Monday Major Madness: Spanish

Each Monday, we highlight a certain major here at UA. Regardless of the particular major's sanity or lack thereof, we like to call it Monday Major Madness...

 In today's installment of Monday Major Madness, Honors College student Grant Luiken talks about his experience as a Spanish major.

Why did you choose your major?
Growing up in San Antonio, Texas, I was surrounded by Latin American culture. Over half the city’s population spoke only Spanish, and the average citizen needed to speak at least a little of both English and Spanish in order to fully appreciate the city. However, before I could fully benefit from a childhood in this microcosm of Latin culture, my family swept me away to Memphis, Tennessee, and, along with the city, I left my hopes of being bilingual behind.

I entered college at the University of Alabama determined to change my monolingual fate. Now, I am finishing a degree in International Studies and Spanish because I firmly believe that the next generation American will need to speak español and understand something of Latin American culture with an ever-increasing influx of Hispanic immigrants to the United States.  I am enthralled with the food, the variation in accents, and the smooth vibration of the notorious “doble erre.”

What are your career plans?
I plan to use my knowledge of both Spanish and English to serve the Hispanic population living in the U.S. as a lawyer. Currently, finding bilingual legal representation is nearly impossible in many parts of the country. Because of my interest in the culture, I would love to serve Latino-Americans by representing them in immigration cases. I am also highly interested in immigration reform and would like to pursue change in this policy area at some point in my career.

What have been your favorite experiences within your major so far?
Learning a new language requires a good deal of time and, most likely, an immersion experience to acquire fluency. I went to Montevideo, Uruguay to soak up the language in every part of my life, taking classes with native Uruguayans and making a documentary film about an underprivileged population group in Montevideo. The experience required nearly six months of my life, but I highly value the lessons that I learned during my time there. Even with my extended stay in Montevideo, I realized that I had merely scratched the surface of Uruguay (much less Latin America). I am excited to continue the learning process with an open mind as I interact with Latinos here in the U.S. and explore new areas of South America in the future.

This semester I am finishing my International Studies and Spanish degree with my final Spanish course: Cervantes with professor Worden. I have never enjoyed a course more than this one. As far as I am concerned, it is the icing on the proverbial Spanish major cake. I find myself laughing out loud frequently at the ridiculousness of Don Quixote’s “aventuras.”

Anything else you would like to share?
¡Qué buenísimo poder hablar el español! Que lo disfrutes como yo lo haya disfrutado.