ZOE BARTON (2015 - Spanish & Studio Art)
When I started at Hendrix in the Fall of 2011, I had every
intention of majoring in biology, and planned to pursue a PhD in field research
herpetology once when I graduated. Like so many other college students
who start out freshman year thinking they know exactly what they want to study,
I had what I like to call a “mid freshman year crisis”. I had begun
Zoology my second semester and was loving every minute of it. However,
after our first exam, I received the unfortunate news that I had failed.
This course was essential if I wanted to keep following the path towards a
career in herpetology, but I ultimately decided to drop the class and
reconsider my major. Instead, I filled my schedule with Spanish and art
classes, and next thing I knew, I was declaring a double major in Spanish and
art, taking courses I excelled in and enjoyed, even though they were the
complete opposite of what I began studying at Hendrix.
Throughout the next few years, I considered myself to be a
collector of skills. I ended up having three internships, all in very different
fields, served on student senate, worked on the yearbook, managed the print
shop, and even studied abroad through the Hendrix in Madrid program.
Since I still had no idea the career I was aiming for, I made it my mission to
learn as many valuable skills as possible.
About one week before graduation, still without any idea what I
would do after college, my phone rang. It was an unknown number, and I
answered it with a tone that said “I’m a college senior with no idea what I’m
going to do with my life once I graduate in one week”. The person on the
other end of the phone explained that they were a recruiter with the Walmart
headquarters, and that I had applied to one of their jobs a few months back and
had been declined. She continued to tell me that she had saved my resume,
and had a new job posting that she thought I’d enjoy and was qualified for and
wanted me to interview for it. As she told me about the role, I couldn’t
help but think that this random job in the field of recruiting kind of sounded
exactly like what I had been searching for for the last few years.
I ended up getting the job and starting with Walmart at the
corporate headquarters two days after I graduated from Hendrix. I’ve been
with Walmart what will be five years this May, and feel like the luckiest
person in the world to have stumbled upon a career that is the perfect
combination of everything I was searching for in a job, but didn’t know
existed. In my current role in recruiting, I’m a communicator, a writer,
an investigator, a small business owner, a relationship builder, an event
planner, and a leader all at once. I’ve held four different roles in five
years, the majority of which on the campus recruiting team, where we hire hundreds
of college students into summer internships and full-time roles every
year. In my current role, I manage the relationship between Walmart and
30+ colleges and universities, planning engagements on each campus that lead to
the hiring of hundreds of recent grads every single year.
So, if you’re reading this, chances are you’re majoring in Spanish
and curious what you might be able to do with that degree. What I want to
leave you with is this: your major doesn’t need to define you. Hendrix
really helps you become a “whole” person, or as I like to think of our motto, a
well-rounded individual capable of succeeding wherever you place your
focus. While your Spanish major (or whatever major you choose) can tie
directly to your future career, it doesn’t have to if you don’t want it
to. The reason I am in the career I’m in today and am as happy in my life
as I am today, is because of Hendrix. Through my majors, my experiences
with internships, and with studying abroad, I was able to learn, grow, and
prepare for the mystery career I so fortunately found. Don’t limit yourself to
the career you think you want or to one single goal after college. Keep
your ears and eyes open, because you might find yourself in a situation just
like mine: incredibly happy and fulfilled doing something you didn’t even know
was an option.
BLAKE COOPER (2016 - BCMB & Spanish minor)
Throughout my years at Hendrix, I got the opportunity to conduct fieldwork and analyze the genetics of the Ponderosa Pine with Dr. Willyard, to plan a new version of the Cell Biology course with Dr. Sutherland and Dr. Murray, and to travel to Cusco, Peru for a homestay and volunteer project with a local clinic. After I graduated with a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2016, I moved back home to Austin, TX, and worked in a medical device testing lab. I learned a lot about microbiology, reusable medical devices, and working with the FDA. After almost two years, I decided to pursue clinical research, and started working for a startup as a research scientist. We were developing the software for a wearable hydration monitor, so I worked with athletes and other participants to gather sweat rate, heart rate, and body temperature data for the algorithm. During this time, I learned about many biomedical science PhD programs that incorporated my broad interests, and began the application process. Now, I am in my first semester as a graduate student at George Washington University in DC, studying pharmacology and physiology. As part of the program (https://smhs.gwu.edu/ibs/).
I have the opportunity to rotate through 3 different labs before deciding where to complete my thesis research. I plan to work with mentors who are studying hypertension and obesity from various angles in order to identify potential targets for clinical application. I am so glad I chose to take some time after Hendrix to explore my interests, save money, and learn how to live even more independently before going back to school. I owe Hendrix for so much- technical knowledge, community awareness, and especially for emphasizing the importance of a good mentor. I certainly miss pecan shells, caf cakes, and shirttails, but I am most grateful for the people I met and relationships I formed by joining the Warrior family.
