By Kyle Coday

Contributor

I will say at the beginning, CSUSM was not my first choice. However after my first semester here as a junior changed my opinion. My first class was Chicano Theater and I had the pleasure of meeting an admirable and strong woman, Yeni Orozco Towver, who became my best friend in that class. With other future classes, I got the opportunity to meet other extraordinary people: Brittany Rose Tribulski, Yohita Reyes, Juan Puentes, David Flores and Alex Contreras, to name a few. However, my best friend at the university is Jesslyn Lopez, who has been by my side since the beginning of our undergraduate study at MSJC. I thank her for helping me in both fields: academic and social.

One of the most outstanding things about CSUSM is the faculty within the department of my studies: Spanish. Each faculty member has not only been an instructor in the academic field but also an instructor of life. To this I say my thanks:

Professor Shuh: Thank you for making me a better writer in Spanish and helping with other writing projects in different Spanish classes.

Professor Rolle:  Even though I did not have a class with you, I say thanks for your advice of the publishing field and your encouragement to be a writer.

Professor Ramos: Thank you for teaching me the art of translation and thank you for encouraging me to be a better leader as a VP in the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society.

Professor Hughes: Thank you for teaching me the different aspects of linguistics within the Spanish field and I say thank you ten times fold for the opportunity to travel with you to Guatemala in order to do my independent study on the culture of the Ixil Maya along with learning the Ixil language with other faculty members, Professor Garcia of the Linguistic department, and other students.

Professor Strother: Thank you for being a passionate and caring professor in two of my classes. With your guidance, you helped me regain my passion for creative writing and not only I want to be a teacher, but a writer as well.

Last but not least…Professor Martin: You’ve been my professor in each semester: SPAN 301A, SPAN 315, SPAN 350A, and SPAN 410E. Your wisdom had a profound change on my view of education and the importance of being an educated person. I hope your wisdom, along with the wisdom of my other professors, will guide me in the right path in Spain or Latin America because the most important concept you taught me: ser el individual como el ingenioso cabellero Don Quijote de La Mancha.

Gracias a todo el mundo.

Kyle