Home - Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese

Department ofSpanish, Italian, and Portuguese

Amanda Mohamed 1

Amanda Mohamed

2024 Spanish, Labor and Human Resources, Global and International Studies; Civic and Community Engagement (minor)

Graduating with three degrees, Amanda, the spring 2024 Liberal Arts college marshal, made the most of her time as an undergraduate student. Her love of learning took her abroad to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Santiago, Chile. This experience provided her the opportunity to stand out as a candidate when she landed a talent acquisition coordinator position with First National Bank Corp. in Pittsburgh.

Ben Stewart 1

Ben Stewart

2015 Spanish and Russian

“The best way for you to learn a language is to go to a place that only speaks that language, but that’s not feasible for most people. The little things you can do to help are things like changing your phone’s language to another, spending ten minutes a day reading foreign language content or going to the Conversation Partners Program and finding someone who can teach you some of their languages and you can teach them some English. You have to slip in speaking a foreign language each day so the proportionality of language use builds up over time.”

1Isabella Salcedo header

Isabella Salcedo

2025 Spanish, Human Resources and Employment Relations (IUG)

Isabella aims to empower young girls and serves as a role model for aspiring athletes. She is using her Spanish major to serve and represent underprivileged communities and to be a support system for individuals without one.

1Gabi Chappel

Gabrielle Chappel

2016 Spanish and Journalism, Global and International Studies (minor)

Gabrielle said majoring in Spanish and experiencing the culture was one of the most beneficial things she ever did for her career. “Spanish is like the first language of the kitchen, especially in New York City. Listening to someone tell their story in their native language, and they feel comfortable opening up to you because you can understand what they are saying, is a vulnerable and powerful concept.”

Frolenko_Victor-9

Victor Frolenko

2025 Spanish, Nutritional Sciences, Neuroscience (minor)

Chaiken Scholar, Victor, connects with other students through his numerous extracurricular involvements, which combine his passions for dance, food and helping others. Originally, only planning to major in the sciences, Victor learned about the flexible curriculum offered by the College of the Liberal Arts from a career coach in the Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network. He then added the Spanish major to his academic plan, and it took him beyond the confines of the classroom to Ronda, Spain, for an education abroad experience. There, Victor stayed with a host family in a full cultural immersion and attended classes on Spanish customs, history and language.

Alexis Kauffman

Alexis Kauffman

2024 Political Science, Spanish (minor)

“In my internship, I worked on a project that organized data results of Pennsylvanians’ experiences using publicly funded mental health services. I’ve always been eager to learn more because I grew up in a very rural community, and with this job I was exposed to the raw, honest experiences of those in Pennsylvania. I was also able to utilize my Spanish minor and translate different surveys. It really sparked more passion for mental health and got me interested in how I can break down the barriers in accessing care, resources and education.”

SeanEden1

Sean Eden

2025 Sociology, Spanish (minor), Deafness and Hearing Studies (minor)

Sean has found numerous ways to pursue his goals and grow personally during his time at Penn State, from his classes to the organizations he’s involved with, to the content he creates on social media. In addition to amassing over half a million followers on TikTok, Sean is deeply involved in THON and the Penn State Sign Language Organization. He hopes his unique combination of interests will lead him to law school after graduation.

IT-Julia Montevechi

Julia Montevechi

2022 Italian and Criminology

“My Liberal Arts education gave me the ability to write effectively and facilitate discussions. I thoroughly enjoyed having class discussions about heavy topics, as I am now comfortable hearing and discussing different viewpoints. Further, I got lots of practice writing compelling papers on such topics, which really helped my graduate school applications.”

Katelyn Garcia 1

“Language and Culture” Faculty-Led Program in Salerno, Italy

Penn State students spent six weeks in Salerno, Italy, through a faculty-led program that allowed them to immerse themselves in Italian culture while living with host families, visiting historical sites, and partaking in various cultural activities.

todi program students (2)

“Italian Language, Art History, and Culture” Faculty-Led Program in Todi, Italy

Penn State students traveled to Todi, Italy, to immerse themselves in a new culture while gaining real-world experience. In addition to their classes, the students visited art museums, toured the Etruscan medieval sites, looked at Gothic and Renaissance architecture, tried local cuisines at Italian cafes, and ate lots of gelato.

Prato, Italy 1

“Multilingual and Intercultural Communication in Italy” Embedded Program

Penn State students traveled to Prato, Italy, on a two-week trip that was open to students enrolled in SPAN 210N, IT 210N, or PORT 210N and explored the fundamental components of the intersection of language and culture through humanities and social science. The trip focused on linguistic strategies for succeeding in multilingual situations, as well as intercultural communication practices for navigating new environments.

Amanda Mohamed 1

Amanda Mohamed

2024 Spanish, Labor and Human Resources, Global and International Studies; Civic and Community Engagement (minor)

Graduating with three degrees, Amanda, the spring 2024 Liberal Arts college marshal, made the most of her time as an undergraduate student. Her love of learning took her abroad to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Santiago, Chile. This experience provided her the opportunity to stand out as a candidate when she landed a talent acquisition coordinator position with First National Bank Corp. in Pittsburgh.

View More

Ben Stewart 1

Ben Stewart

2015 Spanish and Russian

“The best way for you to learn a language is to go to a place that only speaks that language, but that’s not feasible for most people. The little things you can do to help are things like changing your phone’s language to another, spending ten minutes a day reading foreign language content or going to the Conversation Partners Program and finding someone who can teach you some of their languages and you can teach them some English. You have to slip in speaking a foreign language each day so the proportionality of language use builds up over time.”

