Why is knowing a second language important for your career? Lora Gallegos-Haynes’s M1 Spanish class had that question answered on Monday, Feb. 1.

Haynes’s class had 13 virtual speakers via Zoom from various professions and from various places in Kansas, Texas, California and Spain. Each one can speak English, Spanish and other various languages.

Some of the speakers included a representative/activist for the rights of people of color from Sacramento, Calif., a doctor from Hays and a travel guide for EF Tours Madrid office from Madrid, Spain.

“Every career will benefit by someone knowing a second language,” Haynes said. “Retail, food, hospitality, education, medical, legal, construction, plumbing, electrical – whenever you have to have contact with people, knowing a second language would be a great help making a client/customer feel at ease.”

Each of the speakers said that they have had a time in their careers and in their personal lives in which being able to speak Spanish was necessary whether it was to diffuse a situation or to help calm a client and make them feel more comfortable during a procedure or process of some sort.

Every speaker also encouraged students to practice Spanish as much as they can, so students are prepared for anything that might come their way. Through these speakers, students were able to see how important knowing a second language can be.

“The most useful information I was told, was to use multiple methods to practice learning a language,” senior Sydney Walker said. “There are options, such as watching a show/movie in a different language, using it in a restaurant or other public area or reading a book in a different language.”

23ksteinle@usd489.com