Michele Haeberlin received the FLAS Fellowship award in the summer of 2023 to study Maya K’iche’ at Tulane University’s Mayan Language Institute. Read about her experience below.

Why did you apply for the FLAS Fellowship?

I applied for the FLAS Fellowship both because it offered me a wonderful opportunity to study abroad at a time when I did not have the funds and also allowed me to study an indigenous language that I otherwise would not have had access to in such a rich learning environment.

What are you doing now?

I am currently in my last semester as a graduate student in a Spanish master’s program.

What have you learned from the experience? How have your language skills and FLAS helped and/or prepared you?

I learned a lot from this experience such as the ability to learn and grow from experiencing cultural differences and appreciating that diversity. By learning an indigenous language of Latin America I am able to teach to my own students in a way that is so much more historically rich and accurate to the lived reality of Latin America where there are indigenous peoples everywhere. This experience gave me confidence and showed the importance of talking at and teaching on the beautiful diversity of Latin America and the great cultural impact of indigenous cultures all throughout the Spanish speaking world.

Any other relevant details you’d like to share?

The FLAS grant helped prepare me to be a more well-balanced teacher who can provide students with culturally accurate information and educational resources tied to my experiences from this trip. The trip was a unique and amazing experience to see into the lives of other people and learn from them about their worldviews truly a once in a lifetime experience.