AATSP Indiana Chapter recognizes IU senior Jaclyn Flores among 8 others during IFTLA conference

By: Kelsey Blaylock, Engaged Learning Student Media Team

Wednesday, November 07, 2018

Jaclyn Flores smiling and holding up a certificate for the 2018 AATSP Indiana Outstanding College Student of Spanish — IU senior Jaclyn Flores holding her 2018 AATSP Indiana Outstanding College Student of Spanish certificate. Photo by Kelsey Blaylock

During this year’s Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association (IFTLA) conference in Indianapolis, teachers, students, community members, school officials and representatives from education-related corporations gathered for a weekend of connecting and learning.

On the last day of the conference, the Indiana Chapter of the American Association Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) held an award ceremony which honored students on behalf of their exceptional dedication to learning Spanish and Portuguese.

“Seven Indiana Outstanding College students of Spanish and two Indiana Outstanding College students of Portuguese were chosen this year,” said Vice President of the AATSP Indiana Chapter, Israel Herrera. “The students are nominated by AATSP members and documents are sent to a state recognition committee where it’s decided if the students fulfill the requirements.”

Indiana University senior Jaclyn Flores was one of the seven students selected as a 2018 Indiana Outstanding College student of Spanish recipient along with Zoe King, Hope Hiller, Amanda Tolen, Lauren Cooper, Megan Deikhoff, and Kaitlynn Milvert.

The 2018 Indiana Outstanding College students of Portuguese recipients were Maria Gonzalez- Diaz and Carrington Elliott Houser.

Flores is a Spanish and Linguistics major who not only excels in the classroom, but engages with the campus and community through other activities such as independent Dominican Spanish research, Groupo de Teatro VIDA, which is a Spanish and Portuguese theatre group, and IU's Linguistics club.

Also, Flores is involved in the Afro-Cuban folklore ensemble through the percussion department of the Jacobs School of Music.

“We get the opportunity to sing a lot of songs in Spanish and it's a cool aspect to get into regarding music,” Flores said.

She emphasized how helpful her professors and peers have been and how grateful she is to be recognized as an outstanding student of Spanish.

2018 AATSP Indiana Outstanding College students of Spanish and Portuguese awardees. Photo by Kelsey Blaylock

“The Spanish department at IU is composed of phenomenal faculty and likewise, we have phenomenal students that do so much,” Flores said. “It’s an honor to be chosen as one of this year's recipients.”

When thinking about the future, Flores plans on working towards her goals in academia by obtaining her masters and doctorate degree which will lead her to either teaching or participating in research at the university level.

Herrera who presented the awards on Saturday concluded by saying there is always a need and room for Spanish teachers.

If you are interested in gaining more Spanish and Portuguese experience Herrera encourages students to participate in activities. Some of them include:

A theater group (such as above-mentioned VIDA.)
The national Spanish Honors Society.
A campus Spanish Conversation Club.
A mentoring program such as Escuelita para todos.
A local community service program.
Or practice in different ways such as subscribing to the online newsletter Veinte Minutos (Twenty Minutes) or the Slow News in Spanish.

Visit the Indiana Chapter AATSP website to view the criteria needed in order to receive the same recognition as Flores.