Arely Gonzalez 22'
Arely is senior Spanish major and Theatre Arts and Film Studies minor from Houston, Texas. After graduation, she will be pursuing a career as a casting director in the film industry. At LMU, she is part of First to Go, Ignacio Student Services, and has served as president for the Gryphon Circle Service Organization
In the spring semester of her freshman year of college, Nancy joined Gryphon Circle, whose social justice focus is education. Through Gryphon Circle, she served at St. Columbkille School, an elementary and middle school, where she provided academic assistance to students in a number of subjects such as math, English, and science. During her time at St. Columbkille, Nancy experienced her first communication barrier as an educator. One student only spoke Spanish and had limited English proficiency, which resulted in him not completing his assignments. As the only Spanish speaking teacher in the classroom, she was able to guide him through the assignments so that he did not fall behind. This experience solidified her desire to pursue a career in teaching English as a second language to help break down communication barriers in educational settings.
Nancy also has experience educating young children at the LMU Children’s Center. Nancy estates that her theatre background exposed her to how enjoyable and practical kinesthetic learning can be, and she plans to incorporate music, dance, and art into her lessons in a Japanese classroom. She also wants to create an English club where those with a passion for English learning can continue their language acquisition outside of school hours and broaden their cultural awareness of the English-speaking world.
With her ALT position at the JET Program she wants to serve as a “cultural ambassador and facilitate cross cultural engagement by bringing awareness of the different cultures that reside in the United States to a homogenous Japanese classroom.”