By: María de los Ángeles Corral
The College Board

   Every spring, schools across the United States offer students an opportunity that can drastically influence their path in life. I’m talking about enrollment in AP® courses. When I took my first class in Spanish, I thought, “Why aren’t all my classes like this?” Sadly, not enough students are exposed to these high-quality classes.

   Besides preparing me and my classmates for the rigors of college, this first college-level course in high school gave many of us the confidence to take on other AP subjects and consider fields we might have thought were out of reach.

   Years later, I realize this course work led us to an array of opportunities to apply our language and heritage skills in our careers.

   Employers are increasingly recruiting and developing workers who are multilingual, says my colleague Andrés Tapia, chief diversity officer at an international human relations consulting firm. “That’s one of the reasons rigorous courses, such as an AP course, in the languages and literature are critical,” he said. “If people are going to navigate and bridge the culture, they need to have more than just vocabulary.”

   I checked in with María Catalina Catalán and Marcelo Venegas Pizarro, a couple of former classmates from high school. It’s obvious that our AP Spanish courses made an impact on our lives as people and professionals.

   María: What led up to you taking AP Spanish?

   María Catalina: When I was 7 my family emigrated from Mexico, which ended my use of Spanish in school until I took AP Spanish. I was then able to explore the grammar, mechanics and beautiful literature of my culture. Many of us knew tenses and conjugation, but had not put those labels on it.

   Marcelo: Although I was a fluent Spanish speaker when I arrived from Chile at age 9, with AP Spanish  I discovered so much more about what my culture had to offer than even my parents had shown me.

   María: Did taking that AP Spanish class influence your career path?

   María Catalina: I think it definitely influenced my thinking. I wanted to know how to better teach children. I earned a bachelor’s degree with a double major in early childhood education and Spanish. I went on to earn a master’s degree that focused on dual-language education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

   Today I teach at a predominantly Latino grammar school. I hope I am now giving children the kind of instruction I would have liked as a second- and third-grader and the kind of education I want my child to have.

   Marcelo: I went to college and then on to the University of Illinois Medical School. Today I work as medical director of Lutheran Medical Center’s HIV outpatient program in Brooklyn, N.Y.

   The patients we have are 90 percent Spanish-speaking. There’s no way I could have known as a high school student how much my language and appreciation of culture would factor in my career.

   María: Research shows that speaking additional languages helps students learn better across all subjects. Even more, AP courses help students stand out on college applications and qualify for scholarships. Those with a qualifying grade on an AP Exam may be eligible for college credit and significant savings on tuition.

   Let’s lead our children to a great education that can also inspire them to pursue future professions. Student enrollment in AP courses takes place in the spring at most schools. The AP Program offers 34 college-level classes. Find out which ones are offered in your school at www.collegeboard.org/apescuelas.