Next fall, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, in conjunction with the Department of Residence, will begin a Casa Hispanica Learning Community.

Kathy Leonard, professor of foreign language and literature, will serve as the faculty adviser of the group.

“The Casa Hispanica will give students the opportunity to join a supportive learning community where they will be able to interact in Spanish, participate in cultural and social activities and receive academic guidance and information on career choices,” Leonard said in a written statement.

Students involved with the specialty house are not required to be Spanish majors or minors, but must be “actively involved in the study of Spanish or a native speaker,” she said.

Leonard said Casa Hispanica will serve to supplement students’ study of the language and culture.

“The Casa Hispanica will benefit from the services of a resident assistant, whose position will be mainly administrative, as well as a peer adviser, who will be a native speaker of Spanish,” she said.

The peer adviser will be responsible for organizing cultural and academic activities and will have office hours for students to partake in informal Spanish conversation, Leonard said.

Tara Gentry, junior in Spanish and elementary education, said she is interested in the resident assistant position on the house.

“[Casa Hispanica] will be a daily cultural experience, not that I don’t have cultural experiences every day, but this will be a more in-depth cultural experience,” said Gentry, who currently is an RA in Knapp Hall.

The position as RA of Casa Hispanica will differ greatly from the duties required as an RA in Knapp Hall, Gentry said.

“I will have to be prepared to confront different issues with a different approach. It will be more difficult because of the language barrier,” she said.

Gentry lived in Spain last summer, and she is looking forward to utilizing her language skills in a way other than solely in the classroom.

“I will have to figure out RA vocabulary in Spanish,” she said. “It’s all about the language opportunity.”

Interested students should anticipate monthly events “organized by the students themselves, by faculty from the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, the Spanish Club, the Study Abroad program, Office of International Students and Scholars or by other interested groups,” Leonard said.

During meal times, members of Casa Hispanica will speak only Spanish, Leonard said.

“An essential portion of the program will be special evening meals, where students in the Casa Hispanica gather in a separate dining section set aside for them, where they may host Spanish faculty or other invited guests,” she said.

Larch and Maple Halls are two locations being considered for the house, Leonard said.

“There will be no additional cost to participate in the Casa Hispanica — students will pay regular dorm fees,” she said.

Academic credit may be an added incentive for students to participate in the Casa Hispanica Learning Community.

“One credit per semester at the 200 or 300 level, which can be applied to the Spanish major or minor or to fulfill the international perspectives requirement” may be a possibility, Leonard said.

Students can begin applying for the peer adviser position by contacting Kathy Leonard through e-mail at [email protected] or by visiting the Casa Hispanica Web page at www.magellan.iastate.edu/kleonard/casahispanica.htm.