Education & Professional History
Universidad Pablo de Olavide, MA
Fernando Contreras is a Spanish lecturer at Carleton College whose teaching centers on language, social justice, and experiential learning. He teaches beginning and intermediate Spanish and mentors students through language study, with particular emphasis on narrative, migration, and cross-cultural engagement. He holds a master’s degree in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language and a BA in International Relations.
In 2024, Fernando designed and led Carleton’s Social Justice and Cultural Immersion Program in Mexico, an interdisciplinary initiative combining language learning, community engagement, Indigenous collaboration, and digital storytelling. Students worked closely with local communities in Mexico City and Cuernavaca, producing public-facing StoryMaps and reflective narratives that explored migration, identity, and belonging.
He is also co-leading Carleton’s first Borderlands Trip in Spring 2026, an immersive program at the U.S.–Mexico border focused on art, migration, human rights, and community resilience. The program brings students into dialogue with local organizers, artists, and advocacy groups to deepen their understanding of borderlands histories and contemporary realities.
Fernando previously served as President of the Minnesota chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese and has been a Spanish Reader for the Advanced Placement Program at Educational Testing Service. His international teaching experience includes work in Mexico, Japan, Russia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.
Beyond academia, Fernando has worked as a bilingual tour director in Mexico, Ecuador, and Peru, and as an External Relations Intern at the Charles Darwin Research Station in the Galápagos Islands. His global and interdisciplinary background informs his commitment to culturally responsive pedagogy, ethical engagement, and transformative learning experiences.
Professional History:
Instructor of Spanish at Prague Metropolitan University – Prague, Czech Republic
Instructor of Spanish at Instituto Cervantes – Prague, Czech Republic
Instructor of Spanish at BKC International House – Podolsk, Russia
Instructor of Spanish at SAIFA Organization – Sakurai, Japan
Instructor of History of Mexico in the 20th century – Mexico City, Mexico
At Carleton since 2014.
Organizations & Scholarly Affiliations
American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
