Maria-Victoria Kapitzke

Maria-Victoria Kapitzke (nee Montes-Vidal) was born in Germany to Spanish immigrants. At the age of 15, Maria-Victoria moved back to Sevilla, Spain, eventually earning a Master's Degree through the University of Sevilla. She has been a Minnesota resident since 2005. Since 2009 she has been working at St. Cloud Technical and Community College, where she teaches a variety of courses in Spanish, English, ESL, Developmental Education, and Literature. Throughout her career in education, she has focused on helping underrepresented students, as well as first generation college students.  She has fostered inclusion, promoted cultural awareness, and continuously worked and advocated for a college environment that is welcoming to all. She has served as club advisor to various underrepresented student organizations, has created spaces for student success (e.g., ELL Circle at Ridgewater College, a safe space for English Language Learners), and has developed educational programs that serve as pathways for underrepresented students. In addition, Maria-Victoria has developed and revised a number of courses that recognize and speak to the diverse student population at SCTCC. These courses incorporate equity-minded pedagogy and include course material by and about previously unheard/marginalized voices. A number of these courses were specifically created with Latine/Latinx students in mind. These courses, such as Latinx Literature and Latin American Cultures are bilingual courses, with students able to participate and learn in English or Spanish. The content, instruction, material and student participation incorporate both languages, giving Latinx/Latine students the ability to use their native Spanish language in a college course. In recognition of her efforts, in 2015, she was selected as Teacher of the Year by the students of St. Cloud Technical and Community College.

Maria-Victoria's career is also marked by her active participation in union activities.  She has served in a number of positions in union leadership and collaborated with state and local leaders in advocating for labor equity and labor rights. As part of her union advocacy, in 2018 she participated in a conference in the Twin Cities called "Midwest School for Women Workers" and conferenced with CTUL (Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha) to discuss their activism and actively support their marches.