Language of love

For years, Kevin Castellanos spoke to his father through his grandmother: The Long Island native would say what he wanted in English for his grandma to relay in Spanish to Castellanos’ father in El Salvador.

“It was difficult for me,” admitted Castellanos, who visited his father for the first time when he was 16. “It was really the first time we met, I could barely remember him and mostly my grandmother was my translator.”

Castellanos was born in the United States to Salvadoran parents, but until he started taking Spanish classes in middle school, he only spoke English. His parents split up by the time he was 2 and his father moved back to his home country.

“My mom didn’t want to teach me Spanish; she was afraid if I had an accent, I wouldn’t fit in,” Castellanos said. “That was her mind-set, so she taught me English and neglected teaching me Spanish.”

When he arrived at SUNY Adirondack, he was determined to improve his Spanish language skills. He wanted to speak to his father without a translator at a level beyond cordial conversation.

“Language gives us the power to make sense of the world around us and the opportunity to connect with the people we love,” said Adriana Umana, professor of language at SUNY Adirondack.

“In Kevin’s case, learning Spanish afforded him a chance to understand the many layers of his own Latino identity while reconnecting with a family he had been separated from by geography and language.

It was a gift to witness how Kevin was able to build a bridge toward El Salvador — where many of his family members live today — as he progressed in Spanish.“ was a goal

Castellanos took every class offered, earning an Intermediate Spanish for Global Communications microcredential, which comprises nine credits and signifies students are able to communicate at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages’ Intermediate Level.

I really wanted to communicate with my family in El Salvador,” he said. “My dad is proud of seeing me learn just so I can speak to him, and it’s nice to finally talk to him without any barriers.”