Civic Engagement in Spanish in the USA

	Keshia Boyd & Jasmine Davis E.P. Todd Spanish Academy (2008) Keshia and Jasmine headed up the effort to start an after-school Spanish enrichment program at E.P.Todd elementary school. Once a week in the spring of 2008, they taught Spanish lessons to 15 kindergarten children on site at the elementary school. Vocabulary lessons were tied into the state science standards. Here's how Keshia descibed one lesson on animals: "This was a fun week because we got to do animals and their sounds. The students really enjoyed the book 'Oso polar' --they would get excited and make the sounds before we turned the page, and they had the right sound paired with the right animal. Making the sounds and having the pictures is a great way to get them to recall the animal ... you can almost see their brains at work trying to come up with the answer!" Keshia and Jasmine have agreed to team up again to lead the Academy in Fall 2008, and they're looking to train others to take on the task when they go abroad . For more, check out the Wofford news story about the FL Department projects at E.P.Todd.
Loren Hyatt (Spanish & Government, 2007) in costume with children enrolled in Project Transformation in Dallas, TX	Loren Hyatt Civic Engagement in the USA: Semester in Washington; Two Summers with Project Transformation in Dallas, TX (2005 & 2006) "I was able to do work in the Hispanic community of Dallas while working for Project Transformation. My second summer I worked at Casa Linda United Methodist Church, where 95% of my children were Hispanic. I was able to be immersed in the Hispanic community of Dallas and gets lots of Spanish practice. Part of the PT program involves home visists each week with the families of the program participants. During these visits I was able to use the Spanish that I had learned at Wofford to talk with many of the parents who didn't speak English. I was also able to learn a great deal about the lives of those who have recently immigrated to the US from Mexico. I was inspired by a little girl named Destiny. The one thing I will never forget was Destiny’s gift to me on the last day of our program. I was saying goodbye, and Destiny wanted my help with the drink machine. I walked with her to the machine and helped her get a soda. Then she gave me another dollar. I put it in and asked her again what she wanted to drink. She looked up at me with her beautiful brown eyes and asked me what I wanted. I told her it was sweet of her to offer, but she insisted that she buy me a soda. This simple gesture coming from a five-year old, who already did not have much, was touching. I picked a soda out and knelt down to be eye-to-eye with her. She wrapped her arms around me and said thank you. I said the same to her."
Wofford College "Project Transformation" Alums Loren Hyatt (Class of '07) and Kristen Davis (Class of '09)	Kristen Davis Civic Engagement in the USA: Independent Interim in Austin, TX and One Summer with Project Transformation in Dallas, TX (2007) After doing an independent Interim project looking at best practices in serving the Latino community in Austin, Texas, Kristen served with Project Transformation in the Dallas area. At one of the FL-sponsored Civic Engagement talks, she shared lighthearted stories of "Crazy Hair Day" with the children at Project Transformation. She also told us of the crime and poverty-ridden neighborhoods in which the children lived and shared with us their hopes for the future.