October 2022 - Sherry Potwora

An extraordinarily dedicated student, Sherry has attained an advanced level of Spanish after having started at the Beginner 1 level at Tierra in 2018. She is a nurse by profession who is preparing to retire soon, and it was the plan she and her husband made to retire in Costa Rica that ignited her passion for learning Spanish. Unafraid of challenges, Sherry probes the nuances of Spanish structures and meaning and is intent on deepening her cultural understanding. Delighted to be able to use her burgeoning Spanish skills to communicate with Spanish-speaking patients, she has also made many trips to Costa Rica in preparation for her move and reports being evermore able to engage with the locals, to understand and be understood. Full of positive energy and sincere care for others, she easily builds rapport with her classmates and helps create a dynamic learning environment. We are honored to count Sherry among our student community at Tierra are thrilled to have helped her achieve her goal of building solid Spanish skills ahead of her move abroad.

Name: Sherry Potwora
Occupation: Nurse
Time Studying at Tierra: 4 years

1) Why are you studying Spanish?

"My husband and I bought land and built a retirement home in Costa Rica, and we will be retiring there soon.  I quickly realized that life would be much easier for us if one of us spoke Spanish, so I enrolled at Tierra and I've been studying Spanish ever since!"

2) What is your favorite part about your experience here at Tierra?

"I have enjoyed all my classes and instructors at Tierra.  I miss the face to face classes, but the Zoom classes provide us the opportunity to meet people that live in other states, which is also really cool.  I have felt very supported by the directors, as well as the instructors at Tierra."

3) Can you tell us of a time you have been able to use what you have learned studying here?

"I have progressed in my Spanish speaking skills and every time I go to Costa Rica, people notice that I am speaking Spanish better than the last time!  I even successfully navigated having my first argument all in Spanish, and I won the argument!  I also use Spanish when communicating with my Spanish-speaking patients at work, and that has also been very rewarding."

¡Felicidades Sherry!