When CCC 2009 Full-Time Instructor of the year Charlie Brown was in college he studied acting but eventually decided to become a Spanish instructor. It may seem like a drastic change of careers, but to Brown the two disciplines have more in common than you might think. Brown said, “Really, teaching is a lot like acting, you’re in front of an audience performing every day you teach.” From the comments that he received from student nomination forms his performance has been outstanding. In fact, the students he has been instructing would say that he would have been an excellent actor, but that they are glad his acting career took a turn south; literally as a Spanish instructor. Of the many positive comments he received two that stood out were that he shares his enthusiasm for the subject and that he makes a difficult subject easy. Charlie first learned to speak Spanish as a 15 year-old foreign exchange student in Costa Rica. Upon graduation from Northern Arizona University, Brown went on to teach for 20 years in the Flagstaff Unified School District before coming to CCC five years ago. When asked what has been most rewarding about his career as a Spanish teacher, Brown reflected for a moment and then said, “It’s when a student that you have taught in years past stops by to say that they had become Spanish teachers through my inspiration. I can recall about 13, and I am very proud of that.” Bravo Charlie, you deserve to take a bow for a job well done!