Discipline and Dedication: Carlos Aleman on Bilingual Empowerment

(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — July 8, 2025) Bilingual Student Accounts Coordinator Carlos Aleman joined Empire State University in early December with the mission of providing clear communication for students in the process of financing their education. His own experience attempting to decode jargon and complicated guidelines motivates him to ensure that students feel confident and empowered in understanding their financial commitments to the university.

Aleman thinks back to his childhood, which was split between New York and Puerto Rico, his birthplace. With frequent travel back and forth, his English learning was interrupted as his Spanish language skills continued to grow. “If we were in Puerto Rico, the English that I was learning—at least during elementary school—you couldn’t really hold a conversation,” he says. When Aleman entered the seventh grade, now living in the United States, he was placed in English as a second language (ESL) classes, which were run by one non-Spanish-speaking teacher. His peers were diverse, with many speaking languages other than Spanish and lacking a firm grasp of the English language, like himself. He says, “We’d just look at each other and think, ‘How are we going to make it through this?’ My classmates… I couldn’t even speak with them. It was very tough.”

Through the years, Aleman improved his English, and his continuous use of Spanish at home led him to balance both languages. It wasn’t until he attended the College of Saint Rose that he refined his then-colloquial Spanish as well as his English, smoothing over the curricular gaps left behind by his constant moves between Puerto Rico and New York. Under the instruction of Linguist Claire Ziamandanis, a former faculty member of the college, he studied the language formally, familiarizing himself with the intricacies of its grammar rules and linguistic traits. “We started learning about translating and all the knowledge you need to translate a document depending on if it has legal or medical terminology. At one point, we were doing phonetic transcriptions,” he recalls.

Through this deep dive, Aleman realized that being a language speaker does not automatically qualify one to teach or translate that language, which motivated him to continually challenge himself and grow.

“I’ll be honest with you,” he says, “I’m a shy guy. Music helped me a lot—I became a pretty decent dancer at one point … it just built confidence for me.” Having struggled to feel confident in public settings, Aleman embarked on a journey of exposure to the very things that made him nervous: “I’m afraid to speak in front of people, so how can I face that? Let me take an impromptu speech class, or go into an acting class … I did a lot of that to help myself overcome some of my fears,” he explains. This philosophy guides his life and is one he transmits to his children, along with the value of hard work.  

In his role providing student financial aid support at Empire State University, Aleman applies that same work ethic and positive outlook—he sees every interaction with students as an opportunity to learn and grow. “Being able to help people understand why it is that they’re getting certain charges, or financial aid—it’s a tough topic, and if I know [about] it, I can help people and explain it to them … in their own language. Being bilingual definitely helps me, the [Office of] Student Accounts, and the university as a whole,” he comments about providing bilingual student services.

Earlier this year, Aleman faced a difficult surgery, for which the recovery process was complicated. He says, “Knowing that I was part of the bilingual team helped me because I knew that I had people that supported me and were there for me. It was a lot … I didn’t have many people like that.” His recovery time, which he spent bedridden, was something he was able to overcome through positive thinking, music with messages that inspire him, and the support of his colleagues, who rallied to help in any way they could.

Since returning to work, he has dived back into his work with the university’s new Spanish-language Bachelor of Business Administration, an initiative he believes can transform lives through access to education for Spanish-speaking communities. “It’s creating opportunities—the opportunity for Empire State University to serve students, and [opportunities] for students when they graduate with a degree that will help them have a great career,” he explains. His hope is that this is just the first of many bilingual education initiatives, and that the university continues to look towards breaking down language barriers through projects like the Duolingo Spanish Language Learning Pilot Program.

“I would not say that it’s easy—it’s challenging and you’re constantly learning,” he says about learning a second language, “but there are more opportunities for you … you can reach a broader audience.” Like with most things, Aleman believes in the power of hard work and dedication to overcome obstacles—whether it’s learning a new language or speaking to a room of people. Time and again, he finds himself returning to the words: “Don’t tell me the reasons why you can’t—tell me the reasons why you should.”