TEC Student of the Month Award

Strikingly committed to his Spanish studies, Stuart has been a mainstay in his classes at Tierra since starting out in Beginner 1 in early 2014. An avid traveler, he was originally motivated to learn Spanish by journeys to South America and recently returned from an exciting trip to Ecuador and Peru. Stuart’s wide range of interests and talents have him wearing many hats including retired engineer, musician who plays the french horn, accomplished amatuer photographer, and helicopter pilot among others! As a student of Spanish, he’s a kind and enthusiastic classmate who always makes the effort to go beyond the task assigned to do research or extend the activity in a way that helps him to deepen his educational experience. We’re grateful for Stuart’s continued dedication to learning Spanish and look forward to continuing to see his skills flourish!
 

With a sharp sense of humor and extraordinary passion for learning, Teresa’s great enthusiasm easily rubs off on her classmates and instructors. Having started as a beginning student, she’s worked towards building her Spanish skills through both group classes and private lessons, sometimes simultaneously. A professor of geography, the subjects that most whet her interest include nature, climate, architecture, art, cuisine, and opera, and she’s taken advantage of her burgeoning skills to discuss all these and more in Spanish! A savvy world traveler, Teresa’s deep appreciation of the diversity of our planet and it’s cultures informs her nuanced approach to language learning. We’re honored to count Teresa as part of our community at Tierra and look forward to seeing her Spanish ability continue to blossom!

A gem of a student, Tom’s amiable nature renders him a fantastic classmate who infuses the class environment with humor and camaraderie. Utterly dedicated to his studies, he’s almost never missed a class session in all of the courses he’s taken continuously since starting in January 2015. His wit and creativity shine in his written homework assignments, which are always highly original and entertaining. As concerned about his class as a whole as he is about his own learning, his open questions and conversation stimuli encourage everyone to actively participate. Taking advantage of every opportunity to engage with Spanish-speakers and use his blossoming skills, Tom exemplifies the great progress that can be achieved when studying a second language with gumption.