Career Options for Spanish Majors
Knox College alumni and contacts
Spanish majors end up in a wide variety of careers. Language skills are highly valued in the marketplace. Plus, your literature courses have taught you close reading and analytical skills. Finally, your cultural immersion experiences have made you adaptable and globally competent!
Immigrant Justice/Immigrant Rights
- MaryLou Villanueva ´09 is an immigration lawyer in Chicago.
- Anna Dovorak '12 works with Voces de la Frontera in Wisconsin as the Development Director working in immigrant rights.
- Zoe Foote '12 finished her Masters in Spanish at the U of I, then decided to get involved in immigration justice. She became Director of Immigration Legal Services at the New American Welcome Center in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.
- Lakota Bowen '18 served as legal assistant and volunteer coordinator for Catholic Charities Immigration Services department, in Portland, Oregon her first two years after Knox.
- Bek Erl '19 volunteered as an interpreter for a week at the Dilley Pro-Bono Program for Asylum-Seekers her senior year, and then, after graduation, she became a paralegal for the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago. She worked on the LGBT immigrant protection project.
- See more examples in the Legal section below
Mary Lou '09 is an immigration lawyer in Chicago
Andrea '16 translates and interprets at a law firm
Ned '16 used his bilingual skills with victims of domestic violence
Social justice, non-profits and international organizations
- Many non-profits need bilingual members in a variety of roles and international organizations often need employees with language skills.
- Krista Batey '05 worked for Rotary International right after Knox. She was part of bilingual team that supported Rotary leaders in the United States, the Caribbean, and South America. She received her Masters in International Public Service, and worked for a number of NGOs.
- After Knox, Becca Ganster '08 worked many years in Washington, D.C. as the Senior Program Manager for Latin America & the Caribbean and Entrepreneurship at Vital Voices Global Partnership, an international non-for-profit that invests in women leaders.
- Kelly Vlaskamp '13 worked in Nicaragua with Comunidad Connect, an organization that strives to alleviate poverty by connecting local and global communities.
- Stephanie Fore '13 works as the volunteer coordinator for Orlacho Aid Foundation in Honduras. She has lived in Honduras for over four years. This is a faith-based organization working on education and clean water.
- Andrea Santoyo '16 worked as a program assistant at Enlace Chicago. She helped families at Little Village Lawndale High School and translated educational documents. Now she is with a lawfirm (see below).
Bek Erl '19 worked with LGBT immigrants in Chicago
Marissa Arrez '18 works in politics and uses her Spanish skills every day.
Lakota Bowen '18 is an immigration advocate
Go Virtual!
Join a political team
Join the Peace Corps
Serve for 2 years anywhere in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Peace Corps also offers fully funded graduate school programs before or after service
- Knox Alum Mike Dooley '09 served in Paraguay. Read his blog about Peace Corps. Now he lives in Chicago and is a full time fiction writer.
- KImberly Anderson '09 served in Peru. Now she is a bilingual educational specialist for Lions Club.
- Laura Thompson '13 served in the D.R. See her blog about life as a volunteer. She is now in medical school in Chicago.
- Gabe Charles ´14 extended for a third year in the Dominican Republic. Then she became a community organizer on the south side of Chicago.
- Caleb Thompson´14 served in Paraguay. He now runs an organic garden in Oregon.
- Samantha Nordstedt '17 served in Ecuador for two years.
- Jose Guevara ´17 left for the D.R in May of '18.
- Consider Knox's Peace Corps Preparatory program to make your application more competitive.
