This year, Señora Hernandez, Hopkinton High School’s newest Spanish teacher, has taken the mantle of the Spanish Club’s advisor. She and the presidents of the club have set new and exciting goals for the new year.   

Last year, Evanya Mathur and Esha Shah, both Students of the Class of 2024, founded the Spanish club. 

“My mom’s from Peru. My whole life, I’ve kind of grown up speaking Spanish but I really never kind of understood Spanish culture… Even in Spanish classes, we just learned grammar and not really about the countries and what they do. So Evanya and I were talking about it one day and decided to start a Spanish club in order to better understand Spanish culture. So that’s why we started it,” said Shah. 

“For me, Spanish started during the pandemic. I started taking classes with an Argentinian teacher, and I got fluent. That really helped me in my schoolwork. So I became interested in doing it more,” said Mathur. 

Señora Hernandez got involved with the Spanish club after a student in her AP Spanish class asked her if she could be the advisor. At first, she was hesitant because she was already an advisor of the Ambassadors Club, but in the end, she agreed to advise the club and she is very glad she did. 

Over her lifetime, Señora Hernandez has advised and coached a variety of different groups and clubs. In college, she was a dance captain for one team and a choreographer for another, she was in Model UN, and Spanish club. When she was teaching in Iowa, she was also a dance coach for the middle and high school teams. 

Last year, Señora Leville was the advisor of the Spanish club and helped the students learn about and participate in Hispanic and Latin-American culture. This year, Señora Hernandez is taking on the role and adding her ideas and new perspectives to the club.

“(This year) we’re focusing less on practicing the culture and more on sharing it with the school. So last year was very inter-club but now we want to spread the message of Spanish heritage and practices,” said Evanya Mathur. 

They have a few goals in mind for the year but their biggest project includes a mural.

“We are making a collage of different Hispanic and Latin American cultural pieces. We’re going to put those in a collage to create wings along with the art club, and we’re going to put them in the wall you see when you exit the building,” said Hernandez. 

Other projects they are starting up are bake sales, fundraising with brands such as Chipotle, and a dance night for the school.