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Not your entitled daughter’s Spanish class! Tales of clever campesinos and indigenous peoples exploited by casinos replace the childish chupacabra and cuentitos bonitos. I was challenged to fight through my own pain, being made aware that brutal injustices I witnessed as a teen broke people in Michigan and Michoacán alike.

Transition to Guantanamera en la guitarra, on a wooden stool, Birkenstocks n socks,….. Hombre Sincero, te agradezco por enseñarme  la lucha buena.
Angela “Bonita” Gilchrist C/O ‘93

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If I remember correctly, your history was from Sud Americano. I loved hearing about "Spanish" culture from a new perspective - not Spain or Mexico. Have a fantastic rest of your life! Juliet Hurley

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I am so grateful to have been a student in your class -- you are such an inspirational, energetic, thoughtful teacher.  Your love for the Spanish language and many cultures it accompanies is contagious --ahorita soy abogada en el área del derecho internacional de los DDHH con un enfoque en América Latina :) Mil gracias por todo y que disfrute de su jubilación!
Un abrazote,
Christine Vlasic '08

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Congratulations, Señor Bowdy, and thank you for a class that taught me so much about literature and art and writing, on top of how to speak and engage with a new language. It was such a joy to learn from you. Enjoy your retirement!
Kate Zyla '92

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You have made a positive difference in the lives of so many students - impressive work Ric.   I also personally appreciated your thoughtful voice with regard to student and faculty concerns over the years, especially in department head and faculty meetings.  I wish you the very best in retirement my friend.
Sarkis Halajian

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I remember laughing (and of course, learning) A LOT in your AP Spanish class and at the 3rd floor dorm duty desk at Kingswood! Muchas gracias for mentoring us with your warmth, wisdom and patience. Your teaching inspired me to continue learning Spanish throughout college and beyond! (Beyond = I was a part of a Spanish conversation group a few years back in Korea..!)
You will be missed, and I cannot imagine Cranbrook without a Sr. Bowdy...
I hope you enjoy your retirement! :)
Jennifer Yu, CK '07

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Mil gracias por no solo infundir un amor para el español en todos sus alumnos, sino enseñarnos a buscar oportunidades para conocer el mundo más allá del aula. Te deseo buena salud, mucho amor, y tiempo para disfrutar de los dos en su retiro.
Un abrazo fuerte,
- Aaron Melaas '02

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Congratulations Señor Bowdy!  I’ll never forget the time you gave me a guitar magazine all about the group The Kinks…in Spanish!  Well played sir! 😊👍🏼❤️🎸🎶
Graçias, Steve Capp ‘88

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Dear Bowdy,
Our conversations always made the journey up to the third floor and procrastinating unimportant homework well worth the time. Thank you for being your lively self. Yo soy una manzana. Évidemment j’ai appris le français en lycée pas espagnol.  -Sherrye ‘20

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Señor Bowdy,

You are one of those teachers that leaves a lasting impact on your students. You helped to spark a fire in me that made me fully obsesionada con Spanish & España for the rest of my life, inspiring me to travel to Madrid and Barcelona. Thank you for being such an incredibly passionate, kind, wonderful teacher. Wishing you the best and most relaxing years ahead.

Con admiración,

La Mindy (Mindy Welford)

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Felicitaciones! Thank you for being an awesome human being. I feel most grateful for how you treated all of us, your students, with a humble authenticity and how you inculcated in us a real curiosity about the world, just by your example. Something from your classroom that I'll always hold onto and feels timely given your new horizons: "Que es lo que se pierde cuando cruzamos una frontera? Cada momento parece partido en dos. Melancolia por lo que quiere detras, y por otro lado, todo el entusiasmo de entrar en tierras nuevas" - Kashif "dinero en efectivo" Ahmed

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Congratulations on your well deserved retirement Senor!
York Ragsdale ‘95

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even though you are absolutely atrocious at responding to emails, i'm so happy we've remained friends all these years. thank you for being a pseudo-parent to me, calming me down when i freaked out all the time in high school, college, law school, and after. i certainly would not have read as many books as i did if not for you. don't worry, i'm not just re-reading harry potter. you are a wonderful nerd and thank you (and gail) for coming and dancing happily at my wedding! hope you enjoy retirement and find time to respond to emails, i mean, seriously, like come on now.
love, carlen zhang-d'souza (CK '07)

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Wishing you an absolutely amazing next chapter! Thank you for being such a phenomenal, thoughtful, caring teacher! Grateful for all of the lessons learned in your class. You made a difference!

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Wishing you an absolutely amazing next chapter! Thank you for being such a phenomenal, thoughtful, caring teacher! Grateful for all of the lessons learned in your class. You made a difference!

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You were a wonderful Spanish teacher and being in your class was a wonderful experience. You really instilled a love of the language and inspired me to continue classes on into college, and to this day I credit you with my ability to somewhat sort of have an actual conversation with a native speaker. Thank you!
Brian Razzaque CK '96

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Thank you for teaching me all about poems that don't rhyme, and for making Gallimaufry the kind of quirky community that I've sought out ever since.

All the best wishes for your next adventure! May you have "more than [your] fair share of joy" (Todd Boss).

