Spanish@UTA

Let’s Meet Our Graduate Students: Ginger González

As a sophomore in college I decided to take a summer course to fulfill my undergraduate language requirements in Cuernavaca, Mexico at the Spanish Language Institute (which just so happens to be the same institute where UTA currently sponsors a summer program!). The experience was amazing and I was surprised to find that I was successful communicating in Spanish, so I decided to continue my Spanish studies once I returned home. I signed up for a few more Spanish courses and planned to study the following summer in San Jose, Costa Rica. I loved it so much that I returned to Costa Rica to live and study for a year upon early graduation from college. I enjoyed conversing with anyone and everyone as I traveled about the country exploring rainforests, volcanoes and black sand beaches. I lived with a wonderful family that had a two-year-old son. Spending so much time with the boy and his family inspired my desire to work with young children, so when I returned to the U.S. I enrolled in an alternative certification program and became a bilingual kindergarten teacher in Dallas ISD. I continued to work for eight years as a bilingual education teacher in the DFW area. I am now happily married and am staying home with my two-year-old son until he begins school.

My interest in second language acquisition grew as I worked on a daily basis with Spanish-speaking children in the process of learning English. While I once thought I would get my Master’s degree in psychology, I ultimately decided to pursue a Spanish degree because language is what I truly enjoy most of all. I am so glad that I made the choice that I did because I have benefited from every single course that I have taken at UTA. I appreciate that each professor shares his or her own area of expertise with me as a student and has allowed me to greatly broaden my knowledge base.

Upon graduation from UTA, I would like to teach Spanish at the university level. I would also like to be involved at some point with the development of effective bilingual education programs in the public schools. If I have the opportunity, I would love to continue my Spanish studies and one day get my Ph.D. I would like to become a Spanish professor or a director of bilingual education programs in the public school system.

During my studies at UTA I have come to realize the importance of discussing ethnic and cultural differences and the way perceptions shape our past, present and future. I recommend Sab by Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, El reino de este mundo by Alejo Carpentier and Los cuatro espejos by Quince Duncan.