It’s not everyday that you meet a 21 year old who has lived in
three countries and fluently speaks four languages.
“I was born in Moscow, moved to Madrid when I was three years
old and have lived in the U.S. ever since I was 12 – I truly
believe you don’t know the world until you see it,” says Cristina
Fernández Méndez '09C, recent graduate from St. John’s College of
Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Because of her international childhood, Cristina says she
developed a passion for studying languages and cultures, “As a kid,
traveling with my parents was my favorite thing to do. My mother is
Russian and my father is from Spain – so wherever we lived, we
would always travel and explore new parts of the country. My
parents always taught me to appreciate different cultures and take
time to understand where people come from.”
Cristina says she always wanted to learn Italian, so when she
came to St. John’s she decided to enroll in St. John’s
Italian language and literature program. She feels the best way
to learn a language
is to be fully immersed in the culture, so she spent a semester
abroad at St. John’s Rome, Italy campus during her sophomore
year.
“My interest in Italian culture began when I was in high school,
so when I got the chance to live and learn in Rome through the
global studies program, it was the perfect opportunity for me to
become fluent in Italian. I enjoyed learning about the language,
arts and culture so much that when the semester was over, I decided
to stay and spend the summer in Italy.”
When she took a break from traveling or learning a new language,
Cristina could be found helping out with events as the Vice
President of
Gamma Kappa Alpha Italian Honor Society, singing with the Voices
of Victory gospel choir or participating in community service
with the Italian Cultural Society.
Cristina's plan post-graduation is to get involved in social
justice issues. She is specifically interested in becoming an
advocate for children’s and women’s rights and is in the process of
completing an independent study on human trafficking in South East
Asia:
“After a discussion about social justice in my international
communications class, I went home and decided I had to make a
difference. I felt it was my duty to get involved in some way
because let's face it, this is our world, and we are its
future.”
What is next for this burgeoning activist and linguist? “I’m
currently learning Mandarin, so I plan to go to China to perfect
it, which would mean I’ll then speak five languages fluently –
including Russian, Spanish, Italian and English. Learning languages
can be challenging but I’m willing to learn anything and everything
I can get my hands on.”