Corey Friedman graduated with a B.A. in Spanish Culture & Lit, with minors in French and German. He was first a student and later the program assistant for the Madrid Summer Program. Here is how he described his experiences in Madrid: “I first came to Spain with the Madrid Summers program in 2015, where I held a six-week internship at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales. My duties involved translation of museum documents, administrative tasks, and leadership in their educational summer camps. My initial sojourn in Madrid was transformative but finally, all too short. Upon returning to the United States I began seeking ways to go back to Spain, but for longer. In 2017 I was fortunate to be hired by Harry Vélez to work the summer immediately after my graduation as the program assistant, a role in which I helped students navigate daily life as well as their internships in the large, challenging city of Madrid. When the program came to an end, I stayed in the city, where I received a placement as an English teacher in a public elementary school. My first year as an English teacher was truly life-changing, and inspired me to renew my contract with the same school. Today, I am still in Madrid, where I plan to remain for the foreseeable future to study for a masters in translation. I never would have imagined that my initial study abroad experience with Madrid Summers in 2015 would lead me establish the roots I did in such a foreign land, but it is thanks to that program that Madrid is now the place I call home.”