Cotter Spanish teacher Anne Conway has logged a lot of miles.

Born in Winona, she’s traveled to Nepal, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.  She has lived in Minneapolis, Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, Mexico, and Hawaii.  Now, she’s returned to her hometown and taken up teaching.

Senora Conway returned to Winona for her family.  Along with wanting her son to know his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, her father-in-law contracted a serious illness, confirming her judgment that it was wise to return to Winona.

Having first learned Spanish in 7th, 8th, and 9th grade at the junior high school here in Winona, she continued her Spanish education at the University of Minnesota from 1993 through 1997.  She studied in Mexico as well.  She studied in Cuernavaca in 1994, and she studied in Oaxaca in 1997.

Senora Conway joined the teaching profession to become a part of supporting the growth and development of young adults through sharing her experiences with language and travel.

“Learning a language is an incredible way to learn more about your own language and culture while opening doors for experiencing cultures much different than your own,” she says.  Knowing that the process of learning a language takes years and effort, Senora Conway welcomes the challenge of supporting students in that process.  “The benefits I have received from learning a new language have far exceeded my expectations,” she says.

After recently teaching at St. Stans, Senora Conway had to stop teaching there in order to have time to teach the classes that were recently added to her job description when Mr. Uribe became principal.  Her workload has remained similar to her previous year.  “Since it’s my second year teaching, I’m becoming more efficient,” she says, “But I also loved teaching at St. Stans because I know how important learning a language is to an individual, community, and world.”

In the language department, what she would like to see happen is for there to be a strong elementary  program that’s followed by engaging courses at the high school level.

“For now, I’d be thrilled to have students want to take spanish throughout their high school  years as well as have course availability without schedule conflicts,” she says.  Along with wanting to keep students interested in wanting to study the Spanish language, she would like there to be more opportunities for travel to other hispanic countries.

“The impact of having foreign language classes at Cotter is that students become more well rounded global citizens,” she says.  She believes learning a language improves students’ knowledge and awareness of language- their own and others’, along with improving their overall ability to communicate and negotiate different cultures. She sees language learning as being consistent with the mission of the school.   “Learning about the differences between different cultures guides students to develop empathy and compassion which are fundamental qualities of being Catholic.”