College Faculty for Central

Villacis, Carlos University of Houston, M.A. - Carlos Villacis, a native of Ecuador and a product of New York City schools and colleges, has been living in Houston for the past 21 years. Prior to becoming part of HCCS, he taught for HISD, and at the University of Houston where he graduated with a Masters in Spanish Literature and Linguistics. He has volunteered his translation services to non-profit organizations such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Houston, and the Epilepsy Foundation-Southeast Texas. Currently, he serves as assistant chair for the ESL/FL/ESOL Department at Central College. His favorite poem is Solitude by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, favorite sayings:" Benevolence is its own reward, those who look for gratitude will die embittered" and "Haz el bien sin mirar a quien", favorite book: The Bible; favorite activity: teaching Spanish.

Yampey -Jorg, Gloria University of Houston, M.A. Spanish Literature and Political Science

Eomurian, Margaret  University of Texas, M.A.; University of Houston, Ph.D. -  Margaret Eomurian holds a Master's degree in Foreign Language Education from the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in English/Spanish linguistics from the University of Houston. She has been teaching ESL since 1973, both in the U.S. and abroad. Her teaching experience ranges from private institutions to community colleges and universities. In the U.S. she has taught at ELS Language Center, the Language and Culture Center of the University of Houston, the American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona, and she currently teaches in the intensive English program at the Northeast College of Houston Community College. She lived for seven years in various cities in Venezuela, where she worked at the Centro Venezolano Americano, the Universidad Metropolitana, and the Colegio Internacional de Caracas. She is fluent in Spanish and teaches Spanish along with ESL at Houston Community College. She has also had first-hand experience learning a foreign language in another country as she participated in a summer studies program for Arabic in Casablanca, Morocco. In her free time, she works as a bilingual interpreter at a local mission church

Hetrick, Crystal (SE) West Virginia University, B.A., M.Ed. -  Crystal L. Hetrick started teaching in the Intensive English program at Houston Community College in the year 2000 where she also teaches Spanish courses. She is from Morgantown, West Virginia and while living there she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Spanish and a Master's Degree in Education from West Virginia University. She has also earned a second Master's Degree, which is a combination of Spanish and English as a Second Language. She started teaching college Spanish courses at West Virginia University in 1992. She has also lived in South Carolina where she taught high school Spanish and ESL classes. In addition, she taught at Horry-Georgetown Technical College and Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina. She moved to Houston in 1998 where she has taught Spanish, ESL, and bilingual classes at the high school level and at other colleges and universities. She has studied abroad in Manizales, Colombia and in Guanajuato and Cuernavaca, Mexico. She helps students learn through interactive and cooperative classroom activities. She enjoys teaching ESL and incorporates creative activities into the curriculum to make learning more meaningful for her students.

 Vergara, Fausto G. (SE) -  Fausto G. Vergara, chair of the Arts and Languages Department at HCC-Southeast, has also been an ESL/EFL professor for the last 30 years. Vergara has taught at the college level in the U.S.A., Mexico, and Turkey. He has also trained teachers and business personnel on multicultural issues in the U.S.A. and in Turkey. Vergara, who graduated from the German School in Puebla, Mexico, has a Bachillerato from the University of Puebla. He attended the University of Puebla School of Dentistry and in the USA, he received a B.A. (Cum Laude) in Spanish with a minor in Italian, and a Master's in Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Houston in 1964 and 1966 respectively. At UT Austin, Vergara completed all the course work for a Ph.D., passed the doctoral exam in 1970, but never finished his dissertation on comparative literature (Brazilian & Mexican literatures). Vergara has co-authored four college textbooks on Spanish language and culture. For 10 years he hosted a bilingual/multicultural syndicated radio program for the Fairbanks Broadcasting Company's 12 radio stations. Vergara was born in Puebla, Mexico, and became a naturalized American citizen in 1976. Born in 1939, he speaks Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, German, and Turkish.

Lopez, Maria   

College Faculty for Southwest

Hillar, Janett  - Janett Hillar, a native of Chile, holds an M.A. from the University of Chile, an M.A. from Columbia University, N.Y., an M.A. in Spanish and an Ed.D. in Bilingual Education from the University of Houston. She has taught Spanish at HCCS since 1973 and serves as Assistant Chair for Foreign Languages at the Southwest College since 1999. She is an ACTFL Certified Oral Proficiency Tester. Her interests include Proficiency and Technology in Foreign Languages. She is coauthor of Aventura al Mundo Hispanico currently used in Span 2312 at HCCS. Since 1990 she has coordinated Spanish Study Programs in Cuernavaca, Mexico at the Spanish Language Institute (SLI ) and to Peru sponsored by Foreign Languages, Southwest College.

Grana, Maria  University of Houston, B.A., M.A., J.D. - Maria Grana is a native of Cuba. She has a BA in Spanish and History, a MA in Spanish, and a JD from the University of Houston. She has published Spanish Literary Readings for Spanish 2311 and Aventura al Mundo Hispanico for Spanish 2312. From 1992 to 1999, she was the Foreign Languages Department head for the Southwest College.

Maria T. Rocha Ph.D., a native of Argentina, received her doctorate degree from the University of Texas at Austin in the field of Spanish Language, Latin America and Spanish Literature, and Literary Criticism.  She has taught language and literature courses at various institutions of higher learning, including Texas Tech U., University of Texas at Austin, Centre College of Kentucky, Rice U., and at various campuses of Houston Community College.  Currently she is a full time professor at HCCS Southwest, where she teaches all levels of Spanish as well as the Dual Credit language courses for the Challenge Early College High School Program.  On her spare time Dr. Rocha likes to travel, and has taken groups of Medical physicians and personnel to various countries in Latin America.  She also enjoys world literature, archeology, music, art history, and nature..