by Mary Agnes Connor ’01
This summer, I had the opportunity to spend eight weeks in Mexico and do an internship there. I wanted to do an internship in a Spanish-speaking country because I thought it would help me improve my Spanish, and help me decide which field to pursue. For the first six weeks, I worked at a school for the deaf in Guadalajara, Mexico. I taught math, Spanish, and reading to students between the ages of 9 and 13 years
old. It was a very rich experience because it taught me to realize how important education is, and it also helped me decide which age group I would like to work with.
The last two weeks of my stay, I taught English and ASL to adults. The adult were so motivated to learn how to write in English and sign ASL that I really needed more time to teach them all they wanted to know. One of the valuable lessons that I learned from teaching is that it’s very important to have patience.
I traveled a lot when I was in Mexico. I went to Mexico City and saw some remarkable sights. I know I will always be glad that I did an internship in another country because it helped me realize that people are the same wherever they are, but that there are big differences between another country and America. I now know which field I am most interested in. Yes, my Spanish did improve! I couldn’t have asked for any better internship, or better place in which to serve it!
Mary Agnes Connor (first row far right)
with students in Mexico.