Ms. Jara is a senior lecturer of Spanish and the Spanish Lower Division Coordinator. She has been at UNCW since 2004. She is a native of Costa Rica. She completed her undergraduate studies in Political Science and International Relations at Louisiana State University as a Fulbright scholar. She is also a former Seahawk who graduated summa cum laude, receiving two M.A. degrees in Liberal Arts in the areas of Hispanic Studies and Spanish. In 2014, she was recognized with The Lecturer of the Year Award for excellence in teaching and service. In 2023, she was recognized with The Excellence in Online Education Award. She was the Spanish Club advisor for twelve years and she is an active volunteer in the local community. She is passionate about providing students with opportunities to become global citizens and experience other cultures first-hand.  She studied abroad in Spain, France and Ecuador.  She has created, directed and co-directed many study abroad programs for her home department and the Honors College at UNCW to include Spain, France, Italy, Argentina and she is working on developing a new program to her native Costa Rica.

Email: jaram@uncw.edu