May 6, 2024

Ferris State professor helping volleyball student-athletes learn about Spain and Portugal to prepare for international competition

Lucero Flores-Paez isn’t designing plays or running practices. But the Ferris State University associate professor is playing a big role in preparing the volleyball team to be successful on its upcoming trip to Spain and Portugal.  

Lucero Flores-Paez, who teaches in the English, Literature, and World Languages Department, has worked with student-athletes this semester as they get set for the 10-day trip, which started Sunday, May 5. Students will face international competition while taking educational side trips. 

 Flores-Paez offered a “trip class” for the team every other Friday, teaching players about Spain and Portugal’s cultures, traditions, languages, and customs.   

“I know a little bit about Portugal because I studied that as a graduate student but also had to study and prepare to work with our volleyball team,” she said.  

Throughout the Spring 2024 semester, the Bulldogs learned about the languages, histories, cultures, customs, and everyday lives of people in Spain and Portugal.  

Student-athletes were eager to learn and came to class with questions. Players joined an online Canvas course for the class and completed homework assignments on the countries.   

“Everybody was prepared,” Flores-Paez said. “As professors, that’s what we like. They were very responsible and very reliable. For a moment, I thought about them as students, but no, they are also athletes, and they’re disciplined. I appreciate that.”   

Chelsie Freeman, a senior middle hitter from Amarillo, Texas, loved learning more about Spain and Portugal as the team wraps up its spring season and looks forward to the trip.   

“The biggest thing I took away from the class was about the culture. I found it fascinating to find out the meaning behind their traditions and how they live their daily lives,” Freeman said. “I’m most excited to go see some historical monuments and churches because of how different the architecture is compared here in the U.S.”   

The enthusiasm of the Bulldog student-athletes, and students in general, is inspiring for Flores-Paez.   

“Watching our students learn and grow in their understanding of Spanish and Hispanic cultures, their enthusiasm and curiosity reignite my passion for teaching,” Flores-Paez said. 

The professor strives to impact her students’ lives and future careers positively. Working with the volleyball team to enrich their knowledge of Spain and Portugal outside of normal classroom hours was exciting. 

“It was a learning experience for me, too, because I didn’t know much about volleyball, and now I know a lot,” Flores-Paez said. You know something and know something else; the idea was to share our knowledge.”  

Coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm’s relationship with Fores-Paez helped make this connection possible. The two had known each other for years and even were once in the same fitness class. 

 The two met to discuss the opportunity and schedule the team members’ classes. The Ferris State coach wanted her team educated to maximize the opportunity the trip offers. 

This education ahead of the trip fit perfectly as the Bulldogs look ahead.   

“The chance to spend 10 days in another country with our team is fantastic in terms of the team building that will come out of it,” Brandel-Wilhelm said. “The opportunity to play other teams and face another style of play will be a challenge, but the personal growth and leadership that will come out of it is exciting.” 

Originally from Cali, Colombia, Flores-Paez holds a doctorate in Hispanic Studies from the University of California Riverside.    

Flores-Paez went on to teach Spanish to students in South Carolina and Louisiana before coming to Ferris State in 2014, where she assisted in expanding the Spanish for the Professions program in the English, Literature, and World Languages Department.   

The Bulldog volleyball team finished the 2023 season 27-8, winning the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship and earning the team’s 12th consecutive and 27th overall trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament.