Christy Willis
Kingston High School
Christy Willis is a senior in SVSU’s program in Spanish and History Education. She has just passed her certification exams to teach in the state of Michigan at the secondary level, and will be beginning her job search in the coming months.
“I started out as a Spanish minor at SVSU, after taking a year of Spanish in high school, because I knew I wanted to continue learning the language, because it is so useful today to be bilingual.”
Christy spent four months in Segovia, Spain on one of SVSU’s Study Abroad programs, after which she decided to major in the subject.
“I found myself learning more about Spanish in the four months I spent in Spain, than during the three years of courses I have taken. The interpersonal and non-verbal aspects are so important, and those things can only be learned through experience.”
“The Study Abroad experience was wonderful. I was able to take classes in Spanish conversation, Spanish civilization, art history, and the European Union. Most surprising was everything I learned about the mixture of dialects that is so diverse within a language, and how much culture is automatically embedded in that diversity.”
“The faculty at SVSU are its greatest asset. The professors are very experienced, and it really shows in the classes, which are friendly and small. The professors are cooperative and willing to work with you individually.”
“Another advantage I really like about SVSU is that everything is so convenient. Computer labs are always available and the technology is great. The people here are friendly and the campus is clean and beautiful.”
During her time at SVSU, Christy has served as president of the History Club, been a member of the Alpha Chi honor society, and worked as a tutor in Spanish and history for the Academic Advising office on campus.
Christy also worked as a substitute teacher for Saginaw Township schools while taking classes at SVSU.
“There is great opportunity for involvement at SVSU. The experience of getting involved is absolutely enlightening, whether it is with a student club or a Study Abroad, which I recommend as an absolute ‘must’.”