For Spanish Minor Riley Minns, Madrid Offered Countless Opportunities for Growth and Exploration

in Global Matters
April 7th, 2025

For Riley Minns (CAS ’26), learning never stops and curiosity is constant. She has participated in not one, but two Study Abroad programs in Madrid, Spain, a city she loves for its culture, pleasant weather most of the year, and beautiful Spanish language.

“I’m a Spanish minor, and I’ve been taking Spanish since middle school, so I wanted to study somewhere where I could be speaking the language every day and become more fluent in it,” Minns says. “Through these experiences, I’ve found that I surprised myself with how much I know every day and how well I could speak to my classmates and host families.”

Minns was also pleasantly surprised by how friendly and welcoming she found everyone to be when she practiced conversing while out and about, enjoying the city’s many cafes and restaurants. “I’ve found they love that you’re trying, and they’re willing to help you learn even more.”

While Minns didn’t feel comfortable with her speaking abilities 100 percent of the time, she recognized the profound learning opportunity in front of her and embraced it.

“Being uncomfortable is something study abroad teaches you,” she says, reflecting on the growth she’s achieved. “This allows you to grow as a person and do things you may be uncomfortable with at first. Being in Madrid, every day was a new adventure, even though that sounds cheesy. But it’s the truth – you just have to be ready to go and roll with the punches.”

She embraced this mentality in all aspects of her experience, including seizing what she calls “the invaluable experience” of living with Spanish host families. Minns recounts the lasting connections she wouldn’t have otherwise made, saying, “I still talk to the host family I had last year, and I’m sure I’ll continue to stay in touch with my host family from this year because I’ve enjoyed that so much.”

In the program she participated in last spring, Spanish and European Studies, Minns took four classes at the Instituto Internacional en España. Her studies focused on Spanish and European art, cinema, history, literature, culture, and politics.

“My literature class focused on different movements in Spain’s history,” Minns adds. “For our final paper, we chose a book written by a Spanish author and connected the work to some aspect of our experience in Madrid.”

Minns also took a cinema class, where she watched different films directed by Spanish directors or that were made in Spain and analyzed the films.

“Sometimes thinking about writing a 10-page paper in a second language was a challenge,” she says. “But I think it has given me more confidence in my abilities to write and speak in Spanish. It was very beneficial for me, and I think I’m better for having had that experience.”

This spring semester, Minns enrolled directly at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, where she took two elective courses – both studying history. She also participated in an internship at CSIC, the Consejos Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, in its Instituto de Filosofía–FISOPOL Group (Social and Political Philosophy). In this role, she did historical research for one of the government ministries in Spain.

“I was excited to do this in a professional setting because it’s something totally different and new for me,” she says.

At the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, she attended classes alongside native speakers and, once more, experienced life with a Spanish family in a homestay.

“Taking classes fully in Spanish with a Spanish professor and Spanish students was a bit of an adjustment, but it’s been good,” Minns says. “I think if you can challenge yourself, you should do it. Because you only gain something from it; you’re not going to lose anything.”