Ishtar Rosario Medina: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility . . . and Bilingualism

In this episode, we visit with Ishtar Rosario Medina, whose educational and personal journey has spanned Puerto Rico, New York City, Mississippi, New Mexico, and now Minnesota. She was born in Puerto Rico and raised in the tradition of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Manhattan and Queens. At the age of 7, she returned to the island. Six years later, her path took an unconventional turn when her father implemented his idea of "homeschooling": enrolling her in his college courses at the University of Mayagüez. At 13, she was majoring in physics. 

Despite often excelling beyond the levels of her older classmates, Ishtar dropped out and began a series of moves across the U.S. with her father, from central Florida to community college life in rural Mississippi, to several years as a substitute teacher in Hattiesburg—all while raising her oldest child. Inspired by her mother’s love for New Mexico, she later relocated to Albuquerque, where, after 12 years of accumulating college credits, she completed a BA in Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts and TESOL at the University of New Mexico. She briefly taught 4th grade at a local charter school.

A spontaneous trip to the Mall of America over Thanksgiving vacation in 2024 led to her current role teaching U.S. History in Spanish and Spanish Language Arts at the high school in Chanhassen, Minnesota. 

As a lifelong bilingual learner, parent, and educator, Ishtar brings a rich perspective to discussions of bilingual education. Listen, enjoy, and learn from the stories behind her remarkable journey.

We also discuss SUP and CUP, which, in case you're wondering, are not acronyms for Stand Up Paddle and Conditional Use Permit!