Scholarship Sends Professor to Spain
PARAMUS, N.J. – Bergen Community College Professor Cesarina Vinas has received the Don Quixote de La Mancha scholarship from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), which will facilitate a teaching experience for her in Spain.
Vinas will travel to the University of Castilla - La Mancha (UCLM) in March, where she will connect with local and international educators to advance her Spanish language and culture teaching methods. Vinas has worked as an assistant professor in Bergen’s world languages and English-as-a-Second-Language department for 16 years, teaching Spanish I-IV and ESL courses.
“Professor Vinas's scholarship brings distinction to the world languages department and the College,” Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Andrew Tomko, Ph.D., said. “It speaks to her dedication to her discipline of world languages, and her commitment to Bergen Community College, particularly in its role as a Hispanic Serving Institution.”
According to Vinas, the 20-hour teaching and pedagogical experience in Spain will provide her with a unique opportunity to further develop her skills as an educator.
“This initiative is all about advancing our ability to teach Spanish language and culture in collaboration with international higher education institutions while showcasing UCLM as an inviting destination for international students,” Vinas said. “I am eager to learn new cultural customs and observe social issues that I can incorporate into my curriculum, offering my students a more enriching experience based on relevant and authentic facts.”
Scholarship awardees such as Vinas will also venture into the Spanish city of Toledo to visit historical sites and take part in an excursion to Consuegra, the site that inspired Miguel de Cervantes to write Don Quixote.
Vinas’ scholarship represents another facet of Bergen’s deepening relationship with HACU. The advocacy organization provides access to programs, initiatives and funding for Hispanic students, including an internship program with the federal government. With more than 40 percent of Bergen students identifying as Hispanic, the College easily surpasses the 25 percent benchmark for institutions to earn the designation.
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, founded in 1986, represents more than 500 colleges and universities in the United States, Latin America, Spain and school districts throughout the U.S. HACU is the only national association representing existing and emerging Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). The Association’s headquarters are in San Antonio, Texas, with regional offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, California.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 13,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
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