Lori Carlson Andrews
Hola A Todos Los Covelianos! I have been so inspired by all the bios! It is an honor to be part of such an amazingly unique group of people. Although I often wish that I could have been a Coveliana during it's "hay day" of the 1960s and 70s, being a student at Elbert Covell in the early 1980s was an experience that deeply affected my life's values and perspectives. Tengo Covell en la sangre!
Here goes... la vida en 300 palabras.... mas o menos. I graduated in 1985. Married John Andrews, another Coveliano who also graduated in 1985. We married in Morris Chapel, then spent the next 2 years in Glendale, AZ--John earning his Master degree at Thunderbird and me teaching Spanish, claro que si, to high school students. We then spent the next 8 years living in London, England and Tokyo, Japan. I studied Japanese quite extensively... learning very quickly that phonetically, Japanese is identical to Spanish. How lucky for me! After returning to the US, we moved to Westport, Connecticut. I went back to school and earned my Master's in English and Creative Writing. John continued his career on Wall Street, often traveling to Mexico and South America.
In 1997 we had a son, Alec. And like many of you, I'm sure, spoke in Spanish when we didn't want him to know what we were talking about and yes.... he understood Spanish much sooner than English! Now he is in 6th grade and has taken Spanish since Kindergarten! As for John and me, we were married 22 years, but after a very long personal struggle, I "came out of the closet" and am now living authentically. John and I divorced very amicably and see each other at least twice a week. I want to share with everyone that after all John and I have been through and the life changes we made, the one thing that is an unbreakable connection between us is our love of Spanish, the culture of its people and the fact that we were Covelianos together. We often find ourselves sharing news events, personal contacts or even funny jokes in Spanish. We have moments when we want to share something "Spanish" related, and there is just no one else who can understand and appreciate it except for the other one. I mean, really, is there anyone else out there who understands why it's so funny when you ask what the weather is like and the response is, "Pues... es un clima sub-tropical lluvioso." And sorry, Dr. Robinson, but we both still have an aversion to red pens! :-)
Currently, I am looking into returning to teaching Espanol. But I am also VERY interested in working for one of the many organizations that help others in South America or Mexico. I was so interested in the Teach a Man to Fish organization that Martin Burt began, not to mention the other various endeavors so many Covelianos are affiliated with. If any of you would be interested in steering me in the direction of an organization, please don't hesitate to email me. I am eager to use my Covell experience again.
I am going to plagiarize a bit here. When I read Joe Eugene's bio, I was very moved by his final paragraph. I couldn't say it better myself; he so beautifully expressed what I feel each and every day. "I very much value what I learned at Covell... speaking Spanish has enriched my life... My car radio is often tuned to a Spanish-language station and my Latin Music playlist is one of the largest on my iPhone. I enjoy surprising people with how much Spanish I know. And to this day, my descriptions of Covell College, with lectures, textbooks, term papers and exams all in Spanish, impress people... my Covell experience is with me every day of my life."