TA Spotlight: Abigail Villegas

Most individuals who arrive at Wabash in the Fall know what to expect – tradition, a busy schedule and of course, an all-male student body. Funnily enough, Spanish TA Abigail Villegas not only found out she would be at Wabash a mere twenty days before the start of the semester, but she was unaware Wabash is an all-male school. Although the path to Wabash was abrupt, she has thoroughly enjoyed her Wabash experience thus far. 

“I’m ashamed to say, I didn’t know it was a male school until I arrived,” said Villegas. “But I’m really happy to be a part of this community. It’s completely different from where I came from…It’s been a nice experience.”

This semester, the Spanish department welcomed Villegas, a graduate of Benemérita Universidad Autónoma De Puebla. After finishing a degree in teaching English, she worked at a bilingual middle school to teach both English and Spanish, before receiving the Fulbright Scholarship to be a Spanish Teaching Assistant at Wabash. Villegas has also involved herself on campus and has embraced every opportunity that presented itself at Wabash, an effort praised by her supervising professor. 

“She has gotten very engaged with the Wabash community,” said Associate Professor of Spanish Jane Hardy. “That’s what we most hope for in our TAs, that they get involved in activities and become a part of campus.”

Abigail herself confirmed her active participation, attending many events such as Chapel Talks and sports matches, the latter reflecting a unique element of American culture that contrasts with her home. 

“I went to my first game of fútbol americano,” said Villegas. “I’m still figuring out how it works… but I like the sports culture here.”

Her engagement reaches beyond campus involvement as she is currently auditing two courses: EDU-370-01Public Schools and their Communities and EDU-314 Theory and Practice of Peer Tutoring. Outside of school, Villegas enjoys taking walks throughout Crawfordsville, reading classics, dancing, swimming, singing and watching K-Dramas. 

However, her primary role and reason for her fellowship is to teach Spanish. As a TA for Spanish 101 and 103 labs, her role is to provide hands-on practice and cultural immersion. 

“For our 100 level language classes, our students meet three days a week with a faculty member,” said Hardy. “Then they get an additional hour with the TA in small groups.”

These labs, which the professor noted are more accurately called tutorials, are for students to get oral practice and review in a fun and engaging way, such as through games and conversations. Abigail’s labs reflect this goal. 

“During the labs, I try to reinforce what the teacher tells the students,” said Villegas. “I also try to include a cultural view of Mexico.”

Every class, Villegas brings her culture to life with concrete examples. She has discussed her life in Puebla and recently cooked a nopal cactus salad in class. This past week she discussed Dia de los Muertos, one of the most important celebrations in Mexico. 

Villegas has done exactly what the program is designed for according to professor Hardy. 

“TAs teach students about their home cultures,” said Hardy. “They really enrich our program, because they bring their own culture here with them.”

Ultimately, Villegas and her fellow TAs do more than support our students; they provide invaluable perspectives that complement the Wabash community.