Julie Poapst

Julie Poapst is a Spanish Teaching Fellow and Residential Advisor at SEGL in London. For as long as she can remember, she aspired to be a teacher. During high school, her family moved to Mexico so she and her sister could learn more about their Mexican heritage and be closer to her mother’s family. (Her mother was born in Guadalajara, Mexico.) During the two years they lived in Mexico, they traveled all over the country, visiting large cities, quaint colonial towns, world-renowned museums, Aztec and Mayan ruins, beach resorts, and attending many special family events. After this once-in-a-lifetime experience, she knew she wanted to be a Spanish teacher. Julie then moved to Silicon Valley in California. She completed her last year of high school in San Jose, took a Creative Year (gap year) to travel to Japan and take courses at Stanford, and then applied to the Queen’s University concurrent B.Ed. / BA Honors program with a major in Hispanic Studies. She completed her teaching practicum in her second year at a Spanish immersion school in Atherton, California. During her third year, she participated in an academic exchange to the University of Salamanca in Spain and traveled extensively throughout Europe. She served as a Queen’s Residence Advisor for two years and was awarded the Queen’s Residence Life High Table Award for a formal dinner she organized with one of her Spanish professors as a special guest speaker. In 2022, she completed the rigorous and competitive MA program in Hispanic Literatures and Cultures at the University of Toronto on a full scholarship. In addition to achieving success in all eight of her postgraduate Spanish courses, she was a Spanish Teaching Assistant for approximately 75 students during the fall, winter, and summer semesters. To her future students she says, “¡Mucho éxito!” (Best of success!)