The Spanish for the Professions events bring a variety of accomplished professionals and alums to speak about how learning a foreign language has benefitted their careers. The primary mission of the events is to promote the benefits of multilingualism and increase the number of students declaring a major within the World Language department.

The events are a co-curricular offering with the Spanish for the Professions minor. However, they are also used as promotion for the minor. 

“During advising, we also promote the Spanish program by sharing with students the importance of learning a language and how it is marketable for their majors, said Karen Barahona, the Spanish program coordinator. “For example, if you study Spanish, you will be able to enhance your profession by adding language proficiency to your résumé and entering the workplace in a more marketable way.”

There have been numerous alums and professionals from various careers and backgrounds who were brought for past events. One of the events this semester brought Rafael Hernandez-Brito to share how Spanish has helped him advance his professional career. He talked about his experience being the bilingual announcer for the Caverliers and how he eventually became the first sportscaster to be the voice of all three major professional teams in Cleveland. Hernadez-Brito’s talk, as well as other events, have helped recruitment rates in the Spanish department, Barahona said.

“We are currently experiencing momentum in the Spanish program due to the innovative curricular offerings, co-curricular events such as the Spanish for the Professions Speaker Series, and alumni visits to the classroom during the events,” Barahona said. “Students are receiving excellent student experience in the classroom and are excited to interact with the guest speakers and BW alumni. Since Hernandez-Brito’s event, we have had three students who declared a Spanish major.”

Barahona said that one of the benefits of multilingualism showcased through the events is how much it can benefit students’ professional careers and potentially help in their classes. According to Indeed, some benefits of being multilingual include getting higher pay, more job opportunities, and greater satisfaction in the workplace. 

Paige Kotora, a senior biology and Spanish major, said: “I work at a vet and at the Metroparks, so learning a second language has helped me interact with people I may not normally get to interact with. We get a lot of people that don’t speak English, and so even though my Spanish may not sound just like theirs, I can talk to them and help them in ways that other people may not be able to.”

For any questions or interests about future Spanish for the Professions events, contact Professor Barahona at [email protected] or Brenda Lennox at [email protected] in the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures.