HWS News
28 May 2026 Finding Her Voice in Bilingual Education
After gaining hands-on experience in bilingual education, Emely Martinez ’25 has been accepted into Hunter College’s M.S. in Bilingual Education program.
Emely Martinez’s path to bilingual education is rooted in both personal experience and hands-on work. As a bilingual student herself, she was naturally drawn to the field, but her time with TutorCorps at Hobart and William Smith solidified that interest.
During a tutoring session with a Geneva City School District student, Martinez was instructed to conduct the lesson in English. However, she realized the child lacked the foundation to learn effectively in the language. Instead, she taught the lesson in Spanish, and eventually, made progress in teaching the child English sentences.
“It’s a joy to be able to work with kids in the fundamental years of their life,” says Martinez ’25, who graduated magna cum laude in philosophy with a minor in Latin American studies.
Martinez’s time at HWS extended beyond the classroom. In addition to tutoring, she worked at Legal Assistance of Western New York in Geneva and served on campus as a philosophy teaching fellow. She credits these experiences to the strength of the HWS network.
“The HWS network is amazing,” she says. “It helped me discover internships and work experiences.”
In the classroom, Martinez found mentorship from Professor of Spanish, Latin American and Bilingual Studies Fernando Rodriguez-Mansilla, whose courses pushed her beyond introductory language study and encouraged her to explore Spanish more deeply.
Currently, Martinez works with bilingual learners in grades one through six at Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School in New York City.
As she moves forward, Martinez hopes to be an educator who listens to her students and treats them with respect. She wants to teach confidence, kindness and emotional awareness while fostering a classroom where students are curious and fall in love with learning.
Her long-term goal is to support students navigating language gaps between home and school. She is particularly passionate about helping students who may fall behind when language learning can’t be reinforced outside the classroom.
Martinez also hopes to see broader changes in bilingual education across the United States, particularly increased access to curriculum and resources that help students stay on track academically.
