Una vida en español
Alumni Laurel Boerger reminisces about where Spanish has taken her
By Laurel Boerger (B.A. '76)
I decided to major in Spanish even before I reached the University of Minnesota in fall of 1972, due to an excellent Spanish teacher from Cuba that I had at my high school in St. Paul. She instilled in me a tremendous interest in the language, culture, and countries where Spanish is spoken. While studying Spanish, I decided to also try my hand at Portuguese and completed the equivalent of five years' worth of high-school Portuguese instruction prior to my graduation in 1976.While at the University, several friends and I, along with several department faculty members, created the Spanish-Portuguese Undergraduate Student Association (SPUSA). The group gathered for events, completed community service projects, and, in general, created an environment where students could come together to socialize in a non-classroom situation. It was great fun and provided a wonderful opportunity to meet others and practice our Spanish.Spanish has played an important part in several key positions I've held since graduation. I first was able to use it in the public and government sectors, where I helped Spanish speakers settle out of the migrant worker stream here in Minnesota. Later I worked with Spanish-speaking clients to help them find employment.In the mid 1980s I moved to the private sector with Northern States Power Company (now Xcel Energy), where I was originally hired to make presentations in Spanish to groups of Spanish speakers about gas and electricity and how to use them safely and efficiently. During this time, I also taught Spanish at several levels for Roseville Schools' Community Education program--something I did for the next 22 years!In my volunteer life, I became involved with Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH), a family of homes for orphaned and abandoned children in nine countries in Latin America. This included fundraising work here in Minnesota and many visits to see the children in Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Haiti. It has also been a great way for me to maintain my ability to speak Spanish! Almost 30 years later, I am still involved with NPH as an international board member and still love visiting the children for whom they care.The Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies reunion in April was an excellent opportunity to reconnect with former fellow students and faculty and also to hear about the department as it exists today. The breakout "classes" were especially nice! I was happy to be able to work in a small way with the organizing committee to help bring about this wonderful event.
02/11/09
