Howard Payne University’s Spanish for Law Enforcement and Social Work class concluded with a special ceremony honoring the students’ completion of coursework on December 5. The curriculum was designed to teach Spanish specifically for application in the law enforcement and social work fields. Spanish for Law Enforcement has been offered as a class in previous years, but this was the first time that the course’s content was expanded to also include social work. The course, which is expected to be offered every other fall semester, was taught by Dr. Danny Brunette-López, professor of Spanish and chair of the Department of Spanish and Hispanic Studies at HPU.

Dr. Brunette-López presented certificates to the students, which were offered by the Department of Spanish and Hispanic Studies in conjunction with the Department of Criminal Justice and the Department of Social Work. Also participating in the ceremony were Lynn Humeniuk, adjunct faculty for criminal justice and sociology; Shantel Oplotnik, assistant professor of social work and director of the social work program; and Ciera Ray, assistant professor of social work and director of field instruction in social work.

Recognized for their achievement were Azelia Castorena, a social work major; Jaden Elie, a criminal justice major; Alli Harvey, a jurisprudence and Guy D. Newman Honors Academy major; Taylor Hefner, a criminal justice major; Charis Mayton, psychology and the Guy D. Newman Honors Academy; Max McPhee, a history and Guy D. Newman Honors Academy major; Leslie Ramírez, a social work major; Thomas Smallwood, a general studies major; Kendall Watkins, a criminal justice major; and Erin Wheeler, a history major.

The course gives instruction for real-world language needed to communicate with limited or non-English-speaking persons of Hispanic origin in various law enforcement and social work settings. Class instruction emphasized the importance of future law enforcement officials and social workers creating a sense of goodwill in the Hispanic community. Although the course is designed for criminal justice and social work majors, it is open to students in any field and can be taken as fulfillment of an upper-level course for a Spanish minor.

“With an exponential increase in the Hispanic population across the United States, being linguistically and culturally competent in Spanish is of great benefit, especially for our future law enforcement officers and social workers,” said Dr. Brunette-López. “Thus, knowing specialized vocabulary and essential Spanish phrases in these fields can actually save lives, facilitate constructive dialogue, deescalate tense situations for better communication, break down barriers, and demonstrate that law enforcement officials and social work employees are caring individuals who only seek to promote peace and unity.”

Ramírez, a senior, shared how the class has benefitted her work at The ARK Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Shelter, where she works as the operational bilingual advocate.

“When it comes to Spanish and social work,” said Ramírez, “I have found that it opened the door for a whole clientele who did not realize they were able to get help – especially those who are victims of domestic violence and sexual assault but aren’t able to communicate their experiences due to language barriers. I’ve used the resources from the course to show my clients the severity of domestic violence. Thanks to this course, my Spanish is so much better. I’ve gained confidence when speaking to clients and I have the ability to serve the underserved.”

Dr. Brunette-López was encouraged to see the students’ hard work and excitement for the subject.

“I would often come to class and explain to the students how fortunate and proud I am to have them with me,” said Dr. Brunette-López. “They completed their tasks professionally and collaborated as a tight-knit group for the common good.”

For more information about HPU, visit www.hputx.edu.