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Mrs. Jill Greff To All Instructors


My name is Jill Greff; I have been married to my husband, Patrick, since 1996, and we have two children. I have been teaching Spanish at the Link since 2003 and have over 19 years of teaching experience.

I graduated magna cum laude from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Arts and Sciences in 1991 with a double major in Spanish and Latin American Studies. As an undergraduate, I began teaching Spanish in a newly created distance-learning program for high school students through the Instructional Materials Council. Because of this experience, I wrote a distance learning textbook titled "Sonrisas: An Introduction to Spanish for Young People" for my undergraduate Honor's Program thesis. In 1994, I completed a College of Arts and Sciences Master's degree in Spanish. I studied three different times at the prestigious Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, twice as a UNL Regent Scholar and once as a Rotary International Scholar. I taught Spanish 101, 102, 201 and 202 at the University of Nebraska from 1991-1998. Besides teaching responsibilities at UNL, I was the coordinator of Spanish 202, the undergraduate advisor for non-majors and minors in the Modern Language Department, and worked administering and evaluating language placement tests during the summer. In 1998, I became a full-time homemaker. Besides teaching at the Link, I also educate my own children at home and teach a children's Spanish class.
 
I grew up in a Christian home on a farm near Wallace, Nebraska. My parents are dedicated believers who are exemplary in their desire to live a Godly life. Their constant prayer for my siblings and me was that we would be believers and that all the generations of our family to come would be faithful to the Lord. Missionaries were constantly in our home and my exposure to other cultures came at an early age. When I was a senior in high school, I remember hearing one of our missionary friends pray in Spanish at the dinner table. It affected me deeply and I believed that God was calling me to become a missionary.
 
Having attended a small public school during the 1970s and 80s, it was similar to being home educated. We recited the Lord's Prayer everyday in 4th grade and said a prayer before lunch. My public school math teacher was also my high school Sunday School teacher on Sunday mornings (she is still a dear friend of mine). In 1987 I graduated from my high school as the Valedictorian of my class of eleven and then I came to the University of Nebraska Lincoln so I could take advantage of the Regent Scholarship I had received (see information above about my degrees and a few of the honors I was awarded.) My first love was science, especially biology and physics, but I was persuaded otherwise after I took my first class of Spanish (Spanish 101) at UNL! I became deeper interested in the Spanish language and took every opportunity I could get to study in Mexico and to travel to other Spanish speaking countries. I just knew God had a plan for me as a missionary in a Spanish speaking country!
 
God's plans are not always our plans. As it turned out, God had his own "missionary" plans for me. He opened up wonderful opportunities for me to be able to teach and get my M.A. at the same time. After I finished my Master's degree, the UNL Department of Modern Languages offered me a job as the coordinator of Spanish 202, which included teaching, overseeing other teachers, and performing some other administrative responsibilities. I accepted the offer.
 
Around this time, I met my future husband, Patrick, at a church I was attending. We were married in 1996 and now have two children. When our oldest was 2 years old, we decided it would be best for me to stay home with the children and to home school them. I resigned from UNL, but continued with my Spanish by translating. In 2002, I was contacted about the possibility of teaching at the newly formed Link. I agreed and have been teaching Spanish here at the Link ever since. I believe God has given me the incredible privilege of teaching Spanish to people in the Link who will become foreign and domestic missionaries, pastors, homemakers, executives and leaders in the church. I am incredibly blessed to be a part of His master plan! 

Current Classes
Spanish 1a – Instructor (closed)
Spanish 1b – Instructor (closed)
Spanish 2 Concordia SPAN101 – Instructor (closed)
Spanish 3 Concordia SPAN102 – Instructor (closed)
Spanish 4 Concordia SPAN201 – Instructor (closed)
Spanish 5 – Instructor (closed)