ZOË CORWYN (2018 - Business Economics & Spanish)
I graduated Hendrix in 2018 with a double major in Business Economics and Spanish. I moved to North Carolina and received my Masters in Accounting in June of 2019 from the University of NC at Wilmington. Now, I am an accountant at a local firm called Thompson, Price, Scott, Adams & Co. in Wilmington. I have passed two parts of the CPA exam and plan on finishing the last two parts by the end of this year.
Hendrix not only gave me all of the basic skills necessary to get into the masters program at UNCW, but also provided me with the environment to become confident in the path that I’d chosen for myself. I was able to explore multiple possibilities and find the one that fit me best. I believe that this set me up for the great experience that I had during my masters program and what ultimately helped me find my way to where I am now. I am very grateful to all of the professors that I met throughout my time at Hendrix for truly caring about me as an individual and helping me set the foundation for my future.
BRETT DAIGER (2019 - BCMB & Spanish)
I’m excited to
say I graduated from Hendrix in the fall of 2019 with a degree in biochemistry
and molecular biology (BCMB) and Spanish. Arriving four years prior, I had no
clue what I wanted to major in (like more people than let on). All I knew was I
liked science and Spanish, so I started with that. One of the biggest catalysts
for my development in undergrad was involvement in on-campus clubs. It cannot
be stressed enough the help they provide in exploring interests, careers, and other cultures – especially in a place one
may have the pleasure of interacting with a considerably more diverse social
environment than at home.
Organization for Latino
Expression, Friends of India, International Club, and Asian Cultures Club were
some multicultural clubs I joined which gave me opportunities to deeply connect
with and learn about people from backgrounds and customs different than my own.
I could practice speaking Spanish with native speakers (and laugh with them
when I butchered words or phrases), spend nights trying traditional dances and
outfits from India in preparation for a multicultural dance showcase (listening
to native songs, asking the meaning of religious ceremonies, marveling at how
desperately my ears wanted to understand languages and dialects from the
region), venture out to corn mazes with international students to get to know
them, help cook foods from afar (so, so amazing), and participate in impactful
holidays and celebrations from quite literally around the world. The exposure
and involvement opened me up to communicating with others more easily,
effectively, and mindfully; being around people with different skills,
interests, and tastes than my own helps improve an openness and ability to
meaningfully connect with people wherever you might find yourself.
The summer after my junior year
I was fortunate enough to travel to Madrid, Spain as part of the Modern
Languages Study Abroad program (made possible by the Hendrix Odyssey Program
and Murphy Foundation), learning more about the Spanish language and its
history through total immersion. Frankly, I’m dying to go back. Spending time
across the pond taking classes in a non-native language seemed intimidating at
first, but that couldn't have been farther from the truth. The improvements I
saw in my comprehension and usage of the language coupled with the extreme
sense of exploration brought me to better understand myself, how I enjoy the
freedom of wandering through a new culture (and an entirely new-to-me country),
and learning more at every turn, appreciating the kindness shown to me as an
interested foreigner. There are so many little things that can be gleaned from
such experiences, too, like the ins and outs of being reliant on public transit,
monetary exchange, or how variable a school environment can be (down to the
very size of the paper). Even back on Hendrix campus itself, I was
fortunate enough to work with one of the Spanish department’s professors in an
independent study to accommodate scheduling and course content. The flexibility and willingness
to help shown by the professors is an integral part of promoting students’
success and developing communicative skills in a professional environment.
On the science
side, I spent a lot of extracurricular time with the school’s BCMB club,
engaging with peers and professionals in the field. This spilled over into
community involvements, like participating in outreach at Conway’s Ecofest and
helping run science experiments at the Oklahoma Firefighters Burn Camp. I was
able to engage with kids at the Conway Boys and Girls club, Ida Burns
Elementary, and Bigelow School, helping with science projects and classroom
learning. Planning the classroom content, transport of materials, dates for
meetings, and coordination of volunteers alongside professors really helped me
develop organizational skills (not to mention tech skills). Plus, it’s a blast
to work with the kids and see their inquisitive nature. Success is so dependent
on one’s curiosity and desire to learn more, and it feels great to be a part of
fostering the bottomless well of questions from which those kids pull.
On the flip side,
I was the one asking questions (usually quite a few) as I worked in a behavioral
neuroscience research lab under a professor in the biology department.
Communication skills are key for any kind of team and working in a lab group
spread across rooms on three floors of DW Reynolds definitely kept us on our
toes. Unquestionably the biggest lesson I learned from a job in science is that
it’s perfectly fine to make mistakes; it’s expected, really, because no one’s
perfect and you learn through growth. Knowing no one (including you) has
everything together, no matter how flawless or collected they seem, is a very
liberating hurdle to overcome.
