Samantha (Sam) Abrams’17 not only has achieved advanced proficiency in the Spanish language but has made a career of it. She is one of two U.S. Americans in HubSpot’s Latin American headquarters in Colombia, where she currently works as the Team Leader for Customer Support and oversees thirteen employees.

When Sam arrived in Beloit from Vermont, she thought she was headed towards a theater major but instead found herself dedicated to developing her Spanish skills and minoring in theater. She took advantage of opportunities to use her language skills outside the classroom, which included volunteering in Beloit’s Even Start Family Literacy Program helping children express themselves in English.

Sam also spent the 2016 spring semester studying abroad in Valparaiso, Chile, where she immersed herself in the language and culture. She volunteered in an English class being offered by the Law School of the Pontificia Universidad Católica, dedicated Saturdays to organizing and leading free activity workshops for students in sheltered and low-income communities, and was the only non-Chilean to join a Spanish-language drama group.

Transformed by these experiences, Sam knew she had to return to Latin America and she has. In addition to working in Colombia, where she is living through a pandemic and has witnessed civil unrest, she has visited Chile every year since 2016, except in 2020, when Covid-19 forced her to quarantine herself. She hopes  one day to spend enough time in Chile to do theater work.

After working as Beloit College’s International Education Intern in 2017-2018, Sam was drawn to HubSpot, knowing it was going to open Latin American headquarters in Colombia. HubSpot recognized her for her strong Spanish skills and she soon moved up from customer support specialist to her current position as Team Leader for Customer Support. She continues to be the only employee in HubSpot’s Colombian headquarters that has transferred there from outside the country.

Sam was a 2016 recipient of the Heather Elizabeth Lutton Spanish Award for her outstanding Spanish skills.