Associate Professor of Spanish Abby Dings and co-author Tammy Jandrey Hertel of the University of Virginia presented a talk titled “The Use of Open Educational Resources in Medical Spanish Courses” at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Annual Convention and World Languages Expo held November 20–23 in New Orleans. The practice-oriented presentation aimed to showcase available open educational resources (OER) for Spanish for healthcare professions and guided attendees through materials addressing cultural practices and perspectives surrounding childbirth.

Staff Instructor in Spanish Noelia Cigarroa-Cooke and Associate Professor of Spanish Abby Dings presented a talk, titled “Establishing Community Partnerships for Spanish for Healthcare Professions: Laying the Groundwork for Equitable, Experiential Learning,” at the 2025 NAMS/MOLA (National Association of Medical Spanish/Medical Organization for Latino Advancement) conference in San Antonio from November 6–7.

For the first time, Southwestern University was represented at the 2025 HSI Battle of the Brains, a premier national competition that brings together top student talent from across the country to solve real-world business and technology challenges. Southwestern’s inaugural team included eight exceptional students: Asin Allavudeen ’27, Santiago Cuevas ’26, Cassidie Gomez ’26, Julyssa Hernandez ’27, Yeva-Mariya Hayko ’26, Anna Hulett ’28, Alyanna Martinez ’27, and Juan Carlos Martinez Varela ’27. Selected through a competitive internal application process, the students participated in a 24-hour cross-disciplinary challenge integrating computer science, marketing, finance, and sustainable business strategy. They also engaged in professional development workshops led by industry leaders from Dell Technologies, eBay, Thrivent Financial, Capital One, and The Home Depot. Southwestern’s team earned first place in the Video Marketing Challenge, an interactive activity sponsored by Kickin It ATX that tested their creativity and collaboration under a time constraint. In addition, Juan Carlos Martinez Varela was awarded scholarships from both Dell Technologies and eBay in recognition of his outstanding academic and professional accomplishments and his ability to make a lasting impression on company representatives throughout the event. Special thanks to the faculty and staff who coordinated the team’s participation: Hispanic Academic Success Coordinator Amalia Merino, Director of the Center for Career & Professional Development Adrian D. Ramirez, Associate Professor of Spanish Abby Dings, and Professor of Business Debika Sihi. Gratitude is also extended to the blind judges who assisted with the internal selection process, Assistant Vice President of Admission Christine Bowman, Director of Admission Jaime Gonzalez, and Professor of Kinesiology Scott McLean, as well as Visual Content Producer Todd White for photography and videography of the event.

Associate Professor of Spanish Abby Dings presented a talk titled “Open Educational Resources for Spanish for Healthcare Professions” at the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) annual conference, held June 26-29 in Panama City, Panama. The presentation highlighted strategies for incorporating open educational resources (OER) into medical Spanish curricula to enhance accessibility, build communicative competence, and promote cultural humility.

Associate Professor of Spanish Abby Dings published “Pedagogical Approaches to VE” with co-author Tammy Jandrey Hertel of the University of Lynchburg. The chapter, which appears in The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Computer-Assisted Language Learning, edited by Lee McCallum and Dara Tafazoli, explores the use of virtual exchanges in second language teaching as a means to enhance the learning experience by providing opportunities to interact and communicate with speakers of the target language. More information on the volume can be found here.