At the start of the 2017-2018 school year, Pinecrest High School welcomed two new Spanish teachers: Mr. Carlos Gutierrez, from Colombia, South America, and Ms. Arantxa Morillo, from Venezuela, South America. Both are here at Pinecrest because of a program known as Participate.

 

According to Gutierrez, Participate’s goal is to “give international teachers a culture exchange with students and teachers from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.” The program lasts for 3 to 5 years.

 

He said that the program “gives him international experience in the US, teaching experience in the US, and it allows students to benefit from having a native Spanish-speaker as their teacher.” Morillo said the program allows her to “learn about the education system here because it’s very different.”

 

“[Teaching] is something very exciting,” said Gutierrez. “When you can relate real-life stuff with what you’re being taught, that’s how powerful a language can be.”

 

Gutierrez is receiving a Masters in Education from Elon University, and plans to receive a PhD after. Teaching is a long-term goal for him.

 

“It is important to let students know how important it is to learn a different language,” said Morillo. “People who can speak more than one language have more job opportunities.”

 

Morillo enjoys teaching a language because she is able to share the culture of every Spanish-speaking country, and she is able to reach out to kids who never imagined learning a new language. She began teaching at age 18, and it is a long-term goal for her because she “loves it.”