TEC Student of the Month Award

Brimming with passion and enthusiasm, Gissel’s natural charisma injects positive energy into any class she joins. Of Mexican-American heritage, she was motivated to take classes to be able to connect with Spanish-speaking family and friends on a deeper level. Enrolling in both a morning intensive and evening once-weekly course simultaneously, she’s taken on polishing her advanced Spanish skills as a serious priority and is inspired to refine her vocabulary and use of Spanish structures. Currently working on creating a health and wellness blog, she has begun writing content in Spanish and plans to make her website fully bilingual. We’re delighted Gissel happened upon Tierra and graces us with her presence, we look forward to seeing where her projects take her!

Few students approach learning Spanish with as much joyful determination as Beth. Since starting her studies at Tierra a year and a half ago, she’s been utterly committed to her morning classes, sometimes enrolling in two intensive courses at once and so coming four times a week to build her Spanish skills. With a naturally sunny outlook, she’s met every challenge she’s come across with sensible optimism and has worked incredibly hard outside the classroom to achieve dramatic progress. Motivated to learn Spanish by her desire to volunteer to help farm workers and to have authentic interactions when traveling, her genuine interest shines through in the classroom. Warm and sociable, she is a wonderful classmate whose positive attitude and delight in learning are contagious. We are honored to have Beth as part of our student community and excited to continue to see her continue to reap the benefits of her hard work.
 

Motivated to study Spanish by her family background - she’s the daughter of a Mexican-American father and Japanese mother - learning one of the languages she grew up around, but didn’t speak, is greatly meaningful for Emiko. Deeply dedicated to ethical eating and animal rights, she is co-owner of the vegan grocery store “Food Fight”, an activist in social/racial justice movements, and generally passionate about “fighting oppression against humans and non-humans”. Despite working everyday on these inspiring projects, she always makes it to Spanish class and carves out time to study. A delight to be around, her unfailingly positive attitude contributes to cultivating a fun and welcoming learning atmosphere for all. We admire Emiko in her tenacity as a student and in her commitment to her life’s work, and look forward to continuing to enjoy her presence and to witness the fruits of her hard work.