HIGH POINT, N.C., Sept. 20, 2024 – Three High Point University alumni have received teaching assistantships in Spain through the North American Language and Culture Assistantship Program (NALCAP). It marked the second consecutive year that HPU graduates were awarded teaching assistantships in Spain.
Starting Oct. 1, Class of 2024 graduates Gabriel Costa, Carly Zimmerman and Paris Stankewich will spend eight months in Spain teaching English as cultural ambassadors. All three NALCAP recipients credited their professors in HPU’s Spanish program for the guidance and support they received.
“I look forward to exploring the region of Galicia and sharing my expertise with the students, all while curating a global citizen mindset,” said Costa, a biology major with a Spanish minor who is originally from Caracas, Venezuela.
“I am praying God shows me unexpected blessings along the way,” said Zimmerman, an advertising, public relations and strategic communication major from Marin County, California.
Stankewich, an actuarial science and Spanish double major from Oak Ridge, North Carolina, is currently pursuing an MBA at HPU. She said her Spanish major fostered important life skills, “whether that meant connecting with the Latino Family Center in High Point to host movie nights or play games, holding giveback nights or even putting on Spanish poetry readings to encourage Spanish students to step a little outside their comfort zone.”
“I can’t wait to experience what it’s like to live in a foreign country while improving my Spanish-speaking abilities by completely immersing myself in the culture,” said Stankewich. “Years ago, I would’ve never considered this a possibility, but I’m so happy it worked out this way.”
Each year, NALCAP offers teaching assistantships across Spain from Oct. 1 to May 31. HPU students interested in applying should contact Dr. James Cotton in the Office of National Fellowships and Awards.