My Nonprofit Reviews

The AATSP has played an important part in my entire life! My mother, a high school Spanish teacher, was president of the Northern Ohio chapter of the AATSP in the 1930’s and I remember seeing copies of Hispania stored next to our tiny TV while I was growing up in the 50’s and 60’s. It’s a long story about how I wound up getting an PhD in Spanish but I knew when I started teaching my first Spanish course as a graduate student almost 50 years ago, that I should join the AATSP. This was one of the best decisions I have ever made!
Then when I got my first full-time job, I joined the local Chapter (Massachusetts) and immediately made life-long friends with the wonderful teachers who freely shared their interests and talents during our many meetings at restaurants, colleges and universities, museums, country clubs, and even at the Ritz Hotel, where our guest speaker was Rosa Montero (who just happened to be in Boston that year).
Later I started attending the annual meetings, which always take place in interesting cities around the U. S. and the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking world. There I made even more friends, went to fascinating lectures about a wide variety of topics, socialized at numerous events, and took pictures, many of which found their way into Enlace, and its spin-off, the Conference Wrap-up. I was also active in all twelve of the Northeast Regional AATSP meetings which offered even more opportunities to share information and learn from colleagues. My own house is now filled with Hispanias, which I love to read to learn about what people are discovering through their research and classroom experience, the new books and media being produced, and topics of interest to teachers of Spanish and Portuguese at all levels. And then there is the AATSP website, which provides even more information, from job searches to syllabi for courses and much, much more. Not to mention the various honor societies for students, the National Spanish Exam, travel opportunities, scholarships, awards...
I am grateful to the AATSP for the many leadership experiences I have been able to have, holding a whole variety of offices in my own chapter, and having been a member of the national AATSP Board in the 1990's and its President in 2003. It has provided me with countless opportunities to grow personally and become a better person and teacher of a subject that continues to fascinate me even in retirement. Most of all, of course, I am grateful for the friendships I have made over the years with the wonderful members of this organization. --Mary-Anne Vetterling