Molly Arévalo: Babel in the Desert

On this episode of Language Goes to School, we speak with Molly Arévalo, a lifelong educator and language learner, whose journey reflects the complexity of heritage language identity. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Molly was raised in an English-only household in the mainland U.S. She later worked intentionally to reclaim Spanish as an academic, professional, and personal language. She studied Spanish and Sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz (go Banana Slugs!), refined her Spanish while living in Chile, and began her teaching career with Teach For America on the U.S.–Mexico border in South Texas. Molly went on to teach bilingual elementary students, adult ESL and citizenship classes, and Spanish in Los Angeles for more than 20 years, earning two master’s degrees from California State University, Los Angeles in Bilingual/Multicultural Education and TESOL. She now serves as Associate Director of the Language Learning Center at the University of New Mexico, where she supports language learning across campus. Still studying French, while keeping her ambitions focused on several other languages, Molly embodies the idea that language learning is never finished.  To see a photo of Molly holding her award, go to Instagram and search for @unmllc. The photo was posted on February 19, 2026.To listen to Ben Wilson on ESPN radio, go to: https://cagedminds.com/2026/02/caged-minds-fight-hour-ep-4-ben-wilson-on-bob-foster/Send us Fan MailSupport the showContact us!Text: Click on Send us a Text Message in the episode view of your appInstagram & Facebook: @languagegoestoschoolEmail: [email protected]: https://languagegoestoschool.buzzsprout.com