizen Children living with at least one undocumented parent. This is the story of 14 of them.

Luis Argueta holds a BS in Industrial Engineering and a MFA in Romance Languages from the U of Michigan. With 32+ years of experience directing shorts, experimental, feature and documentary films; episodic TV and commercials, Argueta recently became the first filmmaker to receive the Orden del Quetzal, Guatemala’s highest civilian honor.
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Luis Argueta is a film director and producer whose work spans features, documentaries, shorts and episodic TV. He has also worked as commercial director, lecturer and teacher in the United States, Europe and throughout the Americas. Born and raised in Guatemala, Argueta is a U.S. Citizen and has been a resident of New York since 1977. His film The Silence of Neto is the only Guatemalan film ever to have been submitted to the Academy Awards competition and he is the only Guatemalan director to have received a CLIO. In April 2009, the British newspaper The Guardian, listed Mr. Argueta as one of Guatemala’s National Living Icons, alongside Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchu and Singer/Songwriter Ricardo Arjona. In 2010, he released abUSed: The Postville Raid, a film about the devastating effects of US immigration enforcement policies on children, families and communities. The film premiered on the PBS World program America Reframed on December 2012, won “Best Documentary Audience Award” at Cinemaissi Film Festival in Finland and has been presented at nearly 200 venues - including immigration and workers conferences, faith based communities, universities and colleges and 13 international film festivals. The second film, ABRAZOS, follows the journey of 14 U.S. Citizen Children from Minnesota to Guatemala to meet their grandparents -and in some instances their siblings- for the first time. The U-Turn, will complete the immigration trilogy. It tells the story of a group of migrant women and under-age workers who broke the silence about the abuses they endured and of the community that would not abandon them. It showcases the U visa and is now in postproduction. In August of 2015, Luis Argueta was awarded the Order of Quetzal in the degree of Grand Officer, the highest honor given by Guatemala, Luis Argueta’s films can now be viewed online at www.luisarguetaa.com.