Carmenza Kline parts her perfectly lined red lips and begins to speak.
“¿Cómo te sientes participando en una clase que te haga trabajar con la comunidad hispana?” she asks her 41 students, the words eloquently rolling off her tongue, almost melodious. “How do you feel about participating in a class that requires you to work with the members of the Hispanic community?”
Hands rise into the air.
In 2003, Kline started a new course at James Madison University, in which nearly bilingual students would have the opportunity to work with local Spanish-speaking Harrisonburg residents. The course, which began with only eight students, has grown in popularity over the past few years. Some volunteers aid Hispanic students in their work at Harrisonburg High School and Thomas Harrison Middle School, while others help out at the Social Security office, Free Clinic, Mercy House thrift store or Big Brothers Big Sisters.
| From the Author: When Carmenza Kline came to the Shenandoah Valley more than 30 years ago, she threw a fiesta. “We cooked beans, rice and enchiladas and everyone would dance and talk,” Kline said. “But it also gave children the opportunities to speak Spanish to one another, while learning to love their culture at the same time.” Her passion for spreading the Spanish language and ethnicity came from her homeland Bogota, Colombia, where lived until she was 19-years-old. When she arrived in the Valley, Kline got right to work. “I use to go to the poultry farms and apple orchards in Timberville where a lot of the Hispanic migrants worked,” Kline says, through a thick Spanish accent. “They were lonely and not use to being in a new place, so I would go and speak to them in Spanish to keep them company.” But she didn't stop there. In 2003, Kline started a new course at the university in which nearly bilingual JMU students would have the opportunity to work with local Spanish-speaking families and residents. The class has grown in popularity during the past few years, and has changed the lives of Harrisonburg inhabitants and her students. In her spare time, Kline also has become engaged in the Colombian politics, and has written five books and 30 articles that have been internationally publicized. The educational institutions in Colombia have recognized her devotion to international education and awarded her with the Felix Restrepo medal from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia. From Kline's first fiesta to the present, she makes sure her words are heard, whether they are in Spanish or English. |
