Dr. Robert Wells is an associate professor of Spanish at William Jewell College. Wells is entering his sixth year at Jewell and has demonstrated an outstanding ability to invoke engagement in the classroom. As a Jewell student who has taken a couple of Wells’ Spanish courses, I can attest to his unique ability to make Spanish a fun and enjoyable language to learn, speak and write. Although these times are strange due to the global pandemic, Wells still intends on teaching his courses at the same level of excellence as previous semesters.

Here is how he is doing that:

Wells knew that the pandemic would change the dialogue-heavy style of his courses. Spanish is a language that requires face-to-face interaction so that people can speak to one another. Without this component of learning in the regular classroom, Spanish can prove even more challenging to learn. However, Wells remains committed to ensuring his students learn Spanish, despite the added challenge

Currently, Wells is teaching three Spanish courses this semester through a hybrid model. The hybrid model consists of a blend of both in-person and virtual meetings. For instance, a student enrolled in Spanish 211 will have a weekly hybrid schedule that looks similar to this:

Monday: Meet face-to-face
Wednesday: Meet on Zoom
Friday: Complete activities on Moodle

Wells uses a collaborative, multimedia slide-show that holds images, videos and voice recordings called VoiceThread. VoiceThread grants Wells and his students the ability to converse in Spanish by using the audio recording feature. Wells has integrated VoiceThread as a defining part of his courses during the COVID-19 times. By using this engaging tech-tool, Wells can effectively administer a dialogue-enriched learning environment.

When away from Jewell, Wells continues to put his creative mind to fair use. Wells loves to watch movies, which is helpful as a Spanish professor. Wells also purchased an at-home projector during quarantine, which has enhanced the movie-watching experience. Wells is also a part of a movie club with some of his friends, where Wells and his friends will watch a movie and then discuss their opinions and observations about it over FaceTime. Wells appreciates the artistic and intellectual stimulation he gets from the movie club. In addition to his movie club, Wells keeps up on his reading of various types of literature.

As of late, Wells uses his time to reconnect and catch-up with old friends he has not talked to in a while. Although Zoom and Facetime are the primary ways Wells communicates with his old friends, he stated that “in some ways, I am in better contact with them than before the pandemic.”

Wells enjoys going outside for long dog walks with his border collie mix named Pilar. Wells regards being outdoors as an essential part of his life, especially now. He appreciates the time spent with Pilar and is thankful for their time together.

Something Wells misses are the daily interactions he has with his students and fellow faculty members – he truly values the moments he shares with other people. During the isolation and loneliness, Wells remains hopeful we will all interact like once before.

As of Aug. 1, Wells has been appointed as the Faculty Advisor for The Hilltop Monitor. This is a new position for Wells, and he has been preparing for the role during the 2020 summer while simultaneously teaching his summer online CTI course, The U.S.-Latinx Experience. Wells is excited about his new role and is committed to the importance of journalism.

Wells is a great model for how a person should think and act during COVID-19. In the classroom, Wells is still able to deliver his courses with an engaging atmosphere and provide a healthy and safe learning environment. At home, he finds ways to maximize his time and connect with other people from earlier and more recent times in his life.

Wells is a reminder that even though COVID-19 has changed all of our lives, the one thing that will remain constant is his love and care for his students at William Jewell College.

“One of [Fulleda’s] plays has been previously translated to French and German and maybe Italian but never to English, even though it has been performed in the U.S. in Spanish. So I started with telling him I would be happy and interested to translate [Ruandi] to English, that was a few years ago, which he was thrilled about, without really knowing what I was getting myself into,” Lisenby said.

Working to translate “Ruandi” was Lisenby’s first experience in literary translation. The play has been performed in the U.S. and Europe in French, German and Spanish. Lisenby hopes his English translation will eventually lead to its being performed for English-speaking audiences. He has spoken with Chris McCoy, associate professor of theatre, and Nathan Wyman, professor of theatre, regarding the William Jewell College Theatre Department doing developmental readings of his translation so the play can become stageable.

Translating a literary work comes with a particular set of challenges. Lisenby states that no work has an innate translation. There is a range of possibilities when attempting to interpret a work in a language other than the one in which it was originally written.  

