Student Ambassadors
Speaking with a student ambassador is a great way to get a previous student’s perspective on the Language Schools experience.
If you would like to connect with a student ambassador to ask questions, please contact Haviland Johannesson-Forgit, School of Spanish Assistant Director, at spanishschool@middlebury.edu.
Taylor Avery
Hometown: Sioux City, Iowa
Program: 7-week Immersion
Current: Columbia, MS in Nutrition, 2025
What surprised you about your experience at the Middlebury Language Schools?
How much fun it was!
Why did you choose to study at the Middlebury Language Schools?
I wanted to improve my Spanish as I hope to work in the healthcare field in the future. There are many Spanish speakers in my hometown of Sioux City, Iowa and patient outcomes are so much better when the provider speaks the patients’ language!
Please describe how your language skills improved due to your studies at Middlebury.
I am now comfortable and confident reading, writing, and having a conversation in Spanish. The experience at Middlebury has inspired me to keep practicing everyday by reading the news and watching movies in Spanish, and meeting with a Spanish tutor weekly. It has also recently opened a door where I get to counsel Spanish-speaking patients in nutrition at Harlem Hospital in New York for my masters program- I am so excited!
Is there anything else that you would like to let prospective students know about your experience ?
Many people in my program called the language schools “summer camp for adults with homework” because it is such a good balance of fun and hard work, and if I had the opportunity and the time I would 100% do it again!
Julia Driscoll
Hometown: Oconomowoc, WI
Program: 7-week Immersion
Current: University of Denver, Graduate, International Human Rights, 2026
What surprised you about your experience at the Middlebury Language Schools?
The diversity of culture and experience within the student body and the professors. This provided the space to learn from a wider variety of perspectives of life in Spanish speaking communities as well as other people’s interactions WITH people in those communities.
Why did you choose to study at the Middlebury Language Schools?
One of my dear friends participated in the Spanish School *level 1* quite some time ago. I actually began my relationship with Middlebury in the German MA program, but with a career switch I decided to start at the beginning level in the School of Spanish.
Please describe how your language skills improved due to your studies at Middlebury.
In the School of Spanish, I went from almost nothing to being able to hold a regular conversation. Maybe not confidently, but comfortably and with acceptance that I would somehow be able to communicate my message. I have already been able to use my Spanish skills through working with refugees at the IRC. It was fun for me personally to try out the language in a “real life” setting. It also brought a smile to the families’ faces when I would struggle through a conversation, both because I was at least trying to communicate with them in their language and because they could see that I appreciated the language challenges that they themselves had been facing.
Is there anything else that you would like to let prospective students know about your experience?
Please participate in this program! It is incredibly unique and something that is impossible to truly understand until you’ve done it. Many people ask me why I go to Vermont to learn a language instead of going to Mexico, Germany, etc. But the reality is that those communities will often want to learn English from you. Additionally, at Middlebury you receive the combination of structured language classes as well as practicing/learning in a more “natural” environment outside of the class hours.
Antoine Jacquin
Hometown: Poitiers, France
Program: 7-week Immersion
Current: University of Poitiers, Graduate, Teaching french as a foreign language, 2025
What surprised you about your experience at the Middlebury Language Schools?
What surprised me most about my experience at the Middlebury Language Schools was how immersive the program was. I felt like I was part of a community, and I received a lot of support from the institution, the teachers, and the other students.
Why did you choose to study at the Middlebury Language Schools?
I chose to study at the Middlebury Language Schools because of its reputation for providing one of the best immersive language learning experiences in the world. I wanted to push my language skills to a new level in a short period of time, and Middlebury’s Language Pledge® and intensive course format were exactly what I needed to achieve that goal. Additionally, the opportunity to interact with experienced language instructors and students from diverse backgrounds was a major draw.
Please describe how your language skills improved due to your studies at Middlebury.
My language skills improved significantly at Middlebury, especially in terms of fluency and confidence in speaking. I am still speaking Spanish with my three Colombian friends who study with me. I am currently applying for internships in Colombia and Spain to work as a French teacher.
