Dr. Fernando A. Ojeda was 9 years old when his family moved from Costa Rica to Miami, Florida, for permanent residence in this country. His love of soccer and his abilities in that sport allowed him to receive full scholarships to attend Miami Dade Community College and Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. While at Appalachian State University, he earned a B.A. and an M.A. in Spanish Literature with a minor in Junior College Education. He taught high-school Spanish for 3 years at Chapel Hill High School, in North Carolina. He also taught English as a second language to adults in Miami, Florida for two years. He has traveled and lived in France where he studied French; and to Brazil where he studied Portuguese. He began teaching at the Clearwater Campus of St. Petersburg College in 1989. In 1997, he moved his family to Gainesville, Florida, where he lived for two years while he and his wife completed their course work towards their doctoral degrees in applied linguistics. In 1999, he resumed his position at St. Petersburg College, where he teaches Spanish and English as a second language. He and his wife completed their doctoral degrees in the Spring of 2004. He lives in Palm Harbor with his wife, Dr. Jeanna H. Ojeda, and his two children, Adriana Eliane and Carlos Eduardo.