Beyond Our Backyards
“I enjoy the smallness of Central. I like the atmosphere. It’s been good for me.”
— Allison Krogstad
Allison Krogstad, professor of Spanish, has a love for Guatemala that she shares with students through every Latin America course she teaches. As she shares her passion for Hispanic cultures and the Spanish language, she embodies the value of connecting with others and seeing the world beyond our backyard.
Observing 25 years at Central College, Krogstad celebrates the meaningful experiences she’s enjoyed and looks forward to the next adventure.
Krogstad was originally attracted to Central because of the team of Spanish professors and the location, leading her to accept a position at Central right after graduate school at the University of Minnesota.
“I wanted to be at a small liberal arts college,” Krogstad says. “Choosing Central worked out.”
Twenty-five years later, she believes it still is the right place.
“I enjoy the smallness of Central,” she says. “I like the atmosphere. It’s been good for me. So, I’m still here.”
Looking back, Krogstad recalls a favorite moment early in her career while teaching a service-learning course. Two students found a volunteer opportunity where they helped people fill out immigration paperwork.
“It was such a powerful experience for the students,” Krogstad shares. “I always remember that fondly. The students helped people in a very real way and understood how serious it all was. They got it!”
Most highlights in Krogstad’s career have one thing in common: they take place in Guatemala.
“Guatemala is my place,” Krogstad says. “There’s nothing more powerful than studying abroad. It gets you in contact with other people and helps you learn to communicate with others. The world needs that right now.”
In 2011, 2012 and 2013, Krogstad led alternative Spring Break service trips to Guatemala. Each year, a group traveled to a town on Lake Atitlán to volunteer. The village had an environmental program that the Central groups helped support.
Krogstad continues her travels to Guatemala through faculty-led programs. Her recent trips there included one-on-one Spanish classes for her students, excursions and study of beautiful locations. She’s planning a new class, which will involve a service trip to Guatemala to build houses for families in need.
From exploring the Pacaya volcano to seeing wild animals in Tikal, each experience provides opportunities to see the world in a new light.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for students to see different cultural, socioeconomic and language contexts,” she says. “And it’s so special to observe what the environment and its natural beauty has to offer.”
For Krogstad, a trip to Guatemala is always a possibility to make a world of difference for Central students. She looks forward to continuing to expand on her program and show students the power of traveling and engaging with people of different cultures.
Twenty-five years at Central has been impactful, but she still carries the same passion to connect with students and provide meaningful educational experiences.
“The most important thing I do is send students away, either for a semester program or a short-term faculty-led program,” she says. “That’s number one for what I’ve done here.”