Theresa Kallal studied in Angers, France, at the Catholic University of the West during the fall semester. Over the summer, she hiked the Camino de Santiago, a centuries-old pilgrimage path in northwest Spain, during a faculty-led study abroad program. (Photo courtesy of Theresa Kallal)

This summer, Theresa Kallal was trekking the Camino de Santiago, a centuries-old pilgrimage path in northwest Spain, when she was compelled to stop.

Kallal took in the stunning vistas surrounding her – rolling, verdant hills shrouded in mist – as she made her way from small village to small village with a group of fellow students and faculty members from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. One day, as she approached a crossroads, she spied a crowd gathering.

Upon closer inspection, fellow pilgrims had stopped to listen to a local man on the path. For 15 years, he had set up shop at that exact spot offering 1-euro pilgrimage stamps to passersby. However, the previous year, he’d decided to travel the whole Camino with his loyal dog. After walking hundreds of miles and completing his personal journey, his dog passed. But he told the crowd that it was all right; that same year, he had the joy of experiencing new life because his daughter was born.

Kallal stood with strangers, absorbing the man’s wisdom, and though spontaneous, it was an incredibly meaningful experience.

“He was saying, ‘You have to find your rhythm; you have to find your path. The Camino relays what’s next for you,’” she said. “When you’re walking it, you’re not alone. You’re connected to people from 1,000 years ago who have been doing this. It felt like it left you with an intention. He gave us all a hug, and it was very meaningful. I won’t forget it.”

Kallal was able to take part in such a transformative experience and chart her own path for the future through UMSL. This spring, she expects to graduate from the Department of Language and Cultural Studies with a dual bachelor’s degree in French and Spanish and has already secured a teaching position in France post graduation.

During her time at the university, she excelled academically, earning the Curators, Rhine Family, Study Abroad and Kit Bond Scholarships, and participated in study abroad opportunities in France and Spain. She accomplished this while also working part time at the Bogey Golf Club and interning at Graybar Electric.

Classical training

Kallal grew up in south St. Louis County, but her answer to the customary St. Louisan question, “Where did you go to high school?” is a bit unusual. Kallal attended the Holy Name of Jesus Academy, a Catholic boarding school located in upstate New York about 10 minutes from the Canadian border.

The international student body and classes in French, Greek and Latin spurred Kallal’s interest in languages from an early age. She was enthralled by ancient Greek mythology and plays, from Odysseus to Sophocles.

After graduating high school, she earned a scholarship to study in Saint Louis University’s Greek and Latin language and literature program. Though the opportunity was appealing, her family convinced her to take courses at St. Louis Community College before moving onto a four-year institution. She earned an associate degree in general studies before transferring to Saint Mary’s College in Kansas.

Kallal decided on another two-year associate program before making her next move. By that time, she had also begun learning Spanish in addition to French. Her background in Latin – the root of Romance languages – helped her pick it up quickly.

“It was just an easy transition,” she said. “I was studying French, and then once I graduated high school, I thought, ‘OK, well, Spanish is a lot more practical,’ so I started to do that. It’s really fun to find the roots of words and then to realize that you know a lot more than you thought you did, because they all stem from the same place.”

Dual paths

UMSL’s affordable tuition and the ease of transferring – the university accepted all her credits from both schools – made it an attractive option to finish her education. However, it was the comprehensive language and cultural studies program that sealed the deal for Kallal.

“It was the fact that they offered a language program where you could study the exact two languages I was interested in at the same time,” she explained. “And they offered, specifically, a trip to Strasbourg in the French program. I didn’t end up going on that, but that was really the clincher for me, because I had constructed my French honors course in community college on a fictitious study-abroad program in Strasbourg. I saw that, and I was like, ‘Oh, it’s a sign!’”

Kallal enrolled in the department’s Dual Language Professional Track. The unique modern language bachelor’s program is designed to meet the increasing demand for multilingual professionals with coursework that focuses on cultivating language proficiency, intercultural competency and professional skills. Students pursue intermediate studies in two of three languages: French, Japanese or Spanish.

The program was perfect for Kallal’s indecisive nature. She had studied French for so long that she didn’t want to set it by the wayside, but she was also attracted to the beauty and practicality of speaking Spanish in the U.S. So, she thought, “Why not both?”

