Classroom to community

Oakland Associate Professor of Spanish Cecilia Saenz-Roby’s passion for helping others, shines through in everything she does.

She’s a beloved faculty member in Oakland’s Department of Modern Languages and Literature and a pillar in the Spanish speaking communities of Pontiac and surrounding areas thanks to her work with organizations like La Casa Amiga, Centro Multicultural La Familia and the Consulate of Mexico.

Saenz-Roby works with local organizations and high schools to help educate parents and students on how to get ready for college, apply for college, financial aid and everything in between.

“I’m an immigrant from Argentina. Even though my husband and I were college-educated, we didn’t initially understand the American educational system,” Saenz-Roby said. “Often, you need someone to guide you and explain how it works. I’ve been in that situation myself. That’s why it’s so important to inform parents—so they can support their children in navigating the system with confidence and help them succeed in high school and college. That’s why offering series of informational talks for parents at Oakland University was essential.”

The organizations Saenz-Roby works with are appreciative of her expertise and passion. Makayla Perez, a Student Success Coach for La Familia who works closely with her, says Saenz-Roby’s positive energy, dedication and collaborative nature make her someone people genuinely enjoy working with.

“She’s always so caring and kind, you can tell she’s really engaged in the work she’s doing and not because she just wants to get another student at Oakland, it’s because she cares about the Hispanic community,” Perez said. “She helps people with so many different issues and because she’s so genuine, she’s able to earn people’s trust. I think she’s an angel sent to all of the Hispanic community.”

Community resource

Saenz-Roby’s work in the community has made her a trusted and reliable source. Many of the people she works with refer her to friends and family, and her network continues to grow.

She gives a variety of presentations to parents and students that are very well attended in person, but to increase accessibility, they are also available online and often have thousands of people watching.

“Having Cecilia as a resource makes such a huge difference,” said La Familia Student Success Coach Elsa Robles, who has been collaborating with Saenz-Roby for years. “For people in the Hispanic community, it’s really hard to express what’s causing you fear or anxiety, especially when you don’t have a familiar face. Cecilia is the familiar face for so many people. The parents and students know her and are comfortable with her. They might visit OU and not know where to go, but once they see Cecilia they know they are in good hands.”

College of Arts and Sciences Dean Elaine Carey (left) and Cecilia Saenz-Roby talk to a group of students and parents.

Saenz-Roby offers bilingual classes for parents to learn English and for teachers who teach in Pontiac to learn Spanish.

“For many years, Cecilia has been the leader at OU in engagement within the Latinx community in Southeast Michigan,” College of Arts and Sciences Dean Elaine Carey, Ph.D. said. “She is known throughout Southeast Michigan, but I think the other thing that she brings is a real compassion and commitment. A compassion and commitment to the students, but also a profound commitment to Oakland University, and a passion for the university to continue to have a greater influence within the Latinx community.”

Saenz-Roby also helps the Latinx community by having her current Oakland Spanish students volunteer and provide translation services through her community outreach classes and programs.

“We are always looking for bilingual tutors and mentors for the after-school programs,” Saenz-Roby said. “There is an elementary program run by La Casa Amiga and we provide the tutors and mentors. We also provide translation for the community. We have been translating documents, flyers, manuals, medical information, etc. During my time, I think we have translated thousands of documents for the community through different organizations and non-profit organizations.”

Saenz-Roby said the relationship they’ve built is a win-win because it helps the community, but also gives Oakland students a chance to test their Spanish skills in a real-world environment.

“The students love it,” Saenz-Roby said. “They love it because they truly believe that they are providing an important service for the community. It’s a totally different situation if you are translating something for a class or translating something for the community. They love to work for the community and within the community. They learn to understand many nuances; they understand the culture. They see people suffering in the community and they can help. Many of the students start recruiting and encouraging other students to help promote the academic service-learning classes.”

Creating a community at OU

Saenz-Roby has been a professor at Oakland since 2008. During that time, she has started several student organizations including the Spanish Club, Hispanic American Leadership Organization (HALO), Sigma Delta Pi (Hispanic honor society) and the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures’ journal “Nuestras Voces.”

“My students who are learning Spanish as a second language need to have a welcoming space and relaxed space to practice Spanish,” Saenz-Roby said. “I felt we need an organization to have a meeting and practice more, because some students are shy and don’t want to speak during class time.

“Regarding HALO, I thought we needed a leadership organization to help the transition of Hispanic students, who can meet other students and feel welcome at Oakland,” Saenz-Roby added.

Recent Oakland graduate and Spanish student Joshua Hamann said he’s learned so much about the different cultures of Spanish speaking countries thanks to the work of Saenz-Roby does.

“She works incredibly hard to promote Hispanic heritage on campus,” Hamann said. “She really does a really good job promoting events on campus, getting people involved, getting people there. I remember there was a when I was in one of her classes, we had an event with some Venezuelan parents. I think every single kid in her class showed up, and it wasn’t mandatory either. Everybody just showed up because she's really passionate about what she does, and you can really feel that passion coming off of her. She loves what she does, and she is proud of what she's doing. I think it’s really making a difference in the community.”

Many of Saenz-Roby’s former students go on to work in the community or for the organizations she works with.

“Cecilia has been a faculty member at OU for quite some time, and as I understand, because I wasn't here when she arrived, that she immediately began to embrace experiential learning and getting her students the experience of working within the community,” Carey said. “By doing the work that Cecilia has been doing, connecting her students to leaders within the community, she was positioning her students to be leaders.

“Not only has she been engaged in the community herself, but she has positioned her students to take on positions within these organizations,” Carey added. “She has a vast network of former students or Latino leaders that she has met over the years, and so that is why she is readily able to bring resources and opportunities to the university, that in many ways come to benefit OU students. It's a reciprocal relationship that continues to grow.”

Hamann said many OU students follow Saenz-Roby’s lead and give back to the community.

“She’s a very active citizen in the Hispanic community,” Hamann said. “She’s always volunteering and promoting organizations like La Casa Amiga. She’s a great ambassador for the university.”

To learn more about Oakland’s Spanish program please visit: https://www.oakland.edu/languages/spanish/