Paola Guerrero Rodriguez - Director

Paola is an Assistant Professor of Spanish and Director of the Spanish Heritage Language Program at Texas Tech University. She earned her PhD from the University of Florida in 2021 and has more than 9 years of teaching experience in higher education in diverse contexts. Before joining Texas Tech as a faculty member, Paola had taught several Spanish courses for beginners, intermediate and advanced second-language learners and heritage learners in Mexico, the United States and Spain. Her research interests include, but are not limited to, Spanish as a heritage language, heritage language education, language ideologies, and language and discrimination.

Omar González

Education: B.A. Spanish, and B.A. Latin American studies from CSU-Chico. M.A. in Spanish from Wichita State. Current PhD student in Hispanic literature at Texas Tech University. He has taught Spanish as L2 for the last three years and Spanish Heritage is currently teaching Spanish as a Heritage courses.

City and country of origin: Manteca, California

Research interest: Chicano and US-Mexico Border Literature, US Spanish Language and Culture. His interest naturally stems from his upbringing as a heritage speaker of Spanish.

Julia Millan Gómez

Julia is from Cadiz, a city located in the south of Spain. She studied Translation and Interpreting at Pablo de Olavide University in Sevilla and has previous experience working as a study abroad coordinator in Barcelona. At Texas Tech University, Julia has taught lower-level Spanish classes (SPAN 1507) for L2 students and an intermediate course in the Spanish Heritage Language Program (SPAN 2304) at Texas Tech. She also taught an intensive, intermediate-level Spanish course (SPAN 2607) at the Texas Tech campus in Sevilla during the summer semester of 2022. Her research interests include phonetics and phonology, Spanish as a heritage language, second language acquisition, and bilingualism.

Gilberto García

Gilberto Garcia is a Mexican-American scholar & professor. He was born in El Paso, TX, and raised in Juarez, México. He holds three BAs in Linguistics, Spanish & Border Studies, and Education from the University of Texas at El Paso and Universidad Pedagógica Nacional (México) respectively. Also, one MA degree in Spanish from the University of Texas at El Paso and, one MEd degree in Teaching and Learning processes from Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey (México). Currently, Gilberto Garcia holds a PhD in Hispanic Linguistics with a minor in Educational Psychology, and a part-time instructor at the Classical and Modern Languages & Literature department at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX. His research and teaching interests are heritage language education, heritage speaker identity, heritage speakers in monolingual settings, border studies & transculturation, second language instruction, and general linguistics.

Verónica Morales

Verónica has 3 years of experience teaching Spanish as a second language and Heritage language. Verónica holds a PhD in Spanish Literature in the Department of Classical & Modern Languages and Literatures at Texas Tech University. She holds an M.A. in Spanish from the University of Texas at EL Paso and completed her bachelor's degree in Multidisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Spanish. Her research interests include Pre-Hispanic and Afrocuban mythology, fantastic, detective and supernatural literature.

Sylvia Flores - Coordinator

Sylvia is an experienced language instructor currently teaching in the Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures department at Texas Tech University. In addition to being part of the coordination team, she also teaches for the heritage program. In her current position, she has taught various lower-level courses and helps with service-learning opportunities for the program. Previously she worked as a Spanish teacher at Frenship Middle School and Floydada Middle School and High School. She obtained a bachelor's in Spanish from Wayland Baptist University in 2008, and a master's degree in literature from Wichita State University in 2015.

Sara Cantero Viudez

Sara is originally from Sevilla, a city in the south of Spain.  She holds an M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Sevilla and a BA in Translation and Interpreting from the University Pablo de Olavide (with English as a second language and Arabic as a third). She is now doing an M.A. in Hispanic Linguistics with a minor in Portuguese in the CMLL department at Texas Tech University. She has experience teaching English and Spanish as a Second Language at different levels. She is currently teaching in the Spanish as a Heritage Language Program.

Yunuen Velazquez Campos

Yunuen is a Ph.D. student of Spanish Literature at Texas Tech University. She holds an M.A. in Spanish Literature from Texas Tech University and earned a B.S. in Spanish Education and Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from Minnesota State University Moorhead. She also holds a B.A. in Spanish and Studio Art from Concordia College Moorhead. She has experience teaching Spanish and English as a second language at various levels. Currently, she is a Graduate Part-Time Instructor in the Department of Cultures of Classical & Modern Language and Literatures. Her research interests include Mexican, Chicano/a, and US-Mexico border literature, Women's and Gender Studies, and Spanish as a heritage language pedagogy.

