Alum Educator Makes the World his Classroom

As long as he can remember, Herbert Leonard, ’19, knew he wanted to teach and where he was going to continue his education after high school.

 

“Bridgewater State University,” Leonard said. “It was close to home, a local school and has always had a great reputation for education.”

 

His decision paid off. Today he works as a Spanish teacher at Taunton High School, the same school where he performed his student teaching internship as an undergraduate.

 

After graduating from BSU with a degree in Spanish, Leonard later returned to his alma mater to complete a post-baccalaureate student teaching practicum through the Department of Secondary Education and Educational Leadership. He is now pursuing doctoral studies at Northeastern University.

 

“As an undergrad at BSU, Herbert was a standout student. He was even offered the chance to be a long-term paid substitute while doing his student teaching, which is very rare,” said Secondary Education Associate Professor Melissa LaBelle. “Herbert is a shining example of someone who took full advantage of his BSU education and is making a real impact in the field of education.”

 

Leonard is humbled by his former professor’s words but agrees the support he received at BSU was instrumental in guiding him.

 

“I love Bridgewater, I really do. I still talk to my professors today. Some of my best friends are people I met at Bridgewater…It really was a great experience, I loved all my time there,” he said.

 

Initially, Leonard thought he wanted to teach English. But when he took a Spanish class, he knew teaching bilingualism was his passion.

 

“Once I started learning Spanish, I knew that yes, this is what I want. Ever since then I’ve been working towards that, traveling, studying abroad and learning all I can so I can pass on that knowledge to my students,” he said.

 

As a student at BSU, he participated in a study tour in the Azores with the Department of Global Languages and Literatures. Before working full-time at Taunton, he also lived in Spain for a year, teaching in the public school system there.

 

“When you travel, live or study abroad it opens so many doors. You are given opportunities to meet people and learn about other cultures. You learn about others, but you also learn about yourself,” Leonard said.

 

He translates those experiences into his classroom.

 

“It’s so important to recognize other people’s perspectives and opinions and to be able to communicate with them in a language they understand. That’s huge,” Leonard said. “I really love building connections with students, especially in language. To see them start to speak words, to see their growth, that’s what I love the most (about teaching).”

 

That passion, Dr. LaBelle said, is what sets her former student apart.

 

“He really is such a strong leader and mentor for students and models each day the importance of bilingualism and multilingualism,” she said. “It is an important mission for him to honor and leverage students’ diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds as assets in the classroom.”