Autumn arrives in winter

ANSWERING THE CALL: Autumn Coleman teaches Spanish 5 on her first day at NCS. Photo by Anna Ciccozzi

By Aadeetri Pandey
Capybaras are the world’s largest rodents that are native to South America. Willis Hall now has a few ourselves in the form of plushies in Autumn Coleman’s class. Coleman first saw a capybara when she went to study abroad in Mendoza, Argentina, and ever since then she has loved them.  
     Coleman is the new Spanish teacher. She recently earned degrees in education and Spanish from Roanoke College and then went to be an assistant teacher at Glenvar middle school. She was born and raised in Roanoke and went to Salem High School.
     She is excited to be teaching in the Upper School and is impressed with her student’s Spanish speaking abilities. She doesn’t have a favorite class because she enjoys the different subjects they have discussed so far. In comparison to her middle school students she feels as if they can have more deep and impactful conversations while also being on topic. 
     Coleman didn’t always want to be a Spanish teacher. When she first went to college she hoped to be an English teacher. While many of her professors said she should minor in Spanish, it wasn’t until she talked to one of her teachers that they convinced her to major in Spanish. She hopes that one day she can go back to school to get her master’s degree. 
     While Coleman isn’t a native Spanish speaker it has been a big part of her life. She first started to learn Spanish in sixth grade. It wasn’t till she went to college she realized that she truly loved the language. A lot of her close friends she met during studies abroad don’t speak English and she wouldn’t have met them if she never learned the language. 
     “My host mom spoke no English. And I adore her. I miss her. I still talk to her. And if I didn’t speak Spanish, I wouldn’t be able to communicate at all with her,” Coleman said. “So those relationships are really special.”
     She hopes to continue being able to teach in North Cross but understands if she can’t. She says her welcome to North Cross has been very positive and is excited to see how the rest of the year plays out.  
     “I love it here,” Coleman said. “Have you ever had that feeling when you go into a room or a new place and you kind of feel like the oddball out? I have not felt that way at all here. That’s great. It’s been really enjoyable. The faculty has welcomed me with open arms. They treat me like I’ve been their friend for a long time.”

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