Of the many benefits gained in the study of a foreign language, meeting pop superstars isn’t normally one that comes to mind.
But for the students in Dr. Robert Herron’s Portuguese class at Saint Louis University, that very thing happened last Saturday at Nelly Furtado’s concert.
The Grammy-winning Furtado, who is of Portuguese decent, met briefly with Herron and members of his class prior to her performance at the Pageant.
The meet-and-greet was set up through the Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States (PALCUS) and was arranged by Tony Brinckwirth, a student in the class and supervisor of the Modern Language computer lab in Ritter Hall.
Furtado sets aside between 30 and 40 tickets to each of her concerts for Portuguese-Americans who, due to financial problems, health issues or other reasons, could not otherwise obtain tickets to the show. PALCUS accepts individuals’ biographies and chooses the most worthy candidates.
And while none of the students qualified as Portuguese-Americans, their interest in the language and culture proved them worthy candidates for the free tickets.
The meet-and-greet itself was a quick, five-minute affair that allowed for a few autographs and photo opportunities.
There wasn’t much time for conversation, but Furtado seemed happy to have some fellow Portuguese speakers present, including Herron’s wife Maria, a native of Belo-Horizonte, Brazil.
The family vibe was especially strong that night, as Brinckwirth’s four-month-old daughter Natalia joined the festivities. The accompanying photo will make a great inclusion in the “Baby’s First Rock Show” section of young Brinckwirth’s scrapbook.
O’Hearn had good things to say about the encounter. “It was amazing to share in this extra-curricular activity with our class. It’s not every day you can meet a famous star,” he said.
When asked about Furtado herself, he was equally complimentary. “It was neat to hear her speak in Portuguese. She is very down to Earth,” O’Hearn said.
Sophomore Ben Haffner was similarly impressed with the young songbird. “I think it is wonderful that an artist can become a famous personality and still promote this sort of organization (PALCUS),” he said.
Brinckwirth was also pleased that his class got to meet a celebrity, but he was a bit disappointed after the meet-and-greet. “I wrote a song in Portuguese for her but didn’t get to play it,” he said. So despite some minor disappointments, the class’ encounter with Nelly Furtado was resoundingly positive.
Herron hopes that this exposure will increase interest in the language and in his class. He feels that Portuguese is a beautiful and useful language and explained why:
“The French professors don’t like me to say this, but the world has more Portuguese speakers than French,” Herron said. This adds up when one considers that Portuguese is the national language of both Portugal and Brazil, countries with a combined population of around 182 million. The language is also spoken in places like Mozambique, Guinea, Goa and Macao.
Aside from the cultural benefits of studying Portuguese at Saint Louis University, the program is worth ten hours of credit across two semesters.
In short, one could fulfill the standard three-semester foreign language requirement in just one academic year.
The students in Herron’s class, however, appreciate it for more than just a core-fulfilling loophole. Brinckwirth, who is leaving SLU next year to pursue a Ph.D. in Spanish and Portuguese, spoke in superlatives of Herron and his class:
“Dr. Herron has a kind of learning magic in his interactions with students. There is no pressure to perform in his class, and it is just a joy to learn and speak this incredibly beautiful language,” Brinckwirth said.
As registration for the next academic year begins, consider studying Portuguese under the direction of Dr. Herron. While the joys of studying this marginalized Romance language are limitless, you may also be lucky enough to rub elbows with pop-music royalty.
