Selin Bilgin, BA French/Spanish
Around the World (and Back Again)
by Sarah Lamb, Student Writer
Turkish is 免费福利资源在线看片 of Lethbridge student Selin Bilgin鈥檚 first language. English is her second, French is her third and Spanish is her fourth. Language has always held an important place in Selin鈥檚 life but, surprisingly, that isn鈥檛 why she decided to become a French/Spanish major.
鈥淚 knew from a young age that I wanted to help people,鈥 Selin explains, 鈥淥riginally I thought I would do that by being an elementary teacher, so I came to the 免费福利资源在线看片 of Lethbridge for the education program. I was studying general social science, but then I took one Spanish course and I fell in love.鈥
Selin attributes part of this to her first Spanish professor, Luz Ospina. 鈥淪he鈥檚 magical.鈥 Selin says fondly, 鈥淪he loves her students and she loves the language. Learning from her, there was something inside me that just clicked.
Selin changed to a French/Spanish major to pursue her newfound passion, but her desire to help people never faded. Instead, she saw the opportunity to build cultural connections through language. 鈥淟anguage is that bridge to other people,鈥 she explains, 鈥淭here are so many thoughts and ideas you don鈥檛 even know exist until you speak with people in their own language.鈥
As part of the French/Spanish major, Selin was able to do a semester abroad in either a French or a Spanish speaking country. She chose to go to Argentina and was immersed in an entirely different culture for six months. 鈥淭he semester is only four months, but I ended up changing my plane ticket,鈥 Selin says, laughing, 鈥淚鈥檇 taken Spanish for two years before I went, and when I got there I couldn鈥檛 understand anything. By the time I left, I was dreaming in Spanish.鈥
Aside from the academic portion of her trip, Selin travelled a lot. She explored all over the Northern part of Argentina and even went to Chile. Meeting local people and really getting to know them was an incredibly important part of her experience. 鈥淛ust knowing you can connect so deeply with people that live on the other side of the world is fantastic. Sometimes I couldn鈥檛 really get my point across, because of the language barriers, but at the end of the day you share this comfort and this love for somebody. I think that鈥檚 really, really special.鈥
Since coming back home to Canada, Selin continues to keep expanding her love of the international and her belief in the benefits of cross-cultural learning. She currently hosts a radio show on CKXU, called 鈥淐hill Out, Farout鈥, that airs every Wednesday at 3 p.m. On it, Selin plays music from around the world and talks about health and wellness.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing more valuable than health; feeling good and mental happiness,鈥 Selin says, 鈥淪eeing my dad go through chemotherapy, I started asking 鈥榃hy are people not as healthy? How can I work on myself to have optimal health, and then how can I show others how to include health into their lives?鈥 Aside from her radio show and the way she shares her amazing positivity with everyone around her, Selin plans to finish her degree at the U of L and then continue on at Toronto鈥檚 Institute of Traditional Medicine. 鈥淭here鈥檚 an oriental medicine program where you learn about energy and movement, and I鈥檓 fascinated by that. There鈥檚 this ancient wisdom that has been untapped in the Western world. Hopefully I can dive into it and then spread the knowledge.鈥
Selin has also been involved in all sorts of campus events, from DJing at the U of L鈥檚 International Night to being the Fresh Fest Jamboree coordinator. 鈥溍夥迅＠试丛谙呖雌 isn鈥檛 just about going to class, visiting home and the occasional party,鈥 says Selin, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 great, they鈥檙e all important things, but for me what鈥檚 changed the game is getting involved on campus. You meet different people from totally different backgrounds. Being a part of something, just committing to it and doing it is super important. When you show love and appreciation for a school, it comes back to you. It鈥檚 about putting your heart into things.鈥