Bio

Sandra Ovalles is currently an adjunct instructor at the University of South Carolina
Lancaster, joining the university in 2012. She is also the Chair of the Department of World Languages at Lancaster High School, serving in this position since 2011. Ovalles has over twenty years of education experience, striving to be a positive mentor for her students each and every day and to model that with hard work, perseverance, and determination, many positive things can be accomplished.

She has taught the following courses during her time at the University of South Carolina Lancaster:
SPAN 109 -Beginning Spanish I
SPAN 110 -Beginning Spanish II
SPAN 122 -Basic Proficiency in Spanish
Classroom Conversational Spanish for Teachers
Introduction to Spanish for TRIO -Upward-Bound Summer Virtual Experience 2020

Previously, Ovalles taught Spanish at Winthrop University where she also presented on topics related to English Learners. She has also presented extensively on topics related to second language acquisition for the Olde English Consortium in South Carolina and has worked collaboratively with teachers on curriculum writing. Ovalles was the recipient of High School Teacher of the year by the Lancaster County School District in 2010.

A proud immigrant from the Dominican Republic, Ovalles holds a Master's Degree in Spanish from Winthrop University plus 30 additional content credit hours and a Bachelor's Degree in Anthropology and English -Creative Writing from Herbert H. Lehman College CUNY. She also holds an AP certification in Spanish and Culture from Winthrop University, an NBCT in Spanish, and a TESOL certification from Winthrop University.