My name is Melissa (Breeden) Ramos and I went with IUHPFL to San Luis Potosí in 1994. Like they say, that experience shaped the course of my life in ways I could never have imagined at the time. In late 2002 I had worked with the teaching staff preparing for summer 2003 but subsequently became pregnant with my second child and could not continue commuting to Bloomington nor could have travelled with the group to Mexico that year as an instructor.
Much time has passed and my husband and I have established roots in Guatemala (where he is from) as well as in the U.S. I regret not being able to have re-joined the Honors Program as a staff member and have thought about it longingly ever since.
To tell you a bit more about me, I have taken bilingual/bicultural to a higher level than I ever dreamed. My job requires me to speak Spanish most of the day and most of my contacts do not believe I am NOT a native speaker. I have the Honors Program to thank for giving me the initial push down this path. I travel to Guatemala at least once per year to visit my in-laws and have taken my children a time or two as well. Our ultimate goal is to be able to move back permanently to Guatemala if at some point we are both able to find gainful employment or open our own business there. For now, though, we live near Schererville, IN and are working diligently to raise our kids.