Joe Randel '01

Since 2006, Joe
Randel has served as the Director of ArtesAméricas, a program of Texas
Performing Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. In this capacity, he
curates an annual performance series of Latin American and Latino music,
theater, and dance, as well as related educational and cultural exchange
programs at The University of Texas at Austin. A fluent Spanish and Portuguese
speaker, Joe has extensive experience living, working, and studying throughout
Latin America. Prior to assuming
his current role, Joe worked as the Event Manager at Texas Performing Arts for
three years. Before moving to
Austin in 2002, he worked as a Production Coordinator during four seasons with
the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts near Washington D.C. Currently, Joe serves as a member of
the Board of Directors of the International Society for the Performing Arts
(ISPA), as well as sitting on ISPA’s Programming Committee. Additionally, he
works extensively as a private consult and advisor to a variety of cultural
institutions in the U.S. and Latin America, including the Secretariat of
Culture of São Paulo State (Brazil), The Western Arts Alliance (USA), and the
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County (USA).
He received his
Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish from Dickinson College in 2001 and is currently
pursuing a Masters in Business Administration at the McCombs School of Business
at The University of Texas at Austin.
ArtesAméricas is a program of Texas Performing Arts, in partnership with
The University of Texas at Austin’s Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin
American Studies. The program
promotes cultural dialogue in the Americas through the performing arts. In addition to presenting the best
performing artists from throughout the hemisphere, ArtesAméricas supports
events and programs that serve as catalysts to broaden the understanding,
appreciation, and support for the performing arts in the Americas.
Wendi Springer '02
I am a co-founder and teacher at the Communicate School of English in Málaga, Spain. The most gratifying part of my job is seeing my students learn and improve their language skills month to month, and year to year. However, what I love the most is hearing their success stories of how they put the language to use in real life situations and seeing how proud they are when they realize first hand that language opens doors for them. I'm really pleased with the success and reputation of my academy, which is growing steadily from year to year. It's a place where students learn to embrace language as a communication tool and where they are free to express themselves while increasing their global cultural knowledge.
Dickinson helped me to see the underlying connections between seemingly disconnected ideas, work collaboratively with others to reach a common goal and appreciate how enriching linguistic and cultural knowledge can be on both personal and professional levels. Without a doubt, my favorite and most influential professor was Grace Jarvis. If our paths hadn't crossed during my first year in Spanish 116, I never would have come to Málaga for a summer course, participated in the full-year program or returned after graduation to call this city home.
Sara Fowler '12
After
a year abroad in Málaga and a summer internship at a non-profit helping
recently-immigrated residents of the Annapolis area, I returned to
Dickinson my senior year to complete a double major in Spanish and
Political Science. For after graduation, I accepted
a job as a paralegal at a Baltimore law firm specializing in immigration
law, which I felt was the perfect way to combine my love of language
and my love of political science. I eventually hope to return to
graduate school in International Relations or Latin
American Studies, and I definitely want to go back to Spain someday!