Claire Comar
Always interested in the Spanish language, Claire Comar finally got her chance to pursue her interest after her children were grown, and she had retired from a career in medical technology. In her first Spanish class, Claire remembers instructor Nell Tiller telling the class to "get involved in the Hispanic community so we could hear the language and use what we were learning." Getting involved is an understatement....as Claire has traveled to Guatemala to do home study of Spanish and participated in the BRCC Immersion in Spanish course in Costa Rica. She's also taken every Spanish class the College offers!
Her commitment to the Hispanic community began nearly 13 years ago in Waynesboro. "They needed individuals to arrange and interpret at doctors' appointments, parents-teachers meetings and the like," explained Claire. Since that time she has worked or volunteered for The Migrant Outreach Ministry through St. John's Catholic Church of Waynesboro; Head Start Programs in Waynesboro, Augusta County, Staunton and Harrisonburg; Harrisonburg Social Services; Waynesboro Social Services; and the Waynesboro Police Department. Her passion for the language is obvious, "I love my work and the Latino community, and I have many Hispanic friends," she says.
One particular local Hispanic family has been part of Claire's life for more than 10 years now. Despite the fact that they no longer need too much support or assistance from Claire, she visits them regularly catching up on the children's schoolwork and the family garden. She is obviously proud of their successes.
Instructor Tiller takes similar pride in Claire. "Claire has fallen in love with Spanish so much that she finds every opportunity to speak the language. The list of usage of her skills is long, and she enjoys learning about Spanish and the multiple cultures represented by speakers of the language."