Jazmyn L. Martinez

Jazmyn was born in El Paso, TX, and raised in a bilingual and bicultural family. She holds a B.A. in Spanish and Sociology from Texas Tech University. Currently, she is an M.A. student in Hispanic Linguistics and a Spanish instructor at Texas Tech University. Having worked at Texas Tech University Jazmyn has experience teaching lower-level Spanish courses and Spanish as a Heritage language. Her research interests include, but are not limited to, sociolinguistics, bilingualism, and phonology.

Carlos Cornejo

I am a Mexican student attempting to get my PhD in the US. I am 32 years old and have been in the US for the past 11 years of my life in different universities. I have taught different classes and levels of Spanish including heritage students. One of my goals is to help all my students succeed in life.

Mónica Fernández Martins

Given that I grew up in a bicultural and bilingual family (Spanish and Portuguese), I have always been fascinated by language learning in bilingual and intercultural settings. This interest, together with my qualifications, allowed me to instruct in the Spanish Heritage Language Program (2015-2016) at Texas Tech. I completed my Ph.D. in Spanish and Portuguese Literatures at Texas Tech University in 2019. My areas of specialization are Iberian Studies; in particular, my research interests are the study of conflicts and intersections of gender, class, nation, and identity in nineteenth century Spain and Portugal. I have a diverse experience teaching lower- and upper-level Spanish classes, and aimed to different types of students (L2 students and heritage learners) in different contexts on-campus and abroad.

Gema López-Hevia

Gema is originally from León, Spain holds a master's degree from Antonio de Nebrija University (Madrid, Spain) and is currently seeking a doctoral degree in Spanish Linguistics. Gema has over three years of experience teaching Spanish in Spain, Ireland, and the United States. Having worked at Furman University (South Carolina) and Texas Tech University Gema has experience teaching Spanish as a Second Language and Spanish as a Heritage language, as well as mixed classrooms. Her research interests include second language acquisition, bilingualism, and Spanish as a heritage language.

Fernando Martínez-Caleano

Fernando Martínez-Caleano was born in México City. He obtained a bachelor's degree in accounting from Universidad Iberoamericana and a master's degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM). He spent several years working for mining companies in México. In December 2019 he received a master's degree in Spanish Literature and Linguistics from New Mexico State University (NMSU). Fernando has 3 years of experience teaching Spanish as a second language at university level. Currently, he is a doctoral student in Hispanic Literature.

Cecilia Palacio-Ribón, better known as Maestra Cecilia among her students, is a PhD Candidate in Spanish and Portuguese at Texas Tech University. She earned an MA in C&I with concentration in Bilingual Ed. and an MA in Spanish Linguistics with a minor in English Linguistics at New Mexico State University. She has been teaching Spanish for Heritage Learners since 2013. Although her specialization and dissertation work focus on Latin American Literature, she has been trying to be active within research and pedagogical implications for bilingual education and Spanish as a heritage language in the US Southwest. She visualized herself as a language and culture ambassador both in and outside the classroom. In the classroom, she encourages her students to compare what is in the books and what is in the real world to grasp, from a critical perspective, who they are and what is expected from them in their community, in the nation, and in the world. Outside the classroom, she collaborates in some cultural and artistic events to promote the Hispanic language and culture in her community.

Daniel Román

I am a Ph.D. student of Hispanic Linguistics and Graduate part-time Instructor. I received my B.A. in English language teaching at UNACH in Mexico. I completed my M.A. in second language acquisition at Kansas State University in December 2019. My research interests include Spanish writing as a second and heritage language. I am also interested in medical translation and interpretation. In Mexico, I taught Spanish and English as a foreign and second language at university and middle school level. Currently, I teach Spanish at University level.

Yerko Sepulveda

Mr. Sepulveda is an experienced teacher-trainer, educational consultant and administrator. He is the former advisor of Teaching & Learning at the Technological University of Chile, La Serena. Mr. Sepulveda holds an M.A. in Applied Linguistics and an M.Ed. in Bilingual Education. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student and undergraduate instructor in Spanish at Texas Tech University. Also, he is a coach for the professional development online course Teaching and Learning in the Maker-Centered Classroom from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Spanish teacher at Hawken School. His research interests include 21st-century teaching frameworks, participatory creativity, Maker-Centered learning, and critical pedagogy.