Jessica Haugsland teaches beginning and intermediate courses in language and culture. She enjoys sparking curiosity in her students, helping them develop critical thinking skills, building confidence in their abilities, and highlighting how the skills they learn in a liberal arts Spanish classroom transfer to other aspects of their life and future.

Jessica spent a number of formative years living in San José, Costa Rica, where she received her master’s degree from the University of Costa Rica. While there, she worked as a program assistant for the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) Costa Rica, taught university courses and developed specialized training for professionals in areas such as intellectual property, commercial and investment banking, IT, industrial engineering, and anti-money laundering. Later on, she enjoyed leading a St. Olaf Spanish 234 J-term course to Costa Rica. In January of 2020, she embarked on a journey to work with middle schoolers in Cercedilla, Spain, which resulted in an immersive experience of adapting to life and work during the lockdown in Spain. 

Her academic interests include second language acquisition, adapting authentic materials for use in the classroom, Language for Specific Purposes (LSA), magic realism, and the study of voseo. 

Outside of the classroom, Jessica enjoys figure skating (especially groups that break with traditional figure skating formats such as Le Patin Libre, Brownbody, and American Ice Theatre), trying out random art projects, learning languages, listening to various types of music, and spending time with friends and family.