Kexin is a 4th year student, majoring in Statistics and minoring in Spanish and Latin American Studies (SLAS). She has been recipient of many awards for both Spanish and Statistics, including Robert Bruce Scholarship, Robert Bruce Scholarship, Susan Near Prize In Mathematics; the Nan Skelding Scholarship, Loretta Johnson Scholarship In Spanish. She as well as has been on the Dean't Honour's List since her first year. She chose SLAS as his minor for many different reasons:
"The first time that I ever thought of learning Spanish was right before I came to Queen’s. I thought it might be helpful for me to learn another language if I was going to study abroad since I love travelling and love making friends with people from other cultural backgrounds. And I also realized that Spanish was the second most widely used language in the world. That’s why I wanted to give it a try. I took Span 111 and 112 in the first year and both of them attracted me to the Spanish speaking world a lot. After that, in the summer, I applied for the volunteering program with AIESEC in Mexico and got to practice a lot, which gave me the confidence in joining SLAS.
So far, out of the seven Spanish courses that I have taken, I find them all really helpful and practical in all aspects—speaking, listening, reading and writing. I enjoy taking these courses a lot since they are not just pure textbook learning but include a lot of fun facts and additional knowledge about Spanish speaking countries. The class size is also really suitable for language learning, every student can get the access to the professor. My major and minor don't cross over, but every time I proudly introduce my major and minor to others, they are all surprised that I can keep an equilibrium between science and arts courses. My favorite part about SLAS is that it broadens my horizons and also helps me eliminate a lot of prejudice against Latin America.
Language is a key to a new world and learning Spanish helps me enter a new world. I have already made a lot of friends after leaning Spanish and I will continue doing that even after I graduate. So far I have been to Mexico and Colombia, and I hope I can visit all Spanish speaking world in the future.
The professors in LLCU department are the most considerate professors that I have ever met in the university. I always keep in touch with every one of them. Professor Max Lizano, Judit Luengo-Martinelli and Joanne Rotermundt-de la Parra, all of them are more like a friend to students. I always enjoy their class atmosphere. LLCU department is like a big warm family to me❤️"
Kexin has some good advice for language learners: "I find it super helpful and important to go to office hours since I can talk to professors in Spanish and that’s also how I got to know more about professor Max Lizano. I always go to see him during office hours and we talk about various topics in both Spanish and English. It is a really good way to practice speaking! Plus, listening to Spanish songs is also a good way."