“Part of what makes a text a literary text as opposed to a non-literary text is the possibilities for interpretation of that text, that literary texts lend themselves to multiple interpretations. You can’t necessarily produce the same possibilities for interpretation because any given word has a constellation of connotations in a language and a so-called ‘equivalent’ in another language has a different constellation of connotations in that language,” Lisenby said.

Lisenby attempts to approach works he is translating by first understanding the socio-cultural context in which they were originally written. Literature can be read and interpreted in different ways depending on cultural perspectives, but Lisenby works to translate words or phrases that reflect the writer’s experience when the work was written.

In “Ruandi,” the titular main character is a 12-year-old Cuban slave boy who escapes from the plantation to a “palenque,” a slave community in the Spanish Caribbean. While the play takes place in the 1840s, it was written by Fulleda in the 1970s in Cuba under the Castro regime. Lisenby states that he has to take into account the culture in which Fulleda was writing “Ruandi” and what certain words or phrases likely meant in that context. Reading the play in the 1970s, under “the most repressive decade for freedom of expression since the 1959 Castro revolution,” can create an entirely different interpretation of the work than what the author intended.

“This play comes out addressing issues of racial inequalities in late 20th century Cuba through a filter of historical fiction. In translating the play, I have to think about how certain words and terms and scenes should be rendered given the cultural politics of the original writing of the play,” said Lisenby.

Many students have at one point or another read a translated text. Lisenby believes that these works allow monolingual speakers to engage with different cultures and realize that the world operates and functions in many languages.

“Different languages aren’t just different ways to describe the world. Different languages are different ways to experience the world. Experiencing the world in a different language is not just experiencing the same thing with different words. It is a different experience,” he said.

Lisenby’s translation of “The Lagoon” by Cuban writer Abilio Estévez will appear in the June queer issue of the magazine Words Without Borders and will be his second published translation. He has been a fan of Estévez’s writing for many years. He stumbled upon the short story in an anthology of LGBTQ+ Cuban fiction and found it “deeply captivating.”

Lisenby is focusing on seeing his English translation of “Ruandi” being published for theatre. He will be searching for another project after that, which might be a Cuban novel or short story collection over the next few years. For more information on the impact of translation and how languages shape how the world is experienced, Lisenby recommends a New York Times article about the first woman to translate “The Odyssey” and an episode of the National Public Radio (NPR)  podcast “Hidden Brain.”

Photo by Talia Zook.

All of the TAs utilized study abroad programs in order to come to the United States. Rita Huang, the Chinese TA, and Junta Shirai, the Japanese TA, both used the program Allex to come to Jewell. Huang explained how she saw an advertisement for the program and decided to apply. She went through a series of interviews and applications before she was placed here.

“I’ve always wanted to study abroad. I studied English at my school, my university. In Taiwan, we don’t really use English, so I really wanted to go abroad and to see what it’s like. I saw this poster on the corridor, and I decided to give myself a chance,” Huang said.

Many of the TAs are still students at their home universities. While spending time at Jewell, they are able to continue their educations. Paola Paci, the French TA, studies in Paris, France. She graduated with her bachelors in communications of companies and public institutions last year. While studying at Jewell, she studies literature, which is what she studied when she was in high school. Isidoro Ramírez Almansa, the Spanish TA, has studied interpretation and translation in three languages: English, Spanish and German. He recently lived in Germany and was offered a job in Austria before accepting the job at Jewell. Like Paci, Ramírez is interested in communications, which is what he has chosen to focus on while here.

“Communication is related to interpreting, how to develop oral skills, speech communication. All of these things are interrelated. I am very happy with the classes and with the teachers,” said Ramírez.

Being able to participate in a program outside of their home countries allows each TA to experience the U.S. and learn more about the culture. Paci described first coming to the U.S. as similar to walking onto a movie set.

“I really only knew America through the things I watched, so I had this impression that I was on set for a movie. Which is not the case anymore, I understand that for you all of this is normal,” Paci said.

The ability of those she has met to be able to pronounce her name was something she did not expect when coming to America. The first time Paci said her first name, she said that no one understood what she was saying. It’s been common for people to call her “Paula.” Initially, she was somewhat annoyed when people mispronounced her name, but it has not been a problem for her as the semester has gone on.

