In a special weekly series, the College of Liberal Arts is featuring a faculty member from one of our 13 departments. We asked questions about why they are passionate about the subjects they study and teach, and how they found their path to CSU. See all “Faculty Friday” features here.  

María del Carmen López Ramírez

Senior Instructor of Spanish in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

1. Why do you teach? What do you like most about teaching? What inspired your interest in teaching?

Teaching is my passion. I love interacting with students and seeing them mature and grow intellectually. I enjoy sharing my culture and enthusiasm for languages and global issues with my students. I teach because I truly believe educators can make a positive difference in people’s lives and the world in general.

2. Which class is your favorite to teach and why?

What a difficult choice! I love teaching Spanish but my teaching and research interests are currently focused on the topics of globalization and immigration. I enjoy teaching INST200 (Interdisciplinary Approaches to Globalization) because I can teach students about the issues plaguing the world today in hopes they will become part of the solution later. This class also gave me the chance to implement inclusive classroom practices that I have learned in the Faculty Institute of Inclusive Excellence.

3. What did you want to be when you were little? When did you know you wanted to go into higher education?

I actually wanted to be a teacher. When I was a child, I used to set a classroom up in my house and play with my friends. I was always the teacher and they were my students. I always knew that I wanted to go to college, but instead of studying Education, I decided to study Business and Tourism due to the job availability where I grew up in southern Spain. I spent nine years working in the hospitality sector in England and Germany. This experience helped me gain an appreciation for cultures different than my own and made me value the benefits of studying and working abroad.

4. How did you get to CSU?

In 2005, I moved to Fort Collins with my family and after meeting some faculty from the Language Department, I decided to change careers and study Languages, Literatures and Cultures with a concentration in Spanish. I have worked at CSU since 2012, where I teach Spanish courses as well as International Studies core curriculum courses and Honors program courses. While teaching at CSU, I have finally achieved my original passion in life: teaching.

5. What is one thing students would be surprised to learn about you?

I speak four languages, some better than others. I’ve always enjoyed languages and can pick up new ones easily. I was born and raised in Spain and met my American husband in Germany, a country neither of us are from. I have two teenage children that are taller than me and a dog that only understands Spanish!