The State Department needs Spanish speakers
- Check out the Consular Fellows Program out of the State Department. Help promote America’s interests by assisting U.S. citizens abroad, fostering economic growth at home, and contributing to U.S. national security. When you become a Consular Fellow, you also receive similar benefits to those who serve in the Foreign Service. This includes a competitive salary, paid housing for you and your family while serving overseas, and the opportunity to receive a recruitment bonus and participate in the Student Loan Repayment Program
Laura Thompson, happy to get her new stove (Peace Corps)
Mike Dooley's class in Paraguay (Peace Corps)
Grace Moran in Spain (Auxiliar program)
Teach English in Spain or Latin America
Apply to be an "Auxiliar de conversación" Many Knox alums have returned to Spain through this program. You are placed in a Spanish public school helping English teachers and bringing cultural awareness to the students.
Dan Tyx '03 is a freelance journalist covering issues at the Texas-Mexico border. Check out what he's been working on. He moved to Costa Rica summer 2019 to teach at a bilingual school.
- Contact Grace Moran '14. The application process can be confusing. Grace will help you out with a few tips! After serving as an Auxiliar, Grace became the Knox-in-Barcelona program assistant, and then the director. Now she teaches English in Mallorca, Spain
- Michelle Weber'15 took an online TEFL course and then found a job teaching English in Spain through the same agency. You can find more online TEFL courses here: https://www.tefl.org/us/
- Maddie Mandel '13 found a job teaching in Spain through CIEE. Then, she also worked for the Auxiliar de conversación program. She can fill you in on the differences.
- Stephanie Fore '13 worked as a 4th grade teacher in Honduras through BECA (Bilingual Education in Central America). The program provides housing and a small stipend.
- Kaitlyn Hutchcroft '15 taught in Chile through CIEE after Knox, then moved to Spain and taught there for Meddeas.
- Charlie Harned '16 received a Fulbright to teach in Spain. He worked in a school in Madrid. Next stop, Harvard Law School.
Interpreting and Translating
Get training to become a certified court interpreter. The salary is not too shabby!
Translators and Interpreters across fields make about $25 per hour to start out. On average, "As of May 2020, the median annual pay for T&Is was USD 52,330 per year".
Freelance Translation Work on your own schedule from home. Many websites such as proz.com or freelanly are job boards for translators to bid for work. Getting certified in medical or legal will boost your salary.
Antonina Pondo '11 was a Biology and Modern Languages major at Knox. She now works as a medical interpreter at Carolinas Health Care System.
Colleen Larsen '10 is a bilingual Associate Educator in 2 school districts in Minneapolis. She acts as the family liaison and interpreter for Spanish speaking families.
Lauren Nowak '09 is an early intervention translator and interpreter in Chicago. She interprets for kids and their therapists.
Simon Schatzburg '15 is a contract transcriptionist and translator at the audio transcription center for the Ministry of Health in Mexico City. Before that he was an intern copyediting for bilingual news outlets. Now he is headed to grad school at NYU.
Ned Babbot ´16 held various positions as interpreter in schools and health care settings. Then he worked many years as the bilingual legal advocate at the Durham Crisis Response Center that works with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in North Carolina.
Mariajose Bonilla '18 worked as an audio transcriber/translator for MVM. This company focuses on narcotics, criminal investigations and national security.
Waleed Khan '20 works translating and interpreting as part of his paralegal duties at a small immigration firm in Chicago. They handle family-based immigration cases, removal defense, and some humanitarian (asylum, U visa...)
Oscar Sanchez '22 works as an Educational Interpreter in schools near Chicago, Il
See a list of major companies hiring translators and interpreters.
Consider Graduate School
Most MA / PhD programs in Spanish are fully funded through teaching or research assistantships. Select between literature, linguistics or second language acquisition.
Elizabeth Barrios ´09 completed her Ph.D. in literature at University of Michigan. Fall ´16 she began as a professor of Spanish at Albion College. Woot!
Tom Grizzle '17 is doing a Masters in Hispanic Studies at the University of Washington. His degree is fully funded in exchange for being a T.A.
Rachel Navarre ´06, who studied on the Barcelona program finished her PhD in Political Science at UT-Austin. She compared immigration amnesty policies in Spain and the U.S. Now she is a tenure-track faculty member on the East coast.
