Spanish Education Grads Invest Overseas

Recent OBU graduates Thomas Mosley and Andrea Gates are serving overseas as North American Language and Culture Assistants for the 2010-11 academic year. Both Mosley and Gates earned bachelor's degrees in Spanish in May 2010, and they are the first OBU grads to take part in this particular education program.

The North American Language and Culture Assistant Program focuses on the development of students' firsthand learning experience in Spain by bringing in North American teachers who speak English as a first language. The program simultaneously provides the teachers with experience interacting with the culture and language of Spain through immersion.



OBU graduate Thomas Mosley (left) eats a meal with the Ochoa family in Bilbao, Spain. Tony Ochoa serves as a Christian pastor in the city where Mosley is serving as a North American Language and Culture Assistant.

"I've been reviewing my Spanish and pouring over books about Spain and the Basque Country," said Mosley. "I also made contact with a pastor who lives in Bilbao where I'll be living."

Mosley plans on investing in the pastor's small church while in Spain, as well as finding extra places to teach English outside of his job as an English teaching assistant to junior high-age students in Bilbao.

"I am glad that I'll be able to connect with the body of Christ across the world," he said. "I think it will make for a much smoother transition."

Mosley has several reasons for choosing the North American Language and Culture Assistant Program as his post-graduation endeavor.

"On the practical end, I thought that it would be a good idea to improve my second language and get some teaching experience, thereby opening up more career possibilities," he said. "On the other, I'm excited about living in Europe and soaking up Spanish culture!"

Gates recently arrived in Spain and will begin her assignment soon.

"I will be teaching in an elementary school in A R