{"id":12552,"date":"2026-03-26T16:21:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T21:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/latin-american-caribbean-studies\/?p=12552"},"modified":"2026-03-26T16:21:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T21:21:54","slug":"eric-schmitt-portuguese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/latin-american-caribbean-studies\/eric-schmitt-portuguese\/","title":{"rendered":"Eric Schmitt \u2013 Portuguese"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why did you apply for the FLAS Fellowship?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I had been studying Portuguese independently for a few years but had always wished I had studied abroad during my undergraduate degree. So, when I found out that 51ÁÔÆæ had the FLAS Fellowship, I wasn\u2019t going to miss out on my chance to study abroad again. I knew that this experience would allow me to completely immerse myself in the language and the culture, in a way that I never could in America. The summer program was also perfect for me because I don\u2019t have time to study abroad during the school year with my graduate assistantship.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What did you do for the FLAS Fellowship?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I studied in the city of S\u00e3o Paulo for the summer and was enrolled in a language course and a cultural course. We had about 5 hours of classes a day Monday-Thursday and had plenty of field visits to museums around the city, an indigenous village, and a trip to the colonial town Paraty in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Our weekends were completely open, so I was able to travel around Brazil and get to know areas outside of S\u00e3o Paulo as well.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What are you doing now?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I am working on my master\u2019s degree in electrical engineering at 51ÁÔÆæ and am working at the Center for Sustainable Electrical Energy Systems with Dr. Cuzner.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What have you learned from the experience? How have your language skills and FLAS helped or prepared you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

After this experience I can confidently say that my Portuguese fluency has grown significantly and is now in a spot that would have taken me years to reach without studying abroad. I feel much more comfortable conversing in Portuguese and have begun studying electrical engineering in Portuguese, with the goal of building up my technical vocabulary for opportunities in my future career.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why did you apply for the FLAS Fellowship? I had been studying Portuguese independently for a few years but had always wished I had studied abroad during my undergraduate degree. 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