2008 Woodie Awards
Spanish instructor loves to dance, and is now dancing his way out the door
LaTasha Monique
Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: News
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Hiort-Lorenzen received his master's degree in Spanish from San Jose State College in 1970 and just one year later, he would interview for a full time teaching position at Solano Community College then located in Vallejo.
On May 23, Solano Community College students will be saying Adios for the last time to long time Spanish professor Hiort-Lorenzen.
"I started 2-1-71. The semesters started a little earlier back then," he said.
From the gate, Hiort-Lorenzen sprung into action, working hard alongside division deans to survey various community colleges in order to modify existing foreign language courses as well as create new courses.
Hiort-Lorenzen's hard work led to students better articulating into four-year colleges.
Founder of the Solano County Foreign Language Teachers' Association, Hiort-Lorenzen became its first president in 1973. During the 90's, the organization would become the Foreign Language Academic Partnership.
The organization served to provide a bridge between local high schools and SCC, and resulted in the growth of SCC's foreign language program.
"It wasn't easy, it was a battle," he said, thinking back to his first few years at SCC when he was the only full-time Spanish professor.
Thirty-eight years later, the foreign language program is alive and thriving with six full-time faculty members and about a dozen adjunct faculty members.
SCC German instructor Gail Kropp has been working with Hiort-Lorenzen for the last thirty-two years and has witnessed the many changes in the foreign language department.
"He's very supportive of linguistic diversity; it was his vision and goal for the campus," she said.
Spanish professor Jeffrey Lamb first saw Hiort-Lorenzen four years ago while sitting in an interview to be hired at SCC, and can already attest to the hard work and dedication of his colleague.
"He sees the foreign language department as a family and in that, it's very important people get along like a family does; he gives us all insight…," said Lamb.
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