With that in
mind, I found myself gathering enough confidence to assume executive roles in campus
clubs. I joined the orientation leader team for incoming students, became
publicist for Friends of India, secretary for BCMB club, and eventually
president of BCMB club. I learned a significant amount about professional
management and working as a team, delegating and relying on each other to keep
the boat afloat. I feel that these positions made me much more comfortable
reaching out to others – be they fellow students, professors, community
members, etc. – and helped me really feel like a part of something. The feeling
of belonging I gained at Hendrix was invaluable.
The foundation
for this sense of belonging, Hendrix excelled in integrating different walks of
life, be they academic or non-academic. Taking part in a liberal arts education
meant experiencing a wider scope of topics in my undergraduate studies.
Thinking back, I can’t imagine having a non-liberal arts education, because
anything less seems like it would be at the expense of a student’s
well-roundedness. Even as I continue to narrow my academic pursuits to the
medical field, I still find myself reliant on that breadth. The summer after
graduating from Hendrix I spent a few months studying for the MCAT. Even a
singular test for admission to medical school encompassed my entire Hendrix
education. The test emphasizes skills from the humanities like grammar,
comprehension, persuasive/effective writing, reading beyond the text, and
weeding through huge quantities of text for the important parts. My classes in both
English and Spanish were nothing short of necessary, especially with the
Spanish language’s ties to Latin which are so prevalent in the medical field. Even
scientific fields besides my own (like physics, sociology and ethics,
psychology, and math) are tested, further emphasizing the importance of an
encompassing education like that at Hendrix.
My
education at Hendrix sent me off cum laude with distinction in both my majors
and in the Odyssey department in addition to earning me a spot in the Mu
Chapter of the βββ Biological Honor Society and ΧΩΛ ASBMB Honor Society. I’m
currently waiting to receive my MCAT scores back, after which I will begin applying
to medical programs. I’m looking to work or volunteer at a local hospital in
the time between now and starting school back up. All in all, Hendrix was a
very challenging ride for me and constantly kept me on my toes, but I can say
without a doubt that it well prepared me for what is yet to come.
LEAH GROAT (2011 – Kinesiology & panish)
After graduating from Hendrix in 2011 as a Kinesiology and Spanish double major, I taught Spanish 1 & 2 at Darlington School in Rome, Georgia for two years. Since then, I’ve been at Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake, Illinois teaching Spanish 1, 2, and AP Spanish Language & Culture. I coach track, sponsor Scholastic Bowl, and La Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica, too. In addition, I’m the Junior Varsity volleyball coach at Crystal Lake South High School. I have also taken students to Costa Rica and we are traveling to Spain in 2020. I was inspired to pursue a career in education and Spanish because of the professors and courses I took during my time at Hendrix. I knew I was on the right path while participating in the Hendrix in Madrid study abroad program in the summer of 2010. I learned a lot about myself as a student, a young adult, and a language learner through that program and couldn't be happier it was part of my Hendrix experience. Now being able to share those adventures with my students as we travel abroad is one of the most rewarding things about being a teacher.
MAX HANCOCK (2019 - International Relations)
Last month, I began work at the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project in Tucson, AZ. I'm currently a legal aid worker. My responsibilities include preparing and delivering Know Your Rights Presentations to children held in ORR detention centers under threat of deportation. I also speak confidentially, one-on-one with detained children and gather information about their background and their journey to the US so that I can put them in touch with pro bono immigration defenders and help FIRRP's staff attorneys to build strong legal relief cases. It's a privilege to work for this organization and I couldn't have done it without my Hendrix education! While at Hendrix, with the support of ISEP, I spent a semester enrolled at a public university in Guanajuato, Mexico. There, I studied Mexican history and improved my Spanish fluency. I also interned with the Colibri Center for Human Rights while I was a student at Hendrix, a different Tucson-based organization that works to identify and repatriate the remains of deceased border crossers. Not long after, I was fortunate enough to work with No More Deaths as well, a group active in Southern Arizona that delivers humanitarian aid to border-crossers in the Sonoran Desert. I became immersed in border justice work and learned how to operate in high-intensity, high-stakes work environments. Finally, it was at Hendrix that I discovered a passion for history and theory that lies behind the work I do today. https://firrp.org/ http://forms.nomoredeaths.org/en/ http://www.colibricenter.org/
No More Deaths • No Más Muertes No Description. forms.nomoredeaths.org
WILL MATHESON (2014 - Spanish)
I graduated Hendrix in 2014
with B.A. in Spanish. In addition to my major, I spent a considerable amount of
time experiencing the possibilities Hendrix had to offer, and took excellent
and memorable classes in the Classics, Religious Studies, English, Creative
Writing, Biology, Art, and Economics departments. Despite all of these
phenomenal classes, what influenced me most of all was the time I spent outside
of them, undertaking personal projects with Dr. Vilahomat, Dr. Resinski, and the
Murphy Scholars. My time after Hendrix, much
like the education I received there, has been both personal and eclectic. I
have prioritized my work and personal passions equally, with my work including
an apprenticeship underneath an experienced chef, teaching physical education
to young children in a Hispanic community, running an afterschool program for
poor and underserved youth, and coaching a youth swim team to second place in
the Colorado State Championships. As for my personal time, I am busy composing
a musical album, writing short stories, and enjoying a long-term partnership
with a fellow Hendrix graduate. My studies at Hendrix have
prepared me for the world in a remarkable way. Rather than simply filling my
head with facts and data, Hendrix has sharpened the tools and gifts that I
already possessed, allowing me to succeed in a variety of endeavors. My close
relationships with my professors have enabled me to instinctively connect with
my supervisors, providing me with opportunities for mentorship and promotion I
would not otherwise have. Hendrix has prepared me for our rapidly evolving
world by giving the skillset to evolve with it.