-Tessa Huttenlocher, CK '10

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Congratulations Señor Bowdy! Thank you for all the good times in your advisory group and for being an amazing teacher for me! I use Spanish almost every day and am still inspired to keep practicing because of teachers like you. Enjoy your retirement, you’ve earned it! ~Camara Singleton CK ‘11

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Congrats on starting a new chapter, Señor Bowdy! I enjoyed your class and all our talks whenever you were on duty in the KW dorms. I'm only one of many who want to thank you for making Spanish fun and for supporting me as a person and a student. Congratulations on a wonderful career y ¡que ten una jubilación fantastica!

Un abrazo,
Adri Valtierra '12

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Cheers to an amazing career, Señor Bowdy! From our legendary classes to our irreverent and enlightening advisor meetings, your warmth and commitment to your students has stuck with me since day one. Cranbrook will not be the same without you but you can be assured that your contributions will be remembered forever.

All the best,
Jourdan "Tito" Merritt - Cranbrook '01

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I have such fond memories of you and your class.  Thanks for inspiring a lifetime love of the Spanish language, literature and culture.  I've tried to keep up my Spanish over the years, and my daughter is now in a Spanish immersion school here in California.  Congratulations on an incredible career where you made a positive impact on so many lives, and I hope you enjoy your retirement!
All the best,
Karen Kramer Mizell '02

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Señor Bowdy! Congratulations on an amazing career! I have such fond memories of your classes, and without a doubt, your teaching has influenced me to keep up my love for Spanish language and culture so many years after my time at CK. I went on to complete a BA in Spanish from Syracuse, including a semester abroad in Spain and an Honors thesis researched in and translated from Spanish (no one in the honors department could read Spanish jaja). Although my current career (I’m a physical therapist) has little to do with my undergrad degree, I wouldn’t have traveled this path had mi fuego para español not been fueled in your classroom. Gracias para todo y un abrazo de Alicia! - Alyssa Trudeau ‘10

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I can’t believe you’re retiring. When did this happen??!! You are the best colleague, mentor and teacher ever. I will always remember how you and Mr. Watson helped me survive my first few years of teaching. I wish you all the best. Enjoy!! Jenny Boeberitz Diaz ‘90.

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Congratulations Señor Bowdy! Truly one of the best professors I ever had the pleasure of learning from.  I know your mentorship played a huge part in my development as a strong writer and advocate, and I always felt respected and heard in your class. I hope your retirement is full of adventure and a great novel or two. Un abrazo fuerte, Concha ‘07

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Ric, you have many accomplishments to celebrate, but please know that it's not the students alone who applaud you! I was always grateful for our conversations, even the ones where you would spoil the best part of the Sunday NYT before I had a chance to read my own copy. ;) Just imagine the number of novels that await you in the coming years...both to be read and written. Sending warmest retirement wishes from Tennessee. Sincerely,
Ash Weber

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Congratulations on your retirement, Senor Bowdy! You were the first teacher I met on my Cranbrook tour and talking to you really convinced me of the great environment at CK and was a major factor why I ended up enrolling and had an amazing time! And thank you for being a fantastic dorm advisor at KW!  I hope you enjoy this new chapter of life!
- Linh Tran, CK ’17

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Señor! Que tengas un buen jubilación, tu mereces por supuesto. Ahora estoy escribiendo esta nota en Berga, Catalonia y estoy pensado mucho sobre mi tiempo aprendiendo Espanol en CK. Lo que me has ensenado, el Espanol y mas, contibuyo a mucho exito hasta ahora. Trabajando en Argentina, tener una novia de Espana... mucho suenos eran posible con tus ensenos y charlar como un giri. Gracias para todo, y suerte :)
-Eric Harbour, '09

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Señor Bowdy,

Thank you for making AP Spanish one of my favorite classes in high school, and for taking the time after many classes to answer additional questions I had about Spanish and about differences I'd noticed between Spanish and English. Those conversations helped me decide to major in Spanish in college, and also influenced me to enroll in a linguistics class my first semester at university... which lead to the PhD in Linguistics that I'm a couple of months away from finishing.

!Felicitaciones por su jubilación, y espero que disfrute esa nueva era de su vida!

- Sarah Harper, CK '10

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Thank you so much for your years of dedication to CK, and especially to all the girls in the dorms. While I never had you as a teacher, I so appreciate all the time you spent every week on dorm duty to make sure that we all were safe, doing our work, and having a good time. I didn't truly understand the commitment that it takes to be on dorm duty until I became an adult and realized how much you have sacrificed your own personal time after work and how you always did it with a smile. I hope you enjoy your much-deserved retirement how ever you want to spend it!

Thank you!
-Theresa Tejada, CK '06

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Señor Bowdy! AP Spanish with you was such a joy - your energy was infectious and you made learning fun. I feel so lucky to have had you as a teacher.
Thank you for all the care and dedication you showed your students, and I hope you have a wonderful and well-earned retirement!
Best,
Olivia Chen, CK '13

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Hi Ric. It's been a while since we last saw each other but I assure you, you touched the lives of many CK students, including my own. It was such a pleasure to be in your classroom, learning from someone who truly enjoyed what they were doing. You made Spanish class fun, informative and educational! I wish you much travel and relaxation in your retirement years! I'm in Connecticut now so if you find yourself on the east coast, let's get together for a coffee - Christina Afif McVaney