For Spanish Prof. Reyes Morán, learning has always been paramount.
Morán was a first-generation college student. Her family supported her throughout her college years, encouraging her to pursue a career in education. She joined the Northwestern faculty in 2007 and will celebrate her 30th year of teaching in 2026.
The Daily spoke with Morán about her teaching experience over the years.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
The Daily: Where in Spain are you from?
Morán: I’m from the north of Spain, a really, really small town. It has 2,000 people living there, and there’s not much to do there. It’s called Veguellina de Órbigo, and is located in the province of León.
The Daily: What did you do before coming to NU?
Morán: I was the resident director of a study abroad program in Madrid. Before that, I was teaching Spanish at the University of Salamanca, which is the university where I completed my bachelor’s.
The Daily: What did you study and teach at the University of Salamanca?
Morán: I studied philology, that is, language literature, but my focus was on linguistics.
When I finished my studies, the university offered me to start teaching Spanish. I remember the first day, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, what am I going to do? If I’m going to teach a beginner class, how am I going to convey, how am I going to explain?’ I didn’t have any experience at all. But then I just loved it. I thought it was something amazing, the transformation from the first day of class to the last day of class. In just one month, the students were able to communicate in Spanish. I thought that was an amazing feeling. It was very rewarding.
The Daily: What is your favorite class to teach at NU?
Morán: Spanish 201 is my favorite class because it’s on contemporary Latin America. It’s a class that is (about) language, but it’s also about history, about culture, about politics and it’s very current. We can discuss all together what is going on in Latin America, which provides students with different perspectives.
The Daily: Have you learned any lessons throughout the years about teaching?
Morán: A lot. First, and the most important, that teaching is not about the professor. It’s about the students. The students are the ones that need to learn, and the focus should not be on the professor. When I started, I was very young, and I put a lot of attention on myself. Now I think my focus should be on student needs: how to facilitate their learning, not to be a source of stress for them. Learning is the greatest feeling. That should not be stressful at all.
Email: cecilialuce2028@u.northwestern.edu
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