The Department of Spanish & Portuguese is delighted to announce this year’s Marsha Gray Ehrlich Scholarship Fund recipients. Marsha Gray Ehrlich was a former graduate student in our Department, and an inspirational teacher during her long professional career. She received a Master of Arts, with a major in Spanish, on August 17, 1968. She carried the preparation she received from our Department and her joy for Spanish to New York, where she taught Spanish and Latin in public schools for more than thirty years, before retiring in 2002. Ms. Ehrlich carried her love and passion for languages inside and outside the classroom, inspiring colleagues and family alike.
Junior Joscelyn Brennan will graduate in Spring 2026 with majors in Biology and Spanish and a certificate in Global Health. She volunteers at the Neighborhood House Community Center, an organization that in Joscelyn’s words “plays a crucial role in providing fundamental resources, such as food security, to the Hispanic community, which is one of the largest groups benefiting from its services.” She has also worked in the Community Resource Navigator Program (CRNP), a service-learning program run through UW Health that assists people in navigating the intricacies of the healthcare system and social and legal services. Her knowledge of Spanish has been extremely important in assisting members of the Hispanic community who are served by both of these organizations. Joscelyn is extremely grateful to the donors for this recognition, which will help her pursue her long-term goal of becoming a medical professional dedicated to providing care for underserved populations.
Learning Spanish has helped me see, feel, and understand a world beyond my own.
Junior Sage Peralez will graduate in Fall 2025 with a major in Management and Human Resources and a certificate in Spanish Studies for Business Students. She volunteers at the Job Readiness branch of El Centro Hispano de Dane Country, where she helps people in the local Hispanic community build resumes in English and utilize resources to connect with employers in the area. Sage expressed her deepest gratitude to the donors for their generosity, and is thankful for receiving an award that recognizes her for “working in spaces that combine my love for Spanish, my business knowledge, and my passion for helping the community.” She plans on pursuing a career in which she can continue to utilize her bilingual skills in order to do community-oriented work related to professional development and human resources.
Volunteering at El Centro Hispano de Dane County has been so deeply rewarding—not only because I get to speak the language I love and have studied for years, but because it has also taught me the importance of empathy. My role has helped me learn to see through the eyes of others and approach every interaction with greater understanding and compassion.
We congratulate these students on their sustained commitment to community service.