Ramírez was shocked by the number of cars he sees in America, specifically how many Jewell students own cars. He explained that in his native Spain neither he nor his friends own cars; they rely solely on public transportation. Many of the students Ramírez has talked with have told him that they have never before taken a train. For him, talking the train across the European Union is very common and for the most part very cheap.

“We use trains for long distances, and for short distances we use buses. In Germany, the smallest village, a village of 100 people, has a train stop,” Ramírez said.

The Jewell campus has impressed both Huang and Junta. Huang, who originally comes from the city of Taichung, Taiwan, really enjoys all of the nature that surrounds campus. Junta also enjoys the campus and how quiet it is during the day. The class size is another aspect of Jewell that Huang appreciates.

“In Taiwan, we have more than 50 people in a class. In other ways you don’t have to talk in class, so here the small size class you can get to know people more and the professors can take care of you more,” Huang said.

Being both a TA and a student comes with its difficulties and rewards. Huang expressed how hard it is to find the unique balance between writing lesson plans and finding the time to work on assignments for the classes she is taking. Having classes and teaching early in the morning is the hardest part of the TA position for Paci. Being able to make the class lively is challenging, but Paci is able to focus her energy into making her classes interesting.

Ramírez initially had a problem with his students understanding his accent. Being from Montilla, a city near Cordoba in southern Spain, he explained that his accent is very strong, which has caused some miscommunication with his students. He has also experienced difficulties with his students because Ramírez knows Spanish from Spain, while many of his students are familiar with Spanish common in Latin America. Despite the problems that he originally encountered as a TA, Ramírez ultimately finds the position very fulfilling. Regardless of the obstacles they face, the TAs appreciate their students.

“We can work and laugh at the same time, which is always a good thing to do. Some of them are very hard working, which is always very impressive and always good because it feels like you’re doing something good,” Paci said.

Upon returning to their home countries, the Jewell TAs plan to continue their educations. Paci will be completing the second year of her master’s degree when she returns to Paris. Ramirez has his eye set on learning his fourth language. He’s interested in Portuguese while still being active in communication and interpreting.

Photos by Chandler Eaton.

Dr. Patrick Bunton, physics professor, had traveled previously to Honduras and Costa Rica completing sustainability projects but had never before gone to Guatemala. A chance meeting inspired the trip.

“My wife and I went to Guatemala for our anniversary, and at Lake Avalon we were hiking and met this couple who was the director of Xela-Aid. The funny thing is five minutes either way and none of this would have happened,” Bunton said.

Bunton, Dr. Maggie Sherer, Dr. Blaine Baker and the students they accompanied to Guatemala worked directly with Xela-Aid, an organization that has been focused on community development in San Martin, Guatemala for the past 23 years.

The group worked on several projects for the four days they were in San Martin. Simone Stewart, a senior physics and Spanish major, and Bunton led a camp focused on computer programming for the local children and teenagers. Alicia Loecker, a junior physics and math major, helped build and install water purification systems for families in the village. Sherer and Baker led a class on how to make solar powered lanterns. Xela-Aid had built a medical center for the community, which is where the accompanying nursing majors spent the majority of their time.

“I didn’t know a lot about water purification when I got there, so I learned a lot from the guy who was setting them up with me. He spoke Spanish and I didn’t speak any Spanish, so we really didn’t communicate a lot verbally, but he taught me how to do it by showing me,” said Loecker.

Loecker enjoyed learning about water purification so much that she has decided to focus her research at Jewell on water purification, sending her findings to San Martin so the community can improve their systems.

Stewart and Bunton’s class on computer programming, specifically arduino programming, taught a group of mostly Mayan adolescents how to use these small computer systems. Stewart assisted Bunton’s teaching. A course Bunton teaches at Jewell regarding arduino programming gave Stewart the techniques she needed to help teach the class. The students were able to keep the textbooks so that they could continue learning after the camp ended.

Project participants had memorable experiences while working in Guatemala. Both Bunton and Loecker enjoyed the interactions they were able to have with the children of San Martin.

There is still much to be done in San Martin, according to Bunton. He explained that he really couldn’t say that he’s made an impactful change. Some time has to elapse to see if the projects completed this summer will actually prove to be sustainable. He hopes that the children he worked with were able to see that that there are people in the world that who care about them and want them to succeed.

Bunton is planning another trip to Guatemala this coming summer and possibly for every summer as long as he’s at Jewell.