Luzma Ede-Hernandez
June 12, 2020
Written by Craig Schreiner
In WHY I TEACH, Luzma Ede-Hernandez, an assistant professor in the Department of Languages and Literatures, talks about how important it is for students to have teachers they can identify with on both a personal and professional level.
“A very meaningful moment in my career as a college professor was when a female freshman student said to me, ‘When I saw you in the classroom telling us who you were and where you came from, I realized that there was a future for me in this country. It was the first time in my life that I had a teacher with a Ph.D. who looked like me.’”
Luzma Ede-Hernandez also advises the campus Spanish Club, where Spanish is spoken over games like Manzanas con Manzanas (Apples to Apples) and spiced with laughter and fun. (UW-Whitewater photo/Craig Schreiner)
Luzma Ede-Hernandez teaches, center, Spanish to students who want to learn and maintain Spanish as their heritage language and to students who grew up as English speakers and who wish to have Spanish as their second language. (UW-Whitewater photo/Craig Schreiner)
WHY I TEACH is a series about the dedicated faculty at UW-Whitewater’s two campuses who make every day a teachable moment — and every place a learning place — by their expertise and example.