Amy D’Agrosa, associate teaching professor of Spanish; Sandra Trapani teaching professor of French and chair of the department; and Violaine White, associate teaching professor of French, have served as mentors to Kallal during her time in the program.

“Theresa has an innate confidence particularly around adaptability and her ability to create connections with people in cross-cultural settings in a variety of environments,” D’Agrosa said. “Theresa has a magnetic personality that seems to be a bridge to connecting with people from a variety of cultural backgrounds. She engages others with warmth, curiosity, empathy and acceptance.”

D’Agrosa and White imparted the idea that foreign languages were not just subjects on Kallal’s course schedule, but also an essential part of her life. With that in mind, they encouraged her to take advantage of UMSL Global’s diverse study abroad options.

Kallal knew she needed Spanish credits and a program that would accommodate her work and school schedule. At a fall study abroad fair, she landed on the summer trip to Santiago de Compostela led by D’Agrosa.

The three-week program includes two weeks of classes in Santiago de Compostela – the picturesque capital of the autonomous region of Galicia – and six days walking the Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James in English.

Kallal was a bit worried about the logistics, but at every turn, it seemed like there was someone telling her to go – even total strangers. While working her part-time job as a server at the Bogey Golf Club, she happened to wait on a guest from Spain.

“I was like, ‘Hey, I have an opportunity to go, but it’s kind of expensive,’” she recalled. “He said, ‘Oh, you need to go. Spain’s a beautiful country. You’re not going to regret it.’ Everyone I kept asking, from my family to my friends, they all said, ‘Don’t worry about the money right now. Go. You’re going to want that experience with your classmates. You’re going to want it for yourself.’”

The long road

The Camino de Santiago is considered one of the most significant Christian pilgrimages in the world. It was established after the remains of St. James the Great were discovered in the 9th Century and became a chief holy route of medieval Christianity in the 10th Century. Today, various paths from the French, Portuguese and Spanish countryside lead to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the rumored resting place of St. James, an apostle of Jesus.

After the academic portion of the program, the study abroad group was driven to the countryside, where they began the six-day journey back to Santiago. Each day, Kallal and her cohorts walked about 14 miles between resting points, following yellow arrows painted on the grass.

Kallal was struck by the power of silence and how the group came together through shared hardship. Indeed, an integral part of the pilgrimage is perseverance and being present along a path thousands of others have walked over the centuries.

“We all come from different places in our lives, and some of us maybe have a different view of ourselves,” she said. “But we were all able to connect through this one walk, which I thought was really cool. I saw some people pray, and they said they’d never prayed before in their lives. I thought that was really neat.”

Though Kallal admits not every single moment of the trek was inspiring.

“One day, I tried to wash my clothes in the sink and have them dry overnight, but it rained four of the days that we were walking, so they were still wet,” she said. “I hung them on my backpack all day as we walked, and they dropped a couple times as we were walking through farms. After 24 hours, my socks were still wet, and my clothes smelled like donkey.”

After returning from Spain, Kallal completed her multidisciplinary internship at Graybar – she liked outside sales the best – and began packing her suitcase again.

C’est la vie

For the past several months, Kallal has lived and studied in Angers, a small city sitting at the confluence of the Mayenne, Sarthe and Loir Rivers in northwest France. She earned an external scholarship to study abroad this fall and chose Angers on White’s recommendation.

Kallal has enjoyed the charm of the locals, small bistros and especially the multi-course homemade dinners with her host family, while taking classes at the Catholic University of the West. Though the only hiking on this trip has been to the local market for fresh produce.

Because of the rigorous language education at UMSL, she has been able to take courses completely in French and make new friends with ease. Her education at the Catholic University of the West will fulfill the requirements of her bachelor’s degree later this month, and it has helped her land a position as an assistant teacher at a girls school in the Alsace region after graduation.

“Her seizing this chance to spend more time abroad just speaks to her motivation and confidence,” Trapani said. “I have no doubt that she’ll make great contribution to the school and be an excellent cultural ambassador.”

She’s not sure how long she’ll stay in France, but for now, but she’s taking things one step at a time.

“It’s something the Camino taught me – we take a lot of time, silence, to figure out our souls and what’s good for us, as far as what we want apart from what we need,” Kallal said. “So, I’m going to treat these next six months, January to May, as another Camino, another walk just figuring out what I need, what’s best right now.”