By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Rachael Carden knows what it’s like to live in a foreign country where the people speak a language different from your own.
A 2004 graduate of Hartselle High School, she spent nearly two months this summer studying Spanish at Cardenal Cisneros, an institution of higher learning located in Alkali’ de Hanares, a city of 300,000 located in central Spain.
Carden, a senior at the University of Alabama, shared the experience with about 40 other collegians, most of whom are pursuing careers in Spanish education or other fields where bilingual skills are essential.
Carden said one of the highlight of her stay was going solo to Valencia on the east coast. She took a bullet train and got there in three hours.
She was also in Madrid and watched Spain’s national soccer team win the Eurocup championship in Austria. She and thousands of local fans watched the match on a large outdoor television screen.
Carden said her plans are to pursue a master’s degree in Spanish education at Bowling Green University in Ohio following her graduation. She added she wants to be in a position to pursue a doctorate if she decides to teach at the college level.
Carden is the daughter of Patty Sanderson and Dale Carden, both of Hartselle and the stepdaughter of Heath Sanderson and Leslie Carden, also of Hartselle. She is the sister of Joe Carden, who graduated from HHS last May and the stepsister of Michael and Patrick Edmondson, both students at HHS.