Where are they Wednesdays:
Stories of UNCW Spanish Alumni

Emily Brown
Class of 2016, Spanish BA

Why did you study Spanish?

I decided to study Spanish after I studied abroad in Chile for a summer session with Professor Rider. I originally was an International Studies major and had to study abroad as a requirement for my degree. I didn't know then how much I would fall in love with the language. I wanted to pursue a major in Spanish to keep learning about other countries, their cultures and also improve my own language skills.

How do you use Spanish now?

After I graduated from UNCW, I moved to Madrid, Spain where I taught English in a public school for almost three years with the Auxiliares program. I had the most memorable experience living, working and fully immersing myself in the Spanish culture and felt like I was really able to tie in everything I had learned in my undergraduate years. It was really rewarding to work with the same students for all those years and see how they improved in English. I currently work as Bilingual Teaching Assistant at Gregory Elementary here in Wilmington. At Gregory, we are the 50/50 bilingual immersion program in Spanish and English. I work in Kindergarten and use Spanish everyday teaching and working with my students. I am also currently pursuing at masters degree at UNCW through the M.A.T Teaching English as a Second Language program in the hopes to become an ESL teacher when I finish.