class of 2005
Sturgis, Mich.
Learning Spanish at Hesston College
has opened up a whole new world for me, and enabled me to reach out to
Spanish-speaking people.
After taking four Spanish courses at Hesston, I was primed for an experience
outside the U.S. and outside my comfort zone.
So after graduation in May 2005, I enrolled in CASAS (Central American Studies
and Service) in Guatemala City, the capital of Guatemela. A Mennonite program,
CASA includes two months of Spanish language study and one month of service.
Then I stayed another month, volunteering at a medical clinic and school in Guatemala
City.
Since returning to my hometown of Sturgis, Mich., in September 2005, I work at
Wall Elementary School in Sturgis with the English as a Second Language (ESL)
program, where knowing Spanish is a requirement. To be the link in communication
is a feeling that is indescribable.
Learning Spanish has been one of the best experiences of my life,
and it enables me to reach out to an often misunderstood and forgotten
part of our U.S. society. Isn’t that exactly what Jesus does,
reaching out to those who are ignored and left behind?
I am so thankful for all Hesston College Spanish professor Maria Day has done
to help me reach beyond the classroom and into real life. The Spanish department
at Hesston has impacted my life incredibly.
Marissa King, Sturgis, Mich., Class of 2005
Originally published in the spring 2006 edition of College Scene.
More about Marissa