Following in the footsteps of senior Lila Schatz, junior Abri Berg headed to Spain on August 31, and began her Student Year Abroad (SYA) experience.

“I am very excited,” Berg said before traveling to Spain. “I applied to gain more knowledge and a broader global perspective about the world we are in and language fluency.”

Every year, the language department brings SYA representatives to Parker to speak with interested students. Representatives come into classes and have personal meetings to inform curious students on available programs.  

If students are interested, they must go through a formal application process. Students must submit four letters of recommendations from teachers and a long essay answering one of two questions. If selected, students must also have an oral interview.

SYA offers programs in China, Italy, France, and Spain. China and Italy are the newest additions to the program. Unlike the Spanish and French program, where you need at least two years of prior study of the language, there is no Chinese or Italian language requirement needed to apply.  

Last year, senior Lila Schatz was one of 70 students from across the world to participate in SYA Spain. Schatz quickly fell in love with the program, specifically delighted at the fact that her Spanish greatly improved. “At first, I could barely speak Spanish, and I could barely understand my host family or teachers,” Schatz said. “When I went home there was nothing I couldn’t understand.”

During her time away, Schatz missed her family and friends. “I learned how important it is to understand that when people go away,” Schatz said, “they don’t go away to leave something, but instead to go to something.”

Each year, Parker tries to send at least one student abroad through SYA. “I think that there is absolutely nothing that can substitute for the authenticity of learning about culture by living in a country where the language you are studying is spoken,” Lorin Pritikin, Co-Chair of the Foreign Language Department said. “Total immersion is the best means to learn the language and the culture!”

“SYA it is not just open to the most excellent students by grade,” Pritikin said. “SYA is selective in the Spanish and French program in that they want to make sure that students have some competence in the language before they come to the program. It is expected they will have already studied.”

Berg says that Upper School Spanish teacher, Yadiner Sabir, really helped her grow her language skills in class and inspired her love for the Spanish language.

Although Abri’s parents were nervous at first about her joining in the program, they are on board now, and Abri is thrilled to start her new adventure with SYA.

Berg said, “Through SYA Spain I hope to experience and adapt to new cultures and different lifestyles unlike my own.”