Spanish has always been a part of my life. I was born in Costa Rica and spent the first 4 years of my life in Guatemala, where I learned to speak both English and Spanish. My family then returned to the U.S. and settled in South Texas, a mere 7 miles from the border with Mexico. In my youth, I made frequent visits to Mexico both as a volunteer and as a tourist.

As an undergraduate, I returned to both Costa Rica and Guatemala to do volunteer work as an interpreter and English teacher. I also spent a semester at the Universidad Autónoma de México in Mexico City, where I conducted research for my Spanish Honors Thesis on the role of women in Aztec culture.

Upon graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A in Spanish and a B.A in Sociology, I began working as a bilingual social worker. After 2 years in the field, I set out for Peru, where I worked as a freelance translator and an English teacher for two more years. While living in Peru, I also visited Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and Colombia. After leaving South America, I returned to South Texas to work as a bilingual social worker assisting clients with severe mental illness.

As a recipient of the Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship, I recently completed a Masters Degree in Translation/Interpretation from the Universidad de Granada in Spain.