Check out Bilingual Speech Pathology. Anne Neuville Ward ´02 has a successful career in this field. She completed a Masters at the University of Marquette.
Cody Happ ´06 completed an M.S. program in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of New Mexico and a degree in Social Work. Now she landed a position as a bilingual speech-language pathologist with the University of New Mexico Hospital.
This Masters sends you back to Spain or Mexico! Bowling Green State University (Ohio) has a Masters degree in which you spend one year in Spain or Mexico and one year in Ohio.
Teach and Learn in Spain is a one-year funded Masters Program in Madrid, perfect for Education students.
Beatriz Jiminez '19 decided to pursue her Masters at the University of Illinois-Urbana where she pays for her education through a Teaching Assistantship. She finished and is now working on her PhD.
Work in the legal field
Alex Enyart ´08 worked at Illinois Legal Aid helping Spanish-speakers understand their rights. He later attended Law School and became Public Defender. In 2017 he opened his own law firm working on immigration rights.
- Josie Dudek ´12 finished her MA in Hispanic Literature at the U of I-Urbana. Then, attended law school at the University of Denver. One summer she landed a job in Buenos Aires working at a law firm doing translations and corporate transactions. Now she is a lawyer in Colorado.
- Rachael Morissey'16 served as a bilingual Legal Advocate at the Violence Prevention Center of Southwestern Illinois serving victims of domestic violence. Then, she headed to law school at the U of Maryland. She recently passed her bar exam!
- Andrea Alejandra Santoyo'16 works as an Intake Coordinator with the law firm Edelman, Combs, Latturner & Goodwin, LLC. She also translates and interprets as needed for clients who interact with the firm.
- Charlie Harned '16 After a year in Madrid on a Fulbright, he wen to Harvard Law School. HIs first summer job was working for the Colombian Attorney General in Bogotá, Colombia! Now he is an attorney in NY.
- Grace Parnham '19 is a paralegal at an immigration law firm in Portland. She uses her Spanish skills to write letters and emails to clients, talk to clients on the phone, meet with clients to sign documents and make sure everything is true and correct and ensure that they understand what they are signing.
- Moya Woods '21 is a legal assistant in Portland at AmicusPoint Law. About half of the clients are Spanish speaking. Moya takes calls, finds out what kind of case they have, and gets them oriented to what they need.
- Ashley Pineda '21 was an interpreter intern at the Esperanza Legal Assistance Center in the Quad Cities. Now, she works there as a legal assistant.
Lizzie Wisdom, Spanish teacher in Seattle
Laura Blue worked with migrant farmworkers
Alex Enyart began with Illinois Legal Aid
Join Americorps / CityYear
- Ben King '15 worked with immigrants in Knox and surrounding counties through Americorps. He conducted conversation groups and held information sessions. Now he is getting his Masters in Applied Economics.
- Lizzie Wisdom served in Americorps (CityYear) in Seattle her first year after graduating from Knox in 2016. She taught English and Language Arts to 6th graders. Later she followed her passion for teaching to receive a Masters in Teaching Spanish.
The field of Study Abroad
Many graduates find work in this field as study abroad recruiters, coordinators or advisors.
- Ask Kevin Malone '09. He worked as an International Coordinator in the Faculty-Directed Unit of the Arizona State University Study Abroad Office. Now he is a consultant.
- Robin Soto '06 learned French and Spanish at Knox and then travelled the world after Knox picking up Chinese. Then she worked as Instruction Manager, Curriculum Specialist, and Marketing Manager at Inner Circle Education Center coordinating cultural immersion programs for Americans in China. Now she is getting her Masters at Purdue.
- Michelle Weber '15 is an In Country Coordinator at Think Global. She travels the world with her students.
- Try the Job Boards on the sites of major Study Abroad companies like CIEE.
Kevin Malone
Working in study abroad allows you to continue to travel
Teach Spanish in the U.S.
