Two University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point students are waiting to learn where they will live and work in Spain next fall. Spanish undergraduate senior Kylie Newton and junior Morgan Hansen have been accepted into the RVF International program to teach English to native Spanish speakers.
It won’t be their first time living in Spain. The pair traveled to Spain their sophomore year through the UW-Stevens Point Study Abroad program to Valladolid. There they were immersed in the culture and it pushed them to connect with people through their second language.
“I just love to talk and to be able to do that with anyone regardless of language would be awesome,” Hansen said.
When they returned to Stevens Point, Hansen and Newton didn’t want to lose the conversational Spanish skills they had grown in daily practice. As members of the Spanish Club, they decided to try something new to benefit their club members. This fall they launched Café y Conversaciones at the Basement Brewhaus in the Dreyfus University Center each week to allow for time set aside to converse with other members entirely in Spanish.
“We need to encourage progress over perfection,” Newton said.
This year, Newton is the club’s president. She enjoys her time as a Tutoring Learning Center tutor for Spanish and for the Writing Center. Newton also majors in English: Writing, Editing, & Publishing. The English language assistant program in Spain will combine everything she loves doing.
Newton will complete her student teaching in Spanish in the spring semester. Her Spanish teaching practicum is at Ben Franklin Middle School in Stevens Point. She said her drive is to follow in her dad’s footsteps, who also teaches at the middle school level.
“I really like to help people,” Newton said. “I’ve always felt called to serve others and that is really what teaching is.”
Hansen said her semester abroad was impactful, wants to go back to fully immerse herself. From the architecture to the food and pace of life, she knew after her initial living experience in Spain, that she wanted to immerse herself there again. As an international studies major, she looks forward to continually growing her cultural skills. Hansen said she could imagine working some day in international affairs, business or in a governmental role as a translator.
“It takes a certain amount of bravery to be forced to figure things out for yourself while abroad,” said Hansen.
“There’s just something about being there. You get to see and be part of this incredible humankind. There’s a deep connectiveness between all of us.”