ANNA MCCONAGHIE (2016 - Anthropology & Spanish)
During my time at Hendrix, I
participated in amazing opportunities like Hendrix-in-Madrid, studying abroad
for a semester in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and taking an Odyssey trip to the
US-Mexico border with Dr. Goldberg. My Spanish and Anthropology professors
instilled in me a love of language, culture, and also learning about and
attempting to fix the oppressive systems that make up our society. After
graduating with a double major in Spanish and Anthropology in May 2016, I
headed to Madrid, Spain to work as an English Teaching assistant though the Auxiliares
de Conversación program. After graduating, I was lost and did not know what
direction I wanted to turn. The only sure thing was that I wanted to live
abroad and improve my Spanish while traveling. I stayed for two years in Madrid
and got to speak Spanish every day, bond with other teachers and students, and
travel to other European countries on my 3-day weekends. During my time there,
I got the clarity that I needed which was that I always wanted to work with
people and to address problems like disenfranchisement, racism, and oppression.
This led me to Social Work. I applied and was accepted to the University of
Georgia’s Master of Social Work program in the spring of 2018, in my home
state. I knew I wanted to be close to home after being away for 6 years
straight, and UGA has a great program that has both macro systemic focus and
micro clinical focused tracks. I just started my second year in the program and
I’ve come full circle: my internship this year is with a free mental health
clinic for the Latinx population here in Athens. My time at Hendrix helped me
follow my passions, which ended up feeding into opportunities outside of
Arkansas that led me to where I am today! My advice to current students is to
never overlook what you enjoy and are interested in, and you never know where
they might take you!
DANIELA RAMIREZ
AGUILAR (2017 – Spanish Speaker. Major Health Science: Public Health)
I
am currently a UAMS MPH student concentrating in epidemiology and working
under the direction of Dr. Joseph Su. I am in the last semester and I am taking
on last required class, as well as my senior project researching
obesity-related cancers in the USA and AR, for which I am working under the
direction of Abby Holt at the Arkansas Department of Health. Additionally, I am
a graduate research assistant working in a laboratory specifically looking at
the relationship between genes and cancer susceptibility. I also perform data
analysis on the North Carolina-Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project, looking at
the racial disparity of prostate cancer tumor aggressiveness between
African American and European American males. Aside from these
responsibilities, I help our team with other research going on, such as our HPV
vaccine study and trucker study. Often times, when I am out with the team
recruiting/following-up with participants, there are individuals who feel more
comfortable speaking with me in Spanish to accurately complete a questionnaire.
I always get excited when I meet those participants because it's great practice
for me and to know that the Spanish-speaking community is willing be involved!
After graduating, I hope to continue learning about public health and also work
with Spanish-speaking communities.
TORI
WALTERS (2017
- Spanish & English-CW)
I am leaving September 18th to return to Murcia, Spain for my second year as an English Assistant. I never expected to enjoy teaching so much as well as loving my students. My study abroad experience in Murcia during my junior year as well as my Hendrix in Madrid experience definitely solidified my decision to teach English in Spain when I graduated. While teaching, I am always working on my writing and keeping some literature at my side. After this year in Spain, I will be looking to teach English in Central America. It will be my last year teaching before I finally apply to grad school. I have been looking forward to applying for quite some time, considering I love learning and any opportunity to write. I will be applying for my MFA in Creative Writing at a few schools next winter. When I am done with my grad school experience, I want to look for a Spanish Immersion school so that I can teach Spanish! I never expected to love the language as much as I do now, and I hope to help kids find a passion for learning this language too. https://www.murciaeduca.es/cpriosegurabeniel/sitio/ (CEIP Río Segura) https://www.murciaeduca.es/cpantoniomonzon/sitio/ (CEIP Antonio Monzón).