See What Our Graduates Are Doing With Their Spanish Degrees

If you are an alum of our program, we would love to hear where you've been and where you're going. Please email the Director of the School of World Languages and Cultures, Joseph Acquisto (Joseph.Acquisto@uvm.edu), to have your story included. 

Ethan Frey, ’23, Double Major in Spanish and Community and International Development

Ethan is currently serving in the Peace Corps in Ecuador. He writes: “I loved studying Spanish at the University of Vermont. I had great professors who were not only interested in what we did during class, but what we also did outside of class. I learned a variety of topics throughout my Spanish major such as extractivism and colonialism in Latin America, Cuban Cinema, Medical Narratives, and different literatures. Furthermore, I always enjoyed the passion of the professors, participating in class discussions, and expressing my own opinions/thoughts.”

Emma Hayday, ’23, Double Major in Spanish and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies

Emma writes: “Growing up, I always dreamed about traveling the world respectfully. One goal in that process was learning a language and all about the cultures that utilize it. After taking Spanish classes at UVM such as Race, Identity and Migrant Labor, and Women and Activism in the Americas, I knew it was aligned with my values and declared the major. The professors are dedicated and consistently offer new and exciting courses, which aptly prepared me for a semester abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico. Weeks after I graduated, the Director of the Spanish Program sent an email out with the link to apply to the job I have now, as a third-grade Spanish Immersion teacher in a nearby elementary school. I am so grateful to 19-year-old me, who followed her heart to the success I have achieved by choosing to study Spanish at UVM.”

Sean Cray, ’18, Double Major in Spanish and Political Science

Sean is working for the Urban Teachers program in Baltimore, which is affiliated with Johns Hopkins School of Education. He has been assigned to teach at the elementary school level, and will also receive training on how to be a special education teacher. En route, he will receive his master's degree in elementary education/special education and a teaching license. He will likely be assigned to a school that has Spanish speakers because he can speak Spanish.

Mary Petronio, ’17, Double Major in Spanish and Global Studies, Minor in Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Mary graduated from Northeastern School of Law and is now an associate at Verill Dana LLP. She writes: “My time studying Spanish not only opened new worlds to me but made my current one so much more interesting. I feel very proud to have been a Spanish major at UVM and to apply the creative and analytical skills I learned in my career as an attorney.”

Raymond Ki, ’10, Double Major in Spanish and Psychology

After graduating from UVM, Raymond served in the Peace Corps in the Philippines, where he taught English as a Second Language (ESL) for two years, mostly to 7th and 8th grade students. While there, he founded his Filipino [public] high school's English Club and learned to speak Tagalog at an intermediate level. After returning to the U.S.A., he enrolled at the Boston Academy of English where he received a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate. Then, for a year and a half, Raymond studied at Boston University and graduated with a Master of Arts in Teaching Modern Foreign Language Education; his student teaching was done at Boston Green Academy, a Boston Public School. Afterward, he taught Spanish and ESL at CATS Academy Boston, a private boarding high school for international students. For the last few years, Raymond has been teaching introductory Spanish to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students at Framingham Public Schools in Massachusetts.

Greg Lombardi, ’03, Spanish Major

Greg works as a Consultant Manager in the finance industry. He writes: “For me, studying Spanish at UVM was a transformative experience. Majoring in Spanish allowed me to shift from a traditional American worldview toward one of many perspectives. Almost 20 years later, there has been no replacement for the journey I took out of my comfort zone and into Spanish-speaking cultures, literary beginnings, and the redefinition of self.”