SCC Spanish Student Inspired to Work with Local Hispanic Community

SYLVA - In twelve weeks, Patricia Graham rewrote her script on life.
A rookie student in Southwestern Community College's Spanish class, Graham admits that, at first, she wasn't sure she wanted to endure the course that would cast a new set of directions on her roadmap through life.

Patricia Graham, president of SCC's Spanish Club, hopes to work closely with Hispanic community in western North Carolina.

“I had never taken a Spanish course in my life,” said Graham. “And, the first two or three classes, [Patricia Hackett, SCC's Spanish instructor] never spoke a word of English.”

Nervous about her rate of success in the course, Graham became more determined than ever to learn the Spanish language and began reading a local Hispanic newspaper La Voz Independiente and watching Spanish TV.

Her hard work paid off. Graham has been offered several opportunities working directly with the local Hispanic population.

“One of the more common complaints of Americans is that Hispanic people refuse to learn English and expect everything should be done for them in Spanish,” said Graham. “English is the most complicated and flexible of all languages in the world, with a range of sounds that exceeds nearly of the rest. In essence, it is harder for the Hispanic person to learn the language of America than it is for the American to learn Spanish. English has the largest vocabulary in the world.”

And, the need for Spanish interpreters is growing radically. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, North Carolina has the fastest growing population in the country. In Western North Carolina, the number of Spanish-speaking residents has increased 356 percent since 1990, making communicating with Spanish-speaking students and parents one of the most prevalent and crucial issues educators are facing today.

“When I began studying Spanish, I did not realize how many doors it would open for me professionally and academically. I think everyone should take a foreign language class,” said Graham who was recently elected president of SCC's Spanish club.

Southwestern Community College is now offering Spanish classes at various levels of learning. For additional information on the classes or the Spanish club, contact Hackett at phackett@southwesterncc.edu or 586-4091 or (800) 447-4091, Ext. 475.

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