WHAT’S YOUR REGIS STORY?
Dr. Obdulia Castro,
Associate Professor of Spanish and Chair of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Regis College
Dr. Obdulia Castro has always been intrigued by how and why people make value judgments based on the language that others speak. The seed of that curiosity was planted on her first day of school in Galicia, Spain, when her teacher asked what language she spoke at home. Obdulia spoke Galician, a language related to Portuguese and original to that region. “Here we are going to teach you how to speak well,” the teacher said, meaning, in Castilian Spanish. That moment stuck with Obdulia over the years, a curiosity that evolved into a full-fledged passion for the Spanish language and for the study of language in general. She spent her formative years in Venezuela, where she learned another variety of Spanish, and eventually did her graduate work in Spanish Linguistics at Georgetown University. Today, Obdulia shares that passion with students at Regis. She sees language as a practical tool for success in a globalized world, a vehicle for cross-cultural understanding and a catalyst
for personal growth. “When we encounter new languages and cultures we start to have a better understanding of our own language and culture,” she says, “and in the process of doing this a student gains a greater sense of who he or she is.” Obdulia and her colleagues look to provide students with opportunities to immerse themselves in different cultures. The Community-Based Spanish English Exchange Program (CB-SEEP), which pairs students with Spanish speaking families in the Regis community, is one such opportunity. Since its inception in 2006, the innovative CB-SEEP has become a rich source of multicultural understanding for Regis students and participating families. It has been a long journey from that first day of school in Galicia to Regis University. Obdulia is the teacher now, and in her classes, language is not presented as a barrier that keeps people apart, but rather, as a bridge that can bring people together.
What’s YOUR Regis Story? Email YOUR story to: alumni@regis.edu • www.regis.edu/yourstory