Anything else?
I recommend that students take the opportunity to speak with other students in the program and participate in as many activities as possible during the afternoons. Also, make sure to get enough sleep to stay energized and feel good!
Helen Ryan
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia
Program: 7-week Immersion
Current: Teacher- Elementary English as a Second Language
What surprised you about your experience at the Middlebury Language Schools?
I really enjoyed the intensive environment, the friendly atmosphere, and the amazing backgrounds the students have.
Why did you choose to study at the Middlebury Language Schools?
Middlebury is the best language program in the country. I could also study in the summer while working at my school.
Please describe how your language skills improved due to your studies at Middlebury.
I speak Spanish everyday with my students and their parents. I feel that my writing and speaking really improved, and I enjoyed my classes
What else?
The 7-week immersion program is hard, but one of the best experiences I have had academically!
Laura Solano
Hometown: Frederick, MD
Program: 7-week Immersion
Current: English Professor at Montgomery College
What surprised you about your experience at the Middlebury Language Schools?
The school unlocked a deeper understanding of myself, my family and our Hispanic heritage. I also discovered a new appreciation of Hispanic culture and plan to pursue my PhD on Latin American studies.
Why did you choose to study at the Middlebury Language Schools?
I wanted to be able to speak to my family in Colombia.
Please describe how your language skills improved due to your studies at Middlebury.
After attending Middlebury, I now feel comfortable speaking in Spanish even though I am not fluent yet. At work, I use Spanish in the classroom, and I’ve noticed it bringing down walls among students. They are more comfortable in my classroom and primed for learning.
Is there anything else you’d like prospective students to know about your experience?
Not only did I learn Spanish, but I meet some of the most interesting people that I now call friends.
Kareem Tinto
Hometown: Monterey, California
Program: 7-week Immersion
Current: Middlebury Institute of International Studies
What surprised you about your experience at the Middlebury Language Schools?
The degree of teacher-diversity, exposure to the Spanish-world cultures, activities, and overall educational experience.
Please describe how your language skills improved due to your studies at Middlebury.
Not only did my Spanish-speaking competencies increase, but also my overall confidence and cultural awareness increased in a plethora of ways.
What else?
There was such a deep sense of community both at the student-student level and at the teacher-student level. There were so many opportunities to deepen language competencies.
Andraya Yearwood
Hometown: Cromwell, Connecticut
Program: 7-week Immersion
Current: FLAS Graduate Fellow in Brazilian Portuguese, U.S. Department of Education
What surprised you about your experience at the Middlebury Language Schools?
I was surprised by the progress people make in such a relatively short time. I recall constantly relaying to my friends the fact that I’m reaching a level of fluency I didn’t think possible in just a few weeks. This is a testament to the effectiveness of the immersion method combined with the intensive nature of the program. By committing to speak only in the target language, my peers and I found ourselves in a shared struggle and goal.
Why did you choose to study at the Middlebury Language Schools?
The first time I heard about Middlebury Language Schools was during a Spanish class, in my second year of my bachelor’s degree. My Spanish teacher told me about his past summer at a small private institution located in Vermont, studying and living in the Portuguese language. He explained how formative and magical those seven weeks had been; “One of the best summers of my life was my summer in Middlebury,” he told me. Since then, I knew I had to experience this special place. Middlebury Language Schools exists as the only place in the world where one can learn a language in the quickest amount of time, never mind studying among such innovative and supportive faculty, staff, and students.
Please describe how your language skills improved due to your studies at Middlebury.
My experience here at the School of Spanish has been one of the most rewarding and influential experiences in my language-learning career. The friendships I have made will stay with me forever. I have met such amazing and intelligent people, and they have inspired me a lot to keep learning languages, both educationally and for fun. More academically, I have learned a lot from my courses here in Middlebury, from ancient African empires like the Dahomey Kingdom and the Benin Kingdom to the great Afro-Cuban Son singers like Desi Arnaz and Arsenio Rodriguez in New York City and Havana.