Sophia Valdez - Spanish Instructor

Sophia Magdalena Valdez was born in Seattle, WA and raised in Portland, OR. Growing up with a Peruvian mother and Spanish-American father, the Spanish language was always a part of Sophia’s home life, though she was not raised bilingual. Sophia learned and strengthened her Spanish skills through middle and high school, eventually leading her to double major in Spanish and English for her Bachelor’s Degree at Portland State University. She then pursued a Master’s Degree in Spanish, also at Portland State, with a focus on teaching as well as Latin American and Spanish literature. Sophia went on to teach beginner and intermediate Spanish as a graduate instructor for two years at PSU, in addition to various tutoring positions, before coming to Tierra.

Sophia’s favorite part of working at Tierra is having the opportunity to connect with students in a small class setting and generate a sense of community in the classroom. As someone who pursued a career in Spanish to better connect with her heritage, Sophia loves to help people discover, cultivate, and passionately follow their own personal connections with the language. Hearing her students’ motivations for learning is her most treasured part of the class. Her classes are communicative, creative, and encourage students to incorporate their own interests into their learning experience. She is happy to work patiently with each and every one of her students and firmly believes that a good class is challenging, interactive, and has room for students to laugh.

Outside of the classroom Sophia enjoys drawing, crafting, walking through Washington Park, and reading old books about bygone eras, with a special fascination for medieval Spanish literature, Latin American poetry, and ghost stories.