Campus News - October 15, 2001

Mexico City native teaches cultural acceptance to youth

By Laurie Mellas-Ramirez

Maria Casellas-KellyA native of Mexico City, Maria Casellas-Kelly shares firsthand knowledge of Latin America with local youth through her work as education specialist for the UNM Center for Latin American Resources and Outreach (CLARO).

“It’s so important to be aware of other cultures. We see that especially now, unfortunately,” she says, acknowledging the recent attacks on America. “You have to start teaching kids to be accepting when they are young.”

Funded by the Title VI Higher Education Act, the center is a function of the UNM Latin American and Iberian Institute (LAII).

The “R” in CLARO is curriculum guides, videos, recordings, maps and books available for loan to K-8 teachers and their students. Casellas-Kelly is the “O.”

“I’ve always done outreach for LAII. I was working with the schools and I saw a greater need. With CLARO, we make a real connection between schools and UNM. I am a product of the University. I talk to the students as a real human being who was educated at UNM and is thankful for it. We have so many programs that are excellent,” says Casellas-Kelly, who earned both her master’s and Ph.D. from UNM in Latin American and Iberian history.

Teachers frequently request that she come in as a guest speaker. Casellas-Kelly may up show up in a classroom to talk about current politics, a typical school day for Mexican children or how literature and history relate.

“Invariably, whatever I plan for the day I never do it because the phone rings and I hear ‘Can you help…?’” she says. “I like the human contact and the variety of my job. I don’t like to sit behind a desk all day.”

She got her start at UNM as a teaching assistant in the language department from 1975-'79. She departed to teach at St. Pius X High School, but returned as a lecturer in 1987. She joined LAII in 1988.

Last May, Casellas-Kelly and Rosario De Santis co-directed the first annual Ibero-American Poetry Contest for first through fifth graders. Children memorized and recited poems in Spanish competing for prizes donated by the UNM Bookstore. “The contest helps the children with language and it’s good for their self-confidence. It’s hard to stand in front of a group and speak – even for adults,” she says.

A teacher shared with Casellas-Kelly that for at least one little girl the trip to UNM was her first venture out of the South Valley.
“I like the children to see that there is whole world out there full of discoveries,” she says. “I get a lot of satisfaction watching kids do something different and knowing I contributed to it.”

The second annual poetry contest will be held in April at UNM. Spring also marks a return to teaching for Casellas-Kelly. She will offer an undergraduate course on the Spanish Civil War, 1936-'39, through the Honors Program.

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