Scholarship Recipient Update

2021 Ken Stewart Scholarship Recipient Update

Dear SCOLT Members: I have some exciting updates on how my college education is going, since this stage of my life (which I have always dreamed of) would not have been possible without your generous scholarships for which I am extremely grateful. This would not have been possible without you all, and I want you all to be a part of my college experience because of your contribution.

I decided to attend Western Kentucky University and enroll in a Spanish and Arabic double major (with teacher certification in both) with a minor in TESL. Additionally, I am involved in the Mahurin Honors College to challenge myself academically and gain experience in research which will be vital for graduate school.

Academics: Currently, I am enrolled in Arabic 301/302, Intro to Education, Intro to Linguistics, Arabic Literature in Translation (to satisfy literature requirements), and Russian 101. Next semester, I will begin Spanish 370. Academics have gone great and are my major priority-- in general, I have been studying around three hours per school day. I had my first exam in ARBC 301 recently, and scored a 94%. So, things are going great here and I am about to begin observing teachers for the education class.

Extracurriculars/Work: I was hired by the Department of Modern Languages as a student worker. Essentially, I help our faculty by making copies or completing spreadsheets for their projects. I also answer phone calls for students wanting to know more about our programs and am currently working on a departmental essay contest for heritage speakers of Spanish.

Beyond this, I am involved in several extracurriculars. For example, I live in the Living Learning Program for education on campus which lets me network with future colleagues. Before arriving on campus, a Spanish instructor asked me if I'd be willing to serve as president of the Spanish Club (which I accepted). I was recently asked to become vice president of the Arabic Club by an Arabic instructor (which I also accepted), and it is promising that I will be president of that club next year. Additionally, I was asked to serve as part of the Honors Development Board which makes grant decisions for the university.

Moreover, I am finding additional ways to serve in the department. For example, I asked our department head, Dr. Alex Poole if I could volunteer for the Department of Modern Languages today since there was an event going on for high school students thinking of coming to the campus. Today, I set up a table with Dr. Poole and Mrs. Yertty VanderMolen, a Spanish instructor, to share information about our programs with potential students. I got to meet so many people and it was great to meet some future classmates and colleagues. In the future, I hope to volunteer more for the department and get involved with the Russian club and the Arabic Qatar Debate Team.

I have had time to have lunch with a retired professor of German, Dr. Laura McGee, who was instrumental in my visit to campus two years ago and remains a great mentor in my studies. I am attempting to meet all the faculty possible and find my way around the campus.

Cody Smith Update, Continued

I vow that as much as I can, I will try to leave a positive impact on this campus and once I am a teacher, an impact on the field of world language instruction and my students. My goal for high school teaching is to inspire at least one student to become an educator of world languages and to build lifelong learners of languages.

Thank you all again for everything and for contributing to this experience. You are the reason I get to tell these stories!!

Best, Cody M. Smith