Student Spotlight Gabe Grabowski

During his semester with Westmont in Mexico, Gabe Grabowski ’19 loved speaking Spanish and learning about and being a part of Mexican culture. When he returned to campus, he started tutoring students in Spanish to get more opportunities to speak the language and to form a community. 

He spends two evenings a week in the library working individually with Spanish students. “A lot of regulars come by, and I enjoy watching them grow as Spanish speakers,” he says. “One of my goals is empowering students to find answers for themselves and make myself obsolete.” 

A co-leader of the Potter’s Clay vacation Bible school team, Gabe has done some translation for the ministry. “The pastors I’ve met in Mexico have really influenced me,” he says. 

He comes from Spokane, Washington, and majors in both Spanish and history. “I love the conversations we have in history classes,” he says. “I think we can ask good questions of the past and the present.” 

Gabe has applied for a Fulbright Scholarship to hold writing workshops in Argentina for a year in 2020. He has also asked about working with Westmont in Mexico in fall 2019. He thinks about pursuing teaching or writing as a career. 

“Westmont professors really care for students,” he says. “That’s why I want to be a teacher and a good tutor.”