View More

1Isabella Salcedo header

Isabella Salcedo

2025 Spanish, Human Resources and Employment Relations (IUG)

Isabella aims to empower young girls and serves as a role model for aspiring athletes. She is using her Spanish major to serve and represent underprivileged communities and to be a support system for individuals without one.

View More

1Gabi Chappel

Gabrielle Chappel

2016 Spanish and Journalism, Global and International Studies (minor)

Gabrielle said majoring in Spanish and experiencing the culture was one of the most beneficial things she ever did for her career. “Spanish is like the first language of the kitchen, especially in New York City. Listening to someone tell their story in their native language, and they feel comfortable opening up to you because you can understand what they are saying, is a vulnerable and powerful concept.”

View More

Frolenko_Victor-9

Victor Frolenko

2025 Spanish, Nutritional Sciences, Neuroscience (minor)

Chaiken Scholar, Victor, connects with other students through his numerous extracurricular involvements, which combine his passions for dance, food and helping others. Originally, only planning to major in the sciences, Victor learned about the flexible curriculum offered by the College of the Liberal Arts from a career coach in the Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network. He then added the Spanish major to his academic plan, and it took him beyond the confines of the classroom to Ronda, Spain, for an education abroad experience. There, Victor stayed with a host family in a full cultural immersion and attended classes on Spanish customs, history and language.

View More

Alexis Kauffman

Alexis Kauffman

2024 Political Science, Spanish (minor)

“In my internship, I worked on a project that organized data results of Pennsylvanians’ experiences using publicly funded mental health services. I’ve always been eager to learn more because I grew up in a very rural community, and with this job I was exposed to the raw, honest experiences of those in Pennsylvania. I was also able to utilize my Spanish minor and translate different surveys. It really sparked more passion for mental health and got me interested in how I can break down the barriers in accessing care, resources and education.”

View More

SeanEden1

Sean Eden

2025 Sociology, Spanish (minor), Deafness and Hearing Studies (minor)

Sean has found numerous ways to pursue his goals and grow personally during his time at Penn State, from his classes to the organizations he’s involved with, to the content he creates on social media. In addition to amassing over half a million followers on TikTok, Sean is deeply involved in THON and the Penn State Sign Language Organization. He hopes his unique combination of interests will lead him to law school after graduation.

View More

IT-Julia Montevechi

Julia Montevechi

2022 Italian and Criminology

“My Liberal Arts education gave me the ability to write effectively and facilitate discussions. I thoroughly enjoyed having class discussions about heavy topics, as I am now comfortable hearing and discussing different viewpoints. Further, I got lots of practice writing compelling papers on such topics, which really helped my graduate school applications.”

View More

Katelyn Garcia 1

“Language and Culture” Faculty-Led Program in Salerno, Italy

Penn State students spent six weeks in Salerno, Italy, through a faculty-led program that allowed them to immerse themselves in Italian culture while living with host families, visiting historical sites, and partaking in various cultural activities.

View More

todi program students (2)

“Italian Language, Art History, and Culture” Faculty-Led Program in Todi, Italy

Penn State students traveled to Todi, Italy, to immerse themselves in a new culture while gaining real-world experience. In addition to their classes, the students visited art museums, toured the Etruscan medieval sites, looked at Gothic and Renaissance architecture, tried local cuisines at Italian cafes, and ate lots of gelato.

View More

6a885421-75d0-4926-8ef4-1651468f1d52

“Spanish Language and Culture” Faculty-Led Program in Ronda, Spain

Penn State students had the opportunity to spend six weeks in Ronda, Spain. The international experience allowed them to learn at a local school, live with a host family, and learn more about Spanish culture.

View More

Cadiz1

“Spain Language and Culture” Faculty-Led Program in Cádiz, Spain

Penn State students immersed themselves in Spanish art, culture, history, and language during four weeks in Cádiz, Spain, as part of the “Spain Language and Culture” faculty-led program.

View More

Prato, Italy 1

“Multilingual and Intercultural Communication in Italy” Embedded Program

Penn State students traveled to Prato, Italy, on a two-week trip that was open to students enrolled in SPAN 210N, IT 210N, or PORT 210N and explored the fundamental components of the intersection of language and culture through humanities and social science. The trip focused on linguistic strategies for succeeding in multilingual situations, as well as intercultural communication practices for navigating new environments.

View More

Welcome to the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese at Penn State!

Our mission is to provide training that not only meets the highest standards of professional research but also prepares students for civic engagement and intellectual autonomy. To fulfill this mission, our goal is to be recognized as a leading department for the scientific study of language and for the integrative study of literature in the broad context of cultural productions. Achieving this requires ongoing evaluations of our curriculum at the graduate and undergraduate levels to provide a meaningful course of study that adapts to the different individual interests of our students and to reinforce the already strongly cohesive research paradigms that characterize our faculty.

Facebook

Events

“Language Differentiation and Generational Effects on Yes/No Question Intonation in Palenquero/Spanish Bilinguals”

March 28, 2025

9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.

Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library

Facebook

Events

“Language Differentiation and Generational Effects on Yes/No Question Intonation in Palenquero/Spanish Bilinguals”

March 28, 2025

9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.

Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library