Learning to speak Spanish helps her, others

Sylvia Casco, 24, is a student at Lee College.

“I’ve always enjoyed helping people. When our church has food drives I help with the paperwork, like assisting people who can’t read or write, or translating for people who can’t speak English.”

Are you bilingual?
“I don’t speak Spanish fluently, but I’m getting better. Growing up, my parents mostly spoke to us in English. Now, it’s kind of late, but I want to learn. Our neighbors speak Spanish, so I try to talk with them as much as I can. In the past three years since they moved here, I’ve learned quite a bit.

“I’m studying to become a health information technician, where I’ll be dealing with paperwork for doctors and nurses. They say if you learn to translate, you can earn up to double the money. That’s one of the reasons I’m trying to learn more and more Spanish.”

— Sylvia Casco