There were so many incredible stories, so many great reasons for learning Spanish, so many entries that would be worthy winners of the Synergy Spanish Scholarship 2009.
In fact, I was so overwhelmed by the entries that I’ll be giving out consolation prizes soon.
As they say there can only be one winner… but in this case we have two.
The first winner is Linda from category 1… How will learning Synergy Spanish change your life?
Her passion and determination just jumped off the page and touched my heart.
Here’s her entry
Dear Marcus,
It is very difficult to fully express in words what learning Spanish would mean to me. Spanish is apart of me, apart of my culture and yet for most of my life it has felt out of my reach. My dad was an immigrant from Mexico to the US. My mom is Spanish. My dad was very proud of our culture but he saw kids in our neighborhood struggle with “broken English”- speaking English mixed with Spanish and he thought it would make it easier on me to learn English first. He wanted me to learn Spanish and thought I would just learn later, when I was older. I wish it could have been that easy, unfortunately, “later” never came.
I, being Mexican and Spanish, my family on both sides speak Spanish and I have always lived in Spanish speaking neighborhoods. I lived the culture and I looked like everyone else but still did not belong because of my language barrier. Learning Spanish was something I wanted ever since I could remember, since I was a little girl playing with friends or spend time with relatives that I couldn’t communicate with. Numerous times through my life I have had Mexican people, like me, talk to me in Spanish expecting that I would understand, expecting I could help. You don’t know how bad it felt to have to say time and time again “I’m sorry, I don’t speak Spanish.” And the look on their faces every time was the hardest to take. Just another reminder of how I didn’t belong, that I wasn’t honoring my heritage by speaking the language. It wasn’t for a lack of trying. I grew up watching Spanish TV and my mom’s novelas, understanding so much but I couldn’t speak it to save my life. I have tried every method and course imaginable and each one left me feeling like it was hopeless, like the time for me to learn had passed me by.
Until I found your method.
Your teaching method has truly given me hope. Your method is the only one that has ever made sense to my mind. There are so many courses out there, that I have wasted money on. They make big promises and when you’re done you find you barely “get by” in the language, like a tourist. I have no interest in being a tourist speaker. I want to truly master the language. I want to live with Spanish in my everyday life no matter where I live. Your course holds a common goal to my own- language fluency and dominance. Your way of teaching is so in tune with how people’s minds work and learn. So much so, that what is taught becomes more like second nature and less like the usual struggle, trying to extract from your mind the words to communicate effectively. Without that “second nature” element to learning, I believe true fluency will always elude language learners. Other courses lack the tools that are necessary to become truly fluent and “advanced”. I love your method and will never use another. I have every course book you have released and would love to complete your other courses but right now I can’t afford to continue with Bola de Nieve or sign up for Spanish Ear Training because my husband has been unemployed.
So, what would learning Spanish mean to me? It would mean I would never again have to turn away someone that needs my help and I can open the door for so many other opportunities to serve my Latino community. It means being able to connect to my heritage, to people in my culture and neighborhood and feel like I belong. It means never having to utter those dreaded words ever again- “I’m sorry I don’t speak Spanish”. It would mean never having to see that disapproving expression on some ones face and feeling that same disappointment in myself. I have now seen my daughter have to do the same. People automatically speaking Spanish to her and her having to say she doesn’t understand. Learning Spanish would mean that my daughters could also learn the language while they are still little and they would never have to feel the same disappointment I have.
When I was 14 years old my dad was on vacation and told me the following week we were going to Mexico for my sister and I to visit my family there for the first time. He told me it was very important that we meet them and see where we come from. I can’t tell you how excited I was to go. My parents would have to translate of course, but I would finally meet the people from the letters, pictures and phone calls and see Mexico for myself. It would have been a special trip. Three days after my dad told me we were going he past away suddenly from a massive stroke. As you can imagine, that had a huge impact on my life and made my goal all that more meaningful to me. Learning Spanish would mean fulfilling a wish my dad had for me, one that I also have for my children and myself. I would finally be able to visit my family and feel closer to my dad when we can talk together and share each other’s memories of him. It would mean honoring my father and our heritage. It would mean fulfilling a lifetime goal and dream. It would mean forever being filled with gratitude for the ability I have been given and the desire to use it to the good of those around me. This is what learning Spanish would mean to me and I know in my heart your method is the path I have to take to get there.
Thank you for your consideration, work and generosity,
Linda Sappington
In category 2: How will your learning Synergy Spanish help others?
There would be so many worthy winners. The one that stood out to me was the Gus Bus entry from Pat.
You see, I believe books change lives.
Books contain the knowledge we need to transform ourselves.
In a time when I was reinventing my life, books that I got free from the San Ysidro library changed my life.
I learned how to teach, how language works and how people learn. I also read book after book in Spanish as part of my own path to mastering the language.
I guess I have a bias in favor of the Gus Bus because it can help kids take a different path in their lives.
Here’s Pat’s entry.
I am the project director for a mobile literacy bus called the Gus Bus. We bring a free book bag exchange program and storytime to over 25 at risk, low income neighborhoods in our community. Over 90% of these neighborhoods are Spanish speaking.
In collaboration with our local food bank we recently added a food bag component. Now children and families can come on the bus and hear a story, check out free books and get a bag of health snack food.
We have been serving the community for over 5 years and have become a trusted icon in these neighborhoods. We have become a one stop shopping for the people we serve, matching families with needed resources in the community.
Due to budget restraints I have had to cut staff, letting go of my fluent in Spanish staff member. I am now on the bus and suffer from not being able to communicate effectively with the parents and children. I have repeatedly taken classes and workshops and continue to stumble along. I need to be fluent so our program can continue to make a difference in the lives of our Spanish speaking families in out community. Last year we served close to 1000 children in our neighborhood sites.
I hope you will find me (and our program) worthy of your generous offer.
Pat Kennedy
Congratulations Linda and Pat, bien hecho (well done)
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