While some people get revved up at car races and others ride the wild waves of the stock market, Cecie Kraynak gets her jollies traveling to Spanish-speaking countries, chatting it up with complete strangers, and haggling with the local merchants.
Cecie inherited her love of the Spanish language and culture from her mother, Jo Anne Howard, also a Spanish major, who cultivated Cecie’s innate interest and encouraged her to travel and study abroad. From the heartland of Crawfordsville, Indiana, Cecie first set out to study at the University of the Americas in Cholula, Mexico, and later spent her junior year abroad at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish and secondary education in 1980 and her master’s degree in Spanish literature in 1983 from Purdue University. During her grad school years, Cecie taught Spanish to undergraduates and served as the graduate assistant for Purdue’s summer study program in Mexico City.
After graduating in 1983, Cecie began what was to become a 20-year career teaching Spanish to junior high and high school students. She continues to teach and travel and has served as a consultant on several Spanish learning guides, including Spanish For Dummies and Spanish All-in-One For Dummies.