As a first generation college student born to a Cuban family, I felt like I didn't have much guidance for what to study when I first started college, nor any good ideas for what profession would fit me best. As a high school senior about to go to college, I never would have imagined that my time at UF would give me the exact experiences that I needed. My four years in my undergraduate degree have been a very valuable time for self-growth and for paving my own path.

 

I used to be much more enamored by the thought of going into healthcare, so I applied to some universities as a Biology major. I also had a love for Japan, thanks to Japanese media, so I applied to other universities as a Japanese major. Since UF was my absolute best option, due to getting accepted into the Machen Florida Opportunity Scholarship (MFOS), I decided to declare a Japanese major. When I started studying Japanese I enjoyed learning about the language, literature, culture, and history, but I always felt like I could be doing more and ventured out to find a second major. I considered Biology, Business, Economics, International Studies, English, and Linguistics. After taking into consideration my strengths and weaknesses and my likes and dislikes, I decided Linguistics was the best fit.

 

My Linguistics major brought new levels to language that I had not considered before. It gave me the tools to analyze foreign languages at a deeper level. The solid reasoning and science behind the way we communicate enhanced my understanding of Japanese. I have enjoyed actively learning about Morphology, Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics, Phonology, and especially Phonetics. Within the subfields of linguistics, I deeply enjoyed learning about sociolinguistics, historical-comparative linguistics, Language Development, and Japanese Linguistics.

 

Linguistics led me to find the Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) Certificate program, which requires one more course than the TESL minor. I took many useful courses that were very linguistics-based, such as Second Language Acquisition, Pronunciation, and teaching courses. With the certificate courses and internship, I gained valuable teaching experience that will allow me to teach in the US or in Japan.

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During my freshman year, I discovered the International Scholars Program (ISP) which allowed me to further internationalize my degrees. When I enrolled in ISP, the program's required courses overlapped with the courses I took for Japanese. There was one course that was an exception: Women, Leadership, and Diversity in the Global Environment. This was an empowering course that highlighted that working towards leadership equality in the workforce and abroad is worthwhile. The education gap plays a significant role in culture around the world, which is something that I would like to improve in the future. ISP events, like Coffee without Borders, were also very enjoyable, since I found like-minded individuals who love different cultures, different languages, and traveling. Both the courses I took under ISP and their organized events allowed me to broaden my horizons.

 

My perception of the world has changed after studying at UF, going abroad, and experiencing the extracurriculars that campus has to offer. The world is becoming extremely interconnected and increasingly globalized. My desire after graduation is to continue studying languages to become a proficient polyglot. The next languages on my bucket list are Korean and Portuguese. I would like to return to Japan to practice my language skills and find in a job in translation or in teaching English. I would also like to attend graduate school for Speech Language Pathology. I found a way to integrate my interest in health care, language, and linguistics.