Valeria Rivera


I am from Monclova, in Northern Mexico. I graduated with a B.S in HumanRelations from the University of Monterrey, MX.
In 2002, I moved to West Lafayette, IN because my
husband attended graduate school at Purdue University. This caused a change in my professional
life. Due to my visa status (which did not allow me to work in the USA), I took several non-degree
classes at Purdue. Later I got involved in teaching Spanish classes at the Purdue Latino Cultural
Center and the City of Lafayette International Center. I focused on teaching Spanish at the
intermediate and advanced levels, as well as leading conversation tables for advanced speakers.
It was then when I realized that teaching Spanish is more than just teaching grammar or pronunciation, it is transmitting a culture. This realization led me to develop a special interest in Latin American cultures, and later on Latin American Literature.
A year after moving to Orlando with my family, I was accepted into the Spanish M.A. at the University of Central Florida. As a grad student I really enjoy the learning experience and I had the opportunity to be a member of the Spanish Graduate Student Associations, SAGA. In my future plans, definitely PhD is my goal.
I graduated in 2012 with major in Latin American
Literature and minor in Peninsular, Medieval and Golden Age Literature. I also took Linguistic
classes, among them introduction to Spanish Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition.
After graduating from UCF, I organized various Hispanic cultural events at the Orlando Public Library. I've also had the opportunity to join the board of directors of Casa de Mexico, a non-profit organization which focuses on providing assistance to Mexican farm
workers and laborers in the area of health and education, particularly for women and children
living in Central and Northern Florida.
Since Fall 2013, I have been teaching SPN 1120 and SPN 1121 Spanish at Valencia
community college as Adjunct Professor.
I really enjoy teaching Spanish! I think that Students not only learn the structure of language, they also learn the culture with the language. Spanish is more than learning a language; it is learning a culture, our culture.


Contact

West Campus
vrivera64@valenciacollege.edu

Hours