Linda Peña - class of 2010
Linda majored in Spanish to hone her Spanish skills and discover the world.
Why did you decide to major or minor in Spanish?
I always loved literature, and Spanish was a great way to kill two birds with one stone - gain better linguistic skills while studying literature to which I had not been previously exposed.
What did you enjoy about majoring/minoring in Spanish?
I enjoyed how it made me become a more worldly person. It’s like a whole new world is being revealed to you, and it exposes you to places, attitudes, and perspectives you may not have otherwise known. Majoring in Spanish was not about learning to translate from English to Spanish, it was about capturing everything the language had to offer, including everything that would otherwise be “lost in translation.”
What did you do after graduation?
I went straight to the University of Texas School of Law.
What are you doing now?
Working as an Investigator for the Texas Office of the Inspector General.
How did your Spanish studies or in general your time at Southwestern prepare you / inform your career path?
It prepared me for my career path by making me a quick learner. Being a Spanish major at Southwestern is like learning through cultural immersion, so you become able to learn and adapt quickly, skills which my job currently requires on a constant basis. Not to mention, I work in the Valley, where having professional Spanish skills is imperative.