Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Langston.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Stephanie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My future took a turn from my intended field of broadcast journalism when I studied abroad in Spain. I fell in love with the language and the people. In addition to my journalism degree, I decided to dual major in Spanish. I obtained my Master’s in Foreign Language Education and took graduate courses one semester in Costa Rica, where my boyfriend at the time flew down to surprise me with a proposal. We were engaged in front of an active volcano. Travel and adventure became our hallmarks. We went on to travel to 49 countries together, nearly half of those during a five-month sabbatical from work, but during which I was still able to teach online for my company. Our children have dual citizenship and have themselves traveled to 12 countries.
I wanted to share my passion with others and the time was ripe for teaching Spanish to English speakers as our Hispanic demographic in Georgia was booming. “Spanish as a Second Language” was my platform when I competed at Miss Georgia (of the Miss America system) and I have always been driven by the desire to share language with others in order to expand minds, generate passion for travel and compassion for others.
While in college, I worked part-time as a pharmacy technician and served as the unofficial Spanish interpreter for our store. When I left in order to teach full-time, my co-workers asked for a handy Spanish reference sheet and some audio files for practice.
That gave me the idea for my company, Hands on Spanish, and my first program, “Pharmacy Spanish”.
I have had the opportunity to teach English to children in Juarez when on a Casas por Cristo mission trip. I am on the missions committee at our church and schedule missions speakers from around the globe. Hands on Spanish provides free resources to those on missions (such as medical mission trips) and outreach programs (such as the University of Georgia’s Farm Workers Program Outreach conducted by students of the College of Pharmacy). I have taught basic Spanish to groups departing to serve in Spanish speaking countries.
I also have personal connections to Spanish and the cultures of Spanish speaking countries. I am a Lecturer of Spanish at Georgia State University’s Perimeter College and have become friends with native Spanish speakers who are my colleagues and my students. My students host a Dia De Los Muertos Exhibit each year and participate in International Education Week events. Being musically inclined, I have performed songs in Spanish and taught basic Latin dance to my students. My husband and I enjoy doing Zumba together. He’s usually the only man in the class.
Most importantly, my husband and I adopted two beautiful children from Colombia. Our son Emery is now eleven and our daughter Maya is now seven. We adopted them both as infants and were in Colombia for two months for each adoption. I speak Spanish to them at home and share elements of their culture with them so that they will know their heritage. My husband and I have presented our international adoption story to other adopting couples and I have a brief international adoption Q & A on our site at this link: www.handsonspanish.com/adoption.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Fortunately, due to a high demand for learning the language, I have had a very smooth road. I have been able to control the size of my business and have never needed a business loan, thanks to a home office and the fact that most of my programs are online. When they are offered in person, I always travel to the client’s site.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Hands on Spanish story. Tell us more about the business.
There are many general and conversational Spanish programs, classes and tutors, but there are too few who meet the very pressing and specific needs in the medical and legal communities. My company specializes in customizing programs for company, industry and professional needs. One does not need to be fluent in Spanish in order to communicate in a purpose-driven way.
“Pharmacy Spanish” is worth 12 hours of ACPE credit and has been offered nationwide in a face-to-face one-day seminar and is offered worldwide in its online format. The University of Georgia (my alma matter) has partnered with me through their College of Pharmacy in co-sponsoring the program. That led to the creation of other programs designed for specific, professional Spanish, such as “Spanish for the Courts” (offered online and in a face-to-face seminar through the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education of Georgia and Florida’s College of Advanced Judicial Studies), “Spanish for Nurses” (accredited for 20 hours of ANCC credit offered in conjunction with AMN Healthcare) and other online programs. I have done more customized projects, as well, such as “Spanish for Orthotists and Prosthetists,” (for the American Association of Orthotists and Prosthetists) and have led the development of a 200-hour intensive Spanish training program for the Department of Homeland Security (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
Our children’s program, “Uno, Dos, Tres,” was created to fulfill a very specific need. In Georgia, the funding for foreign language education in elementary schools experienced extreme cuts. Our online video-based program can be offered to an entire school for use on-campus or at-home. Some schools have shown the brief videos during library time or over the morning video announcements. We offer simple lessons that teachers and parents who have no background in the language can follow. Families who homeschool have found it to be a practical resource, as well.
We recently developed a series of free lessons, “Travel Spanish,” to fulfill another specific need for the language. When preparing for a trip, it is possible to learn enough of a language to be polite and to get around without becoming fluent. http://www.handsonspanish.com/travel/
We are looking next to offering a platform (through webinars) for our clients to delve more deeply into course topics and to communicate in Spanish with me and with one another in real time. Our goal is to help students practice pronunciation, build confidence and obtain answers to their questions in real time. Another feature would be the ability to send in requests for specific phrases to be incorporated in the webinars that would be helpful to individual’s needs (work-related, travel-related, etc.).
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I have been very fortunate in that the demand for learning Spanish was increasing at exactly the time that my company was founded and growing. I am truly blessed to work in a field where my talents and passions intersect.
I am also very lucky to have a husband who has always supported my efforts in very real ways. Chris is a computer programmer and, as such, my IT department. He is the structure behind my creativity. My sisters, Natalie Phillips and Jessica Vincent, are both nurses and have provided very valuable insight for my Spanish for Nurses program. I have had the opportunity to work with many dedicated and talented professionals across multiple fields.
When I began college, I never would have foreseen my life as it is now. I never considered being a teacher, an entrepreneur or even a linguist. I never thought about adoption either. However, as a friend pointed out once, God sometimes steers us actively down a path in order to achieve certain ends. Who can argue against the virtues of adoption, enlightenment and compassion? Also, my husband and I were in a unique position to be able to leave our lives behind for months at a time in order to travel and adopt. Being bilingual has made travel and international adoptions not only much easier, but much more enjoyable, as has our good fortune of being able to work remotely anywhere in the world.
Pricing:
- Pharmacy Spanish $ 50 – $ 124
- Spanish for Nurses $ 85
- Spanish for the Courts $ 50 – $ 99
- Uno, Dos, Tres Children’s Program $ 50 – $ 99 (for individuals)
- Custom Courses (prices vary)
- Uno, Dos, Tres Children’s Program for school use (prices vary)
Contact Info:
- Address: 3600 Briscoe Drive
Ste. 7 - Website: www.handsonspanish.com
- Phone: 770-856-0980
- Email: stephanie@handsonspanish.com
- Other: http://www.handsonspanish.com/travel/
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