STUDENT INTERVIEWS | NOVEDADES
Abby Schwenk GRADUATED: 2018 MAJOR: BIOLOGY MINORS: ENGLISH LITERATURE, SPANISH When she took up her Spanish minor her sophomore year, Schwenk was pleased that she was challenged with fresh, profound material in film and literature. She notes that Drs. Stefanski and Reitsma encouraged her throughout her time at Canisius to travel abroad, attend local cultural events, and "to simply connect with the language in conversation over art/music/literature," she says. She enjoyed the challenge of expanding her vocabulary through discussion of real-life topics in the Spanish classroom. Schwenk completed a post-graduate internship in Spain with the True Spanish Experience, located in Cuenca. She filled a position as an International Relations and Program Activities Intern, giving her the opportunity to immerse and involve herself in Spanish culture, take more language classes, meeting Spanish speakers from other countries who were also visiting, and getting into the natural rhythm of the language. “I led cultural activities for these groups of students that were visiting, and I helped open their eyes a little bit wider to the culture and beauty of the country," she said.
I helped open their eyes a little bit wider to the culture and beauty of the country. Schwenk is currently in New York City completing six months of service through a shelter for homeless youth, Covenant House New York. She says her Spanish education and fluency allow her to communicate with native speakers in the neighborhood and the shelter. After her six months are complete, she'll begin the application process for medical schools- most of the universities she has her eye on are located in cities with large Spanish-speaking populations. In the future, she hopes to use her ability to speak Spanish as a tool to connect with her patients and build a relationship based on trust- she wants her patients to feel more comfortable returning to her practice, resulting in better preventative care and patient health overall It's important to her that doctors make an effort to reach out and connect with the increasing Spanishspeaking population in the U.S. In the end, she'd like to become "a culturally sensitive doctor, who can connect with patients from all backgrounds.” pg. 4