With your B.A. you may be qualified to teach in private high schools and laboratory high schools. For public schools you need to have a major in Education.
Mirielle Klass '02 is a public high school teacher in Deerfield, IL.
Teach for America places you in an underserved public school and prepares you for teacher certification. Grace Fourman '11 taught in an ESL program.
Grant Deam '13 teaches foreign language through this program. He completed his Masters of Art in Teaching. As part of entering TFA, members get placed in a graduate level program and can opt to finish it during the second year of their commitment. Getting Certified to Teach to enables you to teach within the public school system.
Lizzie Wisdom '16 received her Masters in Teaching Secondary Spanish from Seattle University. She will start at a Title 1 public school in South Seatle in Fall of '18.
Sybedi Gonzalez ´17 teaches at Muchin College Prep in Chicago, IL
Briana Quintana Barjajas '19 teaches in a dual immersion program in California.
Natalie Juarez '21 teaches Spanish at Morton West High School, IL
Yvie Rodriguez '19 is a bilingual social worker in California
Shannon '07 is a social worker in D.C. & uses Spanish every day
Sybedi at the front of her class in Chicago
Medical and Public Health
- Jocelyn Perez '18 says, "I accepted a Research Associate position with the Institute for Minority Health Research, Department of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago. On a typical work day, I am screening participants in Spanish and English, working with databases, and coordinating with other team members."
- Vicky Martin '17 started off working as an Environmental Justice Intern and needed to make phone calls in Spanish. Now she works for a TeleHealth company called Kaleido Health Solutions specializing in getting birth control to women in difficult to reach areas.
- Laura Blue´12 joined Americorps and visited migrant workers in the field providing them with health advice, took blood pressures, and monitored diabetes. She created bilingual outreach materials as well. After this post, she followed her passion and went to grad school in public health.
The U.S. needs bilingual social workers!!
- In Casey (Norton) Powers '07 first job she provided bilingual English/Spanish services to men and women enrolled in the CalWORKs program. Then she moved to an agency helping with bilingual/biliterate clinical services to children and families involved with Juvenile Justice and DCFS. Now she is a bilingual social worker!
- Shannon (May) Sampedro '07 began as a parent educator at a child abuse prevention organization. She coordinated educational parent support groups and developmental playgroups for English and Spanish speaking families. Now she is a social worker in the D.C area and does lots of interpreting and translation.
- Brianna Chavez '11 earned a Masters in Social Work and worked as a Placement Worker with Child Protective Services in New Mexico. Now she is a County Office Manager with Children Youth and Family Development Protective Services and teaches at New Mexico HIghlands University.
- Natalia Binkowski '14 completed her Master of Social Work program at Loyola in Chicago. Now she is a Behavioral Health Clinician.
- Yvette Rodriguez '19 is works as a treatment counselor with children in California. Her bilingual skills and experience studying abroad in Oaxaca made her stand out among applicants. She is also working on her Masters in Social Work.
Etc.Etc.Etc.
Nea Larson '11 works in Barcelona as an immigration specialist at a financial consultant firm helping people with their work visas and other immigration issues. She can give you advice on getting a work permit for Spain.
Elicia Bibbs '13 decided to explore Asia and lived in China for 3 years after Knox before returning to the states. She wanted to use her Spanish and Chinese skills on the job and continue to travel. Now she is a flight attendant with American Airlines.
Gracie Glowiak '14 landed a job in Madrid as a documentalist (a kind of librarian, trained in documentation science and specializing in assisting researchers) at a publishing house specializing in languages. Now she teaches English in Barcelona at The Corner language school.Kathryn Todd '14 worked at Enterprise car rental right after graduation. She says study abroad and Spanish language skills came up in every one of her interviews!
Driven to help others?
Average Salary for Spanish Majors (Zippia.com)
Early Career Salary is around 30,000 according to careerexplorer.com