Center for International Education<\/a> to find a CofC-affiliated program that would transfer her courses seamlessly \u2013 she studied abroad in the spring 2026 semester. Bagwell looked into volunteer opportunities as soon as she arrived in Seville.<\/p>\n\u201cBeing a Heart Math tutor makes me feel like I am part of Charleston, and I wanted that same experience in Seville,\u201d says Bagwell, who began looking for volunteer opportunities as soon as she arrived in the historic city.<\/p>\n
She found a position as a volunteer language assistant at a local elementary school, leading an English class twice a week using a combination of Spanish and English. Working closely with local students and teachers gave her a unique window into the culture and traditions of Seville and helped her better understand and appreciate celebrations such as Holy Week and Feria de Abril (April Fair), which honors the region\u2019s rich cultural heritage.<\/p>\n
She also learned that there are commonalities everywhere you go.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a kid is so universal,\u201d says Bagwell, who enjoyed recess on the roof with the students. \u201cKids are so kind and ready to learn. Just like the Heart Math students, they were excited and eager to participate in class.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like her students, Bagwell was eager to learn. She took an international marketing class at the University of Seville that was entirely in Spanish, as well as Spanish linguistics, Spanish literature and Spanish for health professionals.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was interesting to see how the U.S. is perceived by other countries,\u201d says Bagwell of her international marketing class. \u201cThe U.S. was recognized for technology and innovation, while Asia was viewed as having rapid manufacturing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bagwell struggled with not speaking the language fluently, but slowly grew accustomed to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNot understanding was really hard for me when someone would ask me a question at the bus stop,\u201d says Bagwell. \u201cStill, everyone was really kind, and it made me realize the importance of taking back that grace when I am in the U.S. speaking with people struggling with the language.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bagwell admits she experienced a degree of culture shock, not only with being in Spain, but also with living in a dormitory with students from all over the world. The familiarity of volunteering in a classroom helped a lot.<\/p>\n
\u201cLearning through the kids helped me get accustomed to life in Seville more quickly,\u201d she says. \u201cMore importantly, if gave me a connection to the local community and culture that I wouldn\u2019t have otherwise experienced.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bagwell encourages others studying abroad to take advantage of volunteer opportunities, too \u2013\u00a0and so does Melissa Ochal, director of the Center for International Education.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudying abroad is more than taking classes in a new place; it\u2019s learning about your host city, its residents and its culture,\u201d says Ochal. \u201cWhen students volunteer or simply spend time getting to know their new community, they gain language confidence, cultural fluency and a sense of belonging that can transform a semester into a life-changing experience.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Above: Lali Bagwell (left) with the teacher she assisted at Calder\u00f3n de la Barca elementary school For Lali…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42066,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[7070,19513,19514,19515,19516,19517,109,2933],"class_list":["post-42065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-seville","tag-community","tag-community-engagement","tag-culture-languages","tag-homepage-feed","tag-school-languages-cultures-world-affairs","tag-service-learning","tag-seville","tag-study-abroad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Lali](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/lali-.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Lali](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/lali-bagwell-225x300.jpg\")
Lali Bagwell (left) with a friend at the Feria de Abril in Seville, Spain<\/p>\n