Spanish NHS Guest Speaker March:

 By: Willa Hoerauf 
Last Wednesday, Spanish National Honors Society welcomed guest speaker Kirk Hoerauf. As an on-site commercial manager for the company Air Liquide, Kirk talked about his previous use of Spanish in and outside of his job. He discussed how he originally became familiar with the language in high school, and by his senior year took a nine month long trip to Mexico. In Durango, Kirk went to high school at El Colegio de Sciencias y Humanidades, as well stayed in a Mexican household. He used Spanish daily to communicate with his peers, teachers and host family. Kirk admitted that although it was quite difficult at first, he managed to utilize the language to make many great connections. After attending Michigan State, Kirk worked for the company AGA, where he was a financial analyst. One of his jobs included spending three months in various cities in Mexico; including Mexico City, Monterey and many others. In Mexico, he did research and presented information to various potential clients in the steel and glass industries. Kirk told the group that it was important to use Spanish during negotiations to make his clients feel more comfortable, and to create a greater connection between the two companies.  
He lastly described how he was able to use his Spanish in the States. Kirk said he communicated with Hispanic clients while working in California. More recently, he also used his Spanish to negotiate business with clients and fishermen all around New England. Kirk told the class that being able to use any language in a business situation is more favorable in strengthening connections with your clients, as well as being able to seem more professional overall. We enjoyed hearing about his experiences!