Taylor Guy

I have debated going into many different career paths but have not come to a definitive answer as to what I'd like to do with Spanish quite yet. I'm very passionate about children and their development throughout their early childhood education as well as their education in middle school and high school. With that being said, education may be a path I end up on down the line. I think it would be very useful for students to start learning and being integrated into programs with a dual language curriculum including Spanish at a young age as Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the United States with more than 41 million native speakers and more than 11.9 million whom are bilingual. However, I'm also very interested in certain aspects of the medical field. I would find it very engaging to take classes involving medicine and medical procedures in order to translate to those who can't speak English. The medical field is growing rapidly everyday and I'd love to be a apart of making patients feel comfortable and know exactly what is being performed so they can get the best health care possible.

I dream of going to a larger city to attend grad school, like Chicago where a large population of people speak Spanish. I think it's important to delve into the culture not only in the classroom, but also outside of it where those around you can help enhance your language abilities to give you a taste of what it's like to use the language everyday in a day-to-day basis.

I'm very passionate about dance. I have been dancing since the age of three and have been brought up exploring a wide range of styles including ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, modern, lyrical, pointe, and broadway jazz. I've been a part of two dance companies for seven years and have had amazing travel opportunities including traveling to Tianjin, China in the Summer of 2009 to perform at the Tianjin International Children's Culture and Art Festival. I've taken part of many dance competitions and performances for a wide range of audiences including those of special needs, senior citizens, and children and adults of all ages. When I'm not dancing in the studio, I volunteer my time for the dance program at Carthage College to earn service hours for my scholarship within the department. Whether it's working dance scholarship auditions, helping out in the costume shop, cleaning the dance studio, or helping usher musicals and plays in our school's theatre, I'm very involved in my school's theatre department and I thoroughly enjoy giving back to such a great school that has given me so much experience and memories.
I'm also apart of NDEO which is the National Dance Education Organization which is a non-profit membership organization aimed to advance the dance education that provides students and administrators with opportunities in their professional development, networks and resources, and advocacy and research. After completing my time at Carthage and with this program, I have the opportunity to graduate with honors in dance. This program has given me a sense of community and endless opportunities to better my networking and gain experiences that I otherwise wouldn't have.
Finally, traveling has always been such a passion for me. I've been fortunate to travel to some amazing places that some people only ever dream of doing. In 2007, I was chosen to become a student ambassador through an organization called People to People which was started by President Eisenhower to help enrich cultural connections by talking about global issues, helping create rich communities to serve, and create leaders among young adults to help bridge the gap of cultural differences. I was fortunate enough to go to Alaska and the Yukon Territory of Canada for three weeks to learn about native cultures and how their community has helped shaped generations. As mentioned above, I did have the amazing opportunity to travel to China to perform with thirty other dancers in a Children's Culture and Art Festival which enhanced my love for the artistry of dance even more. To top it off, my most recent trip was to Madrid and Barcelona in the beautiful Spain. My high school offered this trip for those in levels three, four and Advanced Placement courses of Spanish and it was recommended that I go by several of the teachers in the department because of my intense love for the language and culture. I stayed with two host families; one in Madrid and the other in Barcelona and the sheer growth of my speaking and listening abilities improved tenfold just during my eight days there. These are experiences I will treasure for a lifetime as they have shaped me into a more culturally integrated young woman.