Shannon Ruiz

Name of your school: CY Middle School
Language(s) Taught: Spanish
Years of Experience: 23
Education:
B.A in Spanish - University of Wyoming;
M.A. in Education - University of Phoenix

Tell us a little about yourself - your family, hobbies, passions, etc.
My wife and I have been married for 24 years. Gina is a DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy) at the Child Development Center of Natrona County. My older son, Sam, just finished flight school in Texas and is awaiting a job as a flight instructor. My younger son, Sebastian, just graduated from Kelly Walsh in Casper and will be running cross-country for Central Wyoming College in Riverton. My German Shorthaired Pointer, Micky, sleeps a lot, but is the cutest member of the family. In my free time, I enjoy playing several musical instruments, geocaching, off-road Jeeping, playing pickleball and disc golf, and creating projects for "Go Baby Go Wyo" with my 3D printers. My wife and I started Go Baby Go Wyo several years ago. It is a non-profit that engineers mobility solutions for toddlers around Wyoming who have developmental disabilities (just do an internet search for "Go Baby Go Wyo" and the info will pop up).

What is the most rewarding part of your career as a language teacher?
Every middle school teacher knows that you have to be a little insane to survive teaching in that environment. Each day is a new circus of activities, emotions, and humorous situations. Amidst all of that, you still have to deliver a viable curriculum and hope they internalize the most important parts. I've had several students contact me when they reached high school or beyond to let me know that they still remember certain concepts because of the way they were taught them. And the fact that they continued their Spanish journey always warms my heart.

Tell us a little about your experience as a WALT member:
I've been a member of WALT since 2014 when I moved to Casper from Colorado. In my first Fall Conference, I was asked to present a session, which may seem pretty forward of the organizers out of context. I had just been named the 2014 Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers Teacher of the Year before moving to Wyoming. I already had experience presenting sessions, workshops and keynotes around the country, so I was more than happy to present at WALT (at that time it was still WFLTA).
Since that first conference, I knew I had a place here in Wyoming and in WALT. They immediately made me feel welcome and included. Through WALT, I have been able to connect to teachers not just around the state, but also around the region through PNCFL. I was also granted the opportunity to speak before house and senate committees to help push the Wyoming Seal of Biliteracy through legislation. I have served as the Social Media director (originally we called it the Advocacy Czar) and am currently the President Elect. I look forward to helping lead our organization in the coming years.

What is one personal or professional goal that you have for yourself, your school, your language program, or your state?
I have been lucky to be surrounded by like-minded individuals who have similar goals as myself. With their help, I've achieved many professional goals already at my school, in my district, and at the state level.
My next big goal is for world languages in the state of Wyoming. I know that programs state-wide have been suffering and many have been moth-balled. Recent state government leaders have shown little support for world languages and education in general. My goal is to bring world languages to the front lines, support teachers and their programs, and strengthen our organization's ability to make real change.

Tell us about your favorite travel experiences.
When I was a kid in New Mexico, my family would travel down to Mexico several times each year to visit family and bet at the dog track (for some reason, that's a core memory). In college, several friends and I spent time during the summers in smaller towns in central and northern Mexico playing music at bars and doing odd jobs, all the while strengthening our language and cultural competence. My colleague Katherine and I have been on EF Tours to Spain and Ecuador with our students and it's amazing how those experiences affect each student. My older son, Sam, was able to come with us to Ecuador and it helped strengthen his desire to continue learning Spanish. My family has had the opportunity to travel around the nation for several years. My wife and I have felt that it's important for our kids to see and experience culture, foods, and people from around our own nation as well. All of these travel experiences helped make us more educated and empathetic.

Do you have any advice for other world language teachers?
​The best advice I can give to other world language teachers is to find other teachers that you can lean on, steal from, have fun with, and collaborate with. It's important to not be isolated on your own "island," whether it be within your school, in your district, or in our state. It can be difficult because of how distanced our programs are, but that shows how important it is to make it to the Fall Conferences and continue to build those connections.