This semester, Kathryn Dwyer-Navajas, the soul of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, mentor of many professionals who have passed through UF, retires. In her 23 years as a lecturer, Kathy has contributed significantly to strengthening the Spanish language program, not only at the Lower Division but also at the 3000 level.
In her own words, “When I started teaching at UF, I had been a small-engine mechanic for 23 years with five years of experience in teaching Spanish as a TA at Johns Hopkins, where our pedagogical training consisted of the supervisor handing us a textbook and wishing us well. Here at UF I craved a community of collaborators, so I started the Teaching Support Group, which met monthly each semester for six years, first just within Romance Languages and Literatures and then with colleagues teaching other languages. We took turns leading discussions about the how and the why of teaching language and how to care for ourselves and each other in that process.”
Kathy has always been interested in connecting the classroom and the community, and her entire career as an educator has been consistent with this mission. Her course SPN3948: Spanish in the Community is 10 years old! Through this course she has collaborated with Deborah Hendrix and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, interviewing over 125 immigrants in Gainesville in the last decade.
In addition, she created the UF in the Dominican Republic summer program, UF’s first and longest-running international service-learning program, and our most intensive six-week immersion experience in a Spanish-speaking country.
Recently, she and Antonio Sajid López achieved the approval of the first Quest course taught in Spanish. Thanks to this course, Comida y conflicto, international and national students have been able to complete this requirement in a language they love.
In collaboration with various colleagues, she also launched a series of readings called Arroz con poesía at Wild Iris, our local feminist bookstore, where many colleagues shared their creative work in both poetry and prose, with snacks from Emiliano´s. Several times she helped shape talent nights at the Keene Faculty Center, where there was an opportunity to learn more about each other than what we see in the classroom. In addition, over the years she organized meals for the homeless at St. Francis House and Grace Marketplace.
For many years, Kathy organized canoe trips so that faculty and grad students had the chance to paddle together and enjoy local rivers, lakes and the Gulf of Mexico to realize there is beauty all around us.
When asked how she felt at this point in her career, Kathy told us:
“For me this job has never been just about getting the job done but rather with relationship, both in and beyond the work we do. I hope to continue to be a bridge between the community and my colleagues and students in SPS.”
Although we are happy that she is retiring successfully, and that she is now embarking on new life projects, she will be greatly missed by everyone in Dauer Hall!
¡Gracias! ¡Un abrazo eterno, querida Kathy!
