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Discovering the world

After attending a French immersion school in Toronto when she was young, Bess Mouckley discovered she was far ahead of the curriculum in her French course when she transferred to an English-language high school. She needed a challenge.

鈥淪panish was another language they offered, and I fell in love with its rhythm and sound,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y parents generously sent me to Mexico in the summers to study in Cuernavaca and live with a host family. I鈥檇 found my passion and I needed to find the perfect university program to nourish it.鈥�

Coming to Dal to study Spanish was an easy choice: Bess knew the program had a great reputation, and she had seen how much her older brother Benny had enjoyed it.

鈥淭he Spanish department is very tight knit,鈥� she says. 鈥淲ith the small class sizes, we really benefited from the one-on-one attention we each got from our professors. I鈥檒l never forget Dr. Kirk and Dr. Rogers. They both uniquely inspired me above and beyond my wildest dreams. And seeing a picture of Dr. Kirk with Fidel Castro was pretty cool!鈥�

Like her brother, Bess took full advantage of the study abroad opportunities offered through the department. In fact, she decided to complete her degree over five years rather than four so she could spend a year in Campeche, Mexico and Salamanca, Spain.

鈥淚 was in Campeche for four months,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 learned a lot of Spanish and travelled every weekend. I visited beaches, mountains, jungles, pyramids, caves, and ruins. I had one of the best experiences of my life living there. It was quite a challenging experience at times, but I learned more about myself than I had ever known before.

鈥淢y original plan was to be in Salamanca for three months, but that soon turned into six months. I became alive in that city! It was a liberating, educational, motivational, and life-changing time that I could only dream of doing again. I had the most fascinating classes with the most fascinating professors who were friendly, patient and nurturing, and I made dozens of new international friends. Some of my closest friends today are from my time in Salamanca! It鈥檚 perhaps the most beautiful city I鈥檝e ever seen, and the night life is the best!鈥�

Bess is convinced the only reason she left Salamanca is because she was accepted into a Bachelor of Education program in Ontario. But her love of travelling hasn鈥檛 diminished, and actually led her to her current job teaching Grade 1 at the Vienna Elementary School, a private English immersion school in Vienna, Austria.

鈥�My Spanish studies at Dal really triggered the beginning of my worldly travelling,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey have taken me to the most beautiful places in the world, and have opened my eyes to different beliefs, cultures, and experiences. If it weren't for my passion for Spanish, I doubt I would feel as outgoing and limitless as I do today.鈥�

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