Student Speak

Fall 2006

Name: Veronica Sue
Year: Junior
Major: Biology , Honors College
Hometown: Greenville

You're one of eight USC students to be recommended for a Rotary Scholarship year for academic or cultural study abroad. Where do you hope to go? I was recommended for cultural study and really wanted to go to Costa Rica--that was my first choice. I've never taken any Spanish, but I want to do a complete immersion in the language.

And that's why you're studying in Spain this semester, right? I've always thought that Spanish will be a big language in this country, and as a pre-med major I think it would be the one of the most useful languages to learn. I'm getting a big dose of it here--I was in Salamanca for a month, and I'll be in Madrid for the rest of the semester taking Spanish language classes.

What is it like to be learning Spanish for the first time in your life in a Spanish-speaking country? It hasn't really been a problem. The classes are taught completely in Spanish, but the instructors go slow when they realize you're a beginner, and I'm picking it up pretty quickly.

What's been your impression of Spain so far? I love Madrid. It's a big city, and there's so much to do. Things are going great. Classes end by the middle of December here, and I plan to travel some after that. I'll be back in Columbia in January to start the spring semester.

Besides learning Spanish, what else do you plan to do as a pre-med major? I might minor in medical humanities, which could possibly delay graduation a bit. My parents probably don't want to hear that.

10/06