Who We Are

Jean Lespier is a Southern California native. She earned her B.A. degree in Spanish from the University of California at Irvine, and was awarded an athletic scholarship to compete for the Division 1 women’s volleyball team. At the conclusion of her undergraduate work, she remained at UCI for a fifth year to obtain her California High School Teaching Credential in Spanish with a BiCLAD (Spanish/English Bilingual Authorization in Cross-Cultural, Language and Academic Development) certificate. She subsequently married her Puerto Rican college sweetheart and began teaching Spanish at Saddleback High School in Santa Ana. Mrs. Lespier rapidly became a mentor/master teacher for new teacher candidates and was involved in the development and writing of new curriculum for a developing need for the “Spanish for the Spanish-Speaker” student population. While teaching full time in the day, she earned her M.A. Degree in Education from Alliant University in the evening. After completing her M.A., she continued teaching high school full-time during the day and took on teaching evening classes for the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD). When her first child was born in 1991, she left off teaching during the day, but has continued as an adjunct professor for the college. Jean has spent her entire professional career as an educator and has accumulated over twenty years of language teaching experience at both the high school and college levels.

Jean is blessed to have married her husband Manfredo, and together they have enjoyed raising three daughters. They have cultivated a love for travel in their children and they each share the joy of experiencing other peoples, languages, and cultures. As a family, they have traveled throughout the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean and Western Europe.

One of the particular joys in Jean’s life has been studying the bible in Spanish and endeavoring to spread the gospel in Spanish. While they lived in Santa Ana, Jean and her husband Manfredo were overseers of a bible study fellowship in Spanish. They have continued as active members of their church for over 23 years.

Credentials

B.A. Spanish – University of California, Irvine
M.A. Education – Alliant University
Teaching Credential – University of California, Irvine