As the most popular foreign language at BC, Spanish is one of those classes that brings everyone together. While there are several Spanish teachers, there is one who is infamous among junior and seniors. Her name? Señora Dubiel.
When asked why she chose teaching as her profession, Señora Dubiel responded, “I like the school atmosphere, I like being with young people…I like sharing things I know, and seeing them grow.” Teaching for her is less about the material being taught and more about sharing valuable experiences with people on the verge of going into the real world – high school students. “I like you guys because you’re funny,” she said, smiling. “You can be serious, at times, but you know where the lines are, and I find that very enjoyable.”

However, many may not know that she wasn’t always on the path to be a Spanish teacher. Señora Dubiel, like many people, had quite an unpredictable future. In fact, in an alternate universe, Señora Dubiel would have just been Mrs. Dubiel. “I have a dual degree,” she explained, “in biology and in Spanish. Had I been your age today, I might have gone into being a PA [Physician Assistant] or something like that, but back then those jobs didn’t exist when I was in college.” That, of course, is not to say that Spanish had been her last choice for a job. “I loved Spanish because it meant I could meet new people and learn new things,” she said.

Other than being an excellent Spanish teacher, Señora Dubiel is infamous for something else: getting wonderfully off topic in class. “I think that some things are just about life and how to live life,” she explained. “Sometimes it’s not so bad to have people share their stories and understand that there are other people.” After all, life is almost exclusively about the people that you live it with. “We can call them brain breaks,” Señora Dubiel said after a short conversation about the merits of discussing content not related to the class. “‘Brain breaks’ sounds better than ‘getting off topic,’ doesn’t it?” It absolutely does, but both tend to have the same positive effects, regardless of what names people call them by.

To the students that haven’t had the pleasure of having Señora Dubiel as a teacher, one doesn’t have to be in her class to learn something from her. If there was one piece of advice that Señora Dubiel would give to all students, it’s that you must do what makes you happy. “If it breaks somebody else’s rules, and it doesn’t hurt anybody, it can’t hurt for you to do what you want to do with your life.”