Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Johnson.
Hi Emma, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
La Senda Spanish center was founded in 2018 by Emma Johnson. She was teaching Spanish classes and working in Spanish immersion classrooms when she began to notice that students were lacking passion that sparked her love for Spanish. The following summer, Spanish Camp was created with the goal of showing students that Spanish is fun. Spanish Camp was received with overwhelming positivity and what started as a hobby has become a fully operating Spanish Center. Emma now runs La Senda full-time after graduating from Bethel University with a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish. Her experience living in Segovia, Spain and teaching at La Aneja CEIP have shaped programs and inspired the heart behind our teaching philosophy. The meaning of La Senda, translated “the path,” signifies the path to learning and loving Spanish. Our variety of programs are designed to create a path for everyone regardless of where they are in their Spanish journey.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s been an incredibly rewarding journey, but definitely not an easy one. As an entrepreneur, the hours are long, it can get lonely, and you have to rely completely on passion to keep going. One of my biggest challenges was starting out with no business background and having to learn everything through my own initiative. Then, during our first few years, La Senda grew rapidly. We saw a 300% enrollment increase in one year. Managing that kind of growth while balancing college, other jobs, and living in Spain for. a few months was absolute chaos, but I loved it.
What keeps me going is seeing how far we’ve come. Some of our former campers are now part of our staff, and a few of our original staff members are still with us today. La Senda looks a little different every year because new challenges always come up, but those challenges have shaped us and made us better.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about La Senda Spanish Center?
La Senda Spanish Center is a language center dedicated to helping people fall in love with Spanish. We specialize in creating environments that inspire curiosity, connection, and confidence through our immersion camps, classes, tutoring, or leadership development programs. What sets us apart is our holistic approach: we don’t just teach grammar and vocabulary, we cultivate a mindset that celebrates language and prioritizes the love of Spanish. Our programs are designed for every learner, from beginners to native speakers, and our culture emphasizes fun, growth, and belonging. We’re most proud that La Senda has become a place where students return year after year, where campers grow into staff, and where language learning becomes a lifelong journey.
What does success mean to you?
To me, success is reaching your goals while valuing “the path” you take to get there: the very meaning of La Senda. In language learning, it’s easy to focus only on outcomes like fluency or test scores, but real success happens when someone develops genuine love and intrinsic motivation to keep learning. At La Senda, we believe success is not just mastering Spanish; it’s cultivating a lifelong love for the language and learning process itself. When learners feel connected to others through Spanish, curious to always learn more, and confident to use the language skills that they have built, that’s when we know we’ve succeeded.
Pricing:
- DAY CAMP: $200/session
- CLASSES: $20/lesson (small group)
- TUTORING: $50/lesson (one on one)
- CARE: $10/day (afterschool)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lasendaspanishcenter.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lasendaspanishcenter/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lasendaspanishcenter
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/la-senda-spanish-center
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lasendaspanishcenter
