Idioma’s Mellissia Walles at the AATSP Virtual Programs Fair
Idioma Founder and President, Mellissia Walles
On Saturday, October 5, 2024 the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) hosted the inaugural AATSP Virtual Programs Fair, “a unique opportunity designed to inform high school and post-secondary students about Spanish and Portuguese programs at the post-secondary level.” AATSP.org explains, “This virtual event will feature an array of college and university programs that are specific to the Spanish and/or Portuguese languages, giving attendees the opportunity to interact directly with program representatives, gather information, and ask questions about their future academic paths.”
Idioma’s founder and president Mellissia Walles was invited to speak on the keynote panel which also included Gabriela Peraza, MSW, Children Social Worker III at Department of Children and Family Services (L.A.), David Rodriguez, Sales, Property Management, Real Estate, Personal Development and Gabriel Pearson, Second-Year Student at Santa Monica College (CA). Panelists discussed their language learning journeys and highlighted how their Spanish proficiency has positively impacted both their personal and professional lives. The discussion also delved into how language education can effectively promote long-term language retention, providing valuable perspectives for both educators and learners. Of being invited to speak on the keynote panel, Mellissia said, “The recruitment and retention of world language teachers is at the core of why I started Idioma in 2015, and why I continue to seek partnerships like Idioma’s with AATSP and opportunities like the Virtual Programs Fair. Our mission is to support world language educators through our comprehensive programming, and participating in conversations like these is so important for the health and longevity of world language education in the US. Being part of this panel discussion was an honor, as it allowed me to reflect on how my career—from K-12 Spanish education to higher education, international sales, and my entrepreneurial work with Idioma—has been shaped by the importance of Spanish as a tool for real-world application and cross-cultural understanding.” Mellissia also participates in a yearly panel discussion at a high school just north of Boston, Massachusetts during their World Language Week, and Idioma participated in the Goethe-Institut’s Career Booster EUrope event in 2023.
Mellissia also hosted a session titled, “Maximizing Your Worth: How Graduate Courses with Idioma Elevate World Language Teacher Salaries.” In this session, Mellissia presented the Idioma Education Programs for K-12 Spanish and Portuguese Teachers and shared how an M.Ed. and graduate credits through Idioma’s university partners can significantly boost earning potential as a teacher, presenting the latest statistics, real world salary comparisons, and expert discussions on career progression. Reach out to Mellissia directly if you’d like to know more!
AATSP’s Executive Director, Maria Carreira shared this reflection of the event with Idioma’s Marketing Director Elisa Kirschhoffer: “While it's true that post-secondary language education faces some significant challenges, I know we have more tools and opportunities than ever to shape a bright future. The Virtual Programs Fair is just one example of how technology can unite educators to exchange ideas and strategies for making language learning more relevant, while also helping students explore exciting study and career paths as multilingual individuals. Listening to the presentations at the fair, I was amazed by the creativity of our educators and their spirit of collaboration and generosity. All of this makes me optimistic about the future and confident we're on the verge of a new golden era for language learning and lifelong language use.”
Access the AATSP Virtual Programs Fair website by clicking here.
Access the AATSP Virtual Programs Fair program by clicking here.
