“After I had my son, I decided that I wanted to do something with languages since I was always interested in languages. So, I decided that I wanted to go back to school, and I decided to come to Morningside and it was the best decision I made.

I was born and grew up in France. I met my husband when I came to the United States in 2014. He is from Puerto Rico and after we spent a couple of months in Australia, We both moved back to our home countries. Eventually he moved here and a year later I moved here and we got married. I studied Hospitality Management in France, but I always wanted to work with kids, and now I get the chance to as a Spanish education major. 

When I moved here, I noticed that there are so many immigrants from Latin America, and they don’t receive the help that they should. That’s where school comes in. They should learn the language and be more open to other cultures and be more open minded. I just want to be that person who helps those students learn about other cultures and teach them to be more open minded to help the community.

When I settled down and had my son, that made me really think about my life and I want to do something that I will be proud of, and I can say to my son, ‘Your mom is a teacher.’”

• Ines Rodriguez, a senior spanish education major hoping to help strengthen the community