The Service Learning in the Latino Community course was launched at TCU in 2009 by Mary McKinney, a senior instructor in Spanish. By the time McKinney retired in 2020, her students had partnered with more than 20 Fort Worth organizations that serve Latino residents, ranging from public schools and churches to nonprofit agencies.

Esther Teixeira and Maria Ciriza were well-qualified to take over the effort.

From 2013 to 2017, while at Purdue University, Teixeira partnered with Abriendo Puertas, an organization that supports Latino parents as their child’s first and most influential teachers. Her Purdue students used readings, presentations and creative-writing exercises to spark conversations with parents about domestic abuse, nutrition, literacy and other topics.

While teaching at the University of North Texas at Dallas, Ciriza worked with the Hampton-Illinois branch of the Dallas Public Library to offer English as a second language classes.

Both women arrived at TCU with a shared goal. “One of the first things I asked about in my campus interview was, ‘Will I have a chance to continue developing a service-learning project here? Because this is important to me personally and professionally,’ ” Teixeira said. “I was lucky to soon find Maria, and we joined forces.”

“One of the first things I asked about in my campus interview was, ‘Will I have a chance to continue developing a service-learning project here?’”
Esther Teixeira

In ordinary times, Teixeira and Ciriza would have tapped into an existing network of community partners for volunteer opportunities to support the course.

These were no ordinary times.

“We realized that some organizations didn’t want us to work with them because of the pandemic,” said Ciriza, associate professor of Spanish. “So we had to revamp the whole class.”

In fall 2020, Ciriza took a self-contained approach to service learning with the theme of investigating inequalities in hometowns. She tasked her students, who were spread around the country, with creating a video about the history of redlining in their respective cities. (Redlining is the discriminatory practice of denying mortgages, insurance and other services to residents of certain neighborhoods.)

She also asked students to compare a lower-income area with a higher-income area. One student highlighted the differences in police coverage in neighborhoods in Irving, Texas. Another shared how the closure of a public swimming pool greatly affected the recreation options available to minoritized residents in her community. “What I liked about this project,” Ciriza said, “is how much we learned about each other’s cities and about each other.”

As Teixeira, assistant professor of Spanish and Hispanic Studies, started planning for the spring 2021 semester, when her students would tutor TCU employees for the GED exam, she said, “I just couldn’t picture this happening.”

Residential housekeeping service assistant Vicenta Barron is one of several TCU employees who have partnered with students to help each other become more fluent in a second language. Photo by Rodger Mallison

How could her students practice Spanish while connecting with the employees they were tutoring? Could they effectively partner with adult learners, in Spanish, if they met only over Zoom?

“My first reaction was fear,” Teixeira said. “But then I realized: Trust your background. Trust the experience you have with service learning. Trust the support you’re receiving.”

Her trust was rewarded, and the service-learning class thrived. The students developed intergenerational and cross-cultural relationships with some of TCU’s most valuable employees, whose dedication and enthusiasm served as invaluable lessons in their own right.

“Vicenta [Barron] is one of the most hardworking people I know,” senior Alec Foster said. “By having the opportunity to tutor her, I gained insight into how lucky I am to pursue an education at TCU as well as how I can use my education to benefit others.”