Sid Subramanian is an exemplary Spanish major from Winston-Salem, N.C. Although he always knew he wanted to attend Wake Forest and stay close to home, he had no idea that he would eventually decide to study Spanish, in addition to Biochemistry.
“Realistically, I wasn’t thinking of doing a Spanish major at all. I wanted to do computer science and biology,” Subramanian said.
When asked if he could recall any moment before his time at Wake Forest that might have indicated his future appreciation for Spanish, Subramanian recalled being one of the few in his high school Spanish classes who truly enjoyed the content.
“In tenth grade, we were learning the conjugations, and I was one of the few people who I remember enjoying learning about Spanish,” Subramanian said. “We were just learning the basics, but I enjoyed that a lot.”
He went on to describe how his love for learning Spanish grew in his freshman year.
“I took my first class in Spanish at Wake [Forest], and I just fell in love with it,” Subramanian said. I didn’t want to stop learning Spanish. So I took the next class, 280, and then I knew I wanted to do a major or minor in it. So I just kind of kept going with it.”
However, he explained that his experience taking a semester abroad in Spain truly solidified his continued interest in Spanish.
“I did the Salamanca program, as well. I think that this made me love learning Spanish and speaking it so much,” Subramanian said.
Subramanian explained that through studying and practicing Spanish, he has been able to be a more well-rounded and connected person.
“I think I’ve just learned how speaking more languages can really connect you with a lot more opportunities. I’ve been able to meet so many people, just by speaking Spanish, from all over Latin America and Spain,” Subramanian said. “Learning languages and spending time doing that can really help you be more of a global citizen.”
In addition to this area of study fostering a global citizen mindset in Subramanian, he also reflected on the unique cultural experience he has had participating in this major and the benefits this has brought him. He has been able to notice connections between his family’s Indian culture and Latin American culture.
“I think I’m the only Indian guy doing a Spanish major, so I’m definitely unique. Whenever I speak Spanish, people look at me and are confused about where I’m from, because it just doesn’t make sense,” Subramanian said.
Subramanian mentioned, more specifically, his passion for interpreting between Spanish and English, which grew out of the classes he has taken at Wake Forest.
“I think my favorite part about studying Spanish is the interpreting aspect of being able to go immediately to Spanish and back to English. I’ve learned a lot about just switching seamlessly between one language [and] another,” Subramanian said.
Through his volunteer work as an interpreter, Subramanian has seen the positive effect studying a language can have on a community. Through getting involved in Winston-Salem, Subramanian realized that there is a growing need there for Spanish speakers.
“Being that Winston-Salem is kind of a small city, you wouldn’t expect there to be that many Hispanic people,” Subramanian said. “But when I actually went out and started volunteering at a food bank, where I got to work as an interpreter and medical clinics — you see how big of a need there is.”
When reflecting on what the future holds after graduation, he is already planning on using these skills in the coming year while also exploring other areas of interest. Subramanian explained that he is interested in applying to medical school in the future, but for now will be taking a gap year to work as an interpreter.
“[I will be] volunteering as an interpreter and just continuing to work with the nonprofit organizations I am currently working with,” Subramanian said.
Subramanian was asked if he felt as though he had anything else to learn regarding Spanish. In response, he expressed his constant desire to immerse himself more seamlessly into different cultures.
“Spending time in more countries in Latin America has been a dream of mine for a long time, learning about the culture and how that intersects with the dialects and the language and the food and all that,” Subramanian said. “I think I’m excited because at Wake [Forest], you learn about the language, but the culture you have to seek out yourself.”
