Volume XXIII, No. 1
Winston-Salem State University
September 1985
6 Hablas Espanol?
(Do you speak Spanish?)
By Alisa A. Wilson
Assignment Editor
If you do, you are probably already ac
quainted with Dr. Michael Brookshaw who
is the new Spanish instructor here at WSSU.
Dr. Brookshaw is a native of Kankakee,
111. where he began pursuing his interest in
Spanish while in high school.
Upon entering college at Southern Illinois
University in Carbondale, Brookshaw
decided on a major he found intriguing and
challenging. Spanish was his choice. He
went on to receive his MA and Ph.D.
specializing in Latin American, Afri-
Hispanic and Chicano literature.
Before joining the faculty here at WSSU,
he taught at the University of Illinois in
Urbana-Champaign and at Lake Forest Col
lege in Lake Forest, 111. where the at
mosphere was quite different than here.
Both of these universities are predominate
ly white and located in the mid-western part
of the country. Moving south to teach at a
predominantly black college has taken a lit
tle adjusting to on his part. He feels that he
is becoming more adjusted to WSSU and
North Carolina daily.
When asked what special touches he adds
to make his classroom more comfortable
for students he stated that “he really
believes in communication dynamics.” He
allows the students to work together in
groups because he says that the students
are more inclined to talk to one another in a
relaxed atmosphere. In talking about the
students that he is teaching this semester,
he feels that they are very enthusiastic and
he is anxious to see how they will develop.
In the future, Dr. Brookshaw is hoping to
direct the new Spanish major program into
new avenues. Computerizing Spanish and
using some Spanish broadcasting stations
as learning tools, are two of the ideas he is
currently pursuing. He anticipates that this
will help him to contribute to the students
and the Spanish program.
Professionally, he hopes that he will get a
chance to teach a course in his specialty,
Afro-Hispanic Literature.
If you have had a chance to hear him
speak Spanish you will probably agree that
he speaks like a native. He has traveled ex
tensively to many Spanish speaking coun
tries including: Venezuela, Colombia,
Ecuador, and Mexico.
The students studying Spanish, the new
Spanish major and WSSU are extremely
fortunate to have acquired Dr. Michael
Brookshaw.
Karen Hernandez New Media Technician.
photo by M. Peele
Hernandez Joins English
Department Staff As Media
Technician
By Rebecca W. Jones
Karen Hernandez has joined the staff at
Winston-Salem State University, as a media
technician.
Miss Hernandez, or Karen, as she likes to
be called, is an intelligent, friendly person
who sincerely desires to help students in the
areas of French, Spanish and Speech Com
munication.
She is a native of Puerto Rico, and learn
ed to speak English through intensive study
at a private school in her homeland. After
graduating from high school, she came to
North Carolina to attend High Point Col
lege. Choosing High Point College “was a
decision that my parents and I arrived at
when considering that this climate was
much like the one I was used to,” she ex
plained.
While at High Point College she par
ticipated in Delta Sigma Pi, a Spanish
honorary society, was a disc jockey for
radio station WWIH and held several posi
tions on the staff of the “Hi-Po,” the campus
newspaper.
For her senior internship, Karen traveled
to Massachusetts to work for WSMW, a
televison station, where she produced and
hosted her own show in Spanish.
In the spring ot 1985, she graduated from
High Point College, with a B.A. in Com
munications an a minor in Spanish.
As media technician, Karen’s job is to
make sure that the equipment in the
language laboratory is operating smoothly
so students can use it at their convenience.
She also acts as a tutor for the student and
records calf-help tapes which correlate with
their textbooks. Students will also have the
resources to tape themselves and listen to
their responses to insure that pronunciation
is correct.
Later during the school year, Karen hopes
that tapes of various French and Spanish
television shows will be purchased so
students can enjoy watching and learning
from them.
In closing, she shared some information
about a two-day seminar, Foreign
Languages and International Business to be
held September 26 and 27. This seminar is
free and open to anyone who is interested in
the importance of foreign language in con
ducting international business. The seminar
is being sponsored by The Department of
Communication Arts.