Laura Range was born and raised in San Antonio, where she gained frequent exposure to the Spanish language and Latin American culture. Despite the fact that she began her formal Spanish language training at age 3, Spanish was not a purely academic endeavor—instead, it was a key to unlocking the rich and interesting culture around her. She acquired the language as much by attending Quincieneras and celebrating el dia de fiesta as by learning grammar in the classroom, and such natural and relevant language acquisition helped her to love the “lengua”. By the time she graduated from high school, she was the President of the Spanish Club and the National Spanish Honor Society, was named the outstanding Spanish student of her 500+ graduating class, served as a Spanish teaching assistant, and received a Spanish scholarship.
In college, as God began to clarify His call on her life, Laura increasingly strove to use her gifts to build up His kingdom. In addition to taking upper-level Spanish courses, Laura enrolled in a class called Spanish for Christian Ministry, which unlocked numerous opportunities for service. Laura incorporated her gift of teaching and her love of language to teach a Bible study in Spanish for a group of under-privileged children, and began to see the incredible joy that comes from sharing your faith with someone in their heart language. Since then, she has done short-term missions in Spain and Mexico.
Laura and her husband, Clay, moved to Massachusetts in 2005, when Laura began studying Church History at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. During this time, in addition to serving in positions related to her concentration (including serving as a Church History Teaching Fellow and as the Byington Scholar for two professors), she fell in love with another language: Greek. Laura served two terms as a Greek Teaching assistant before her graduation in 2008, eventually becoming the Head TA. Laura strives to teach language like she learned it: making it as fun, natural, and memorable as possible. Her innovative teaching methods, including creating songs, toys, and activities designed to maximize learning, earned her superlative reviews from students and professors alike.
Laura is thrilled to join the New Hope family, and can’t wait to help students learn to love the Spanish language as much as she does!
Why study Spanish?
• Because if you can speak Spanish and English, you can communicate with 70% of the world.
• Because it enables you to speak with 350 million native speakers in 21 countries.
• Because Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn and speak. The grammar is clear, there are relatively few exceptions to the rules, and for the most part, words are spelled like they sound!
• Because it is the second most used language in international communication. There are SO many Spanish speakers across the world that even CHINA now has a Spanish television channel.
• Because there are a lot of native Spanish-speakers who need to hear about Jesus, and it is a special thing to go on a mission trip and be able to share your faith with someone in their own heart language.
• Because if you are going to be a high-school Freshman next year, by the time you’re in your mid-fifties an estimated 50% of the US population will be Spanish-speaking. When it comes to getting a job, being bilingual is really helpful.
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