Raúl Rangel Fernández: Crossing Linguistic and Social Borders

Wichita, Kansas | November 10, 2025

By Claudia Amaro | Planeta Venus

Raúl Rangel Fernández in the classroom teaching. Courtesy of Raúl Rangel Fernández.

Today, identity and language can be sources of conflict, but Raúl Rangel Fernández’s story offers hope and connection. Born in Mexico and raised in Kansas, he speaks 18 languages — eight fluently — and works to honor cultural and linguistic roots that are often overlooked.

Whether at Butler Community College or in the classrooms of El Dorado Correctional Facility, Rangel Fernández shows that communication can be a powerful tool for rehabilitation and success.

Spanish: An Opportunity for Reintegration

At the El Dorado Correctional Facility, Rangel Fernández helps connect education and job opportunities for people who are incarcerated.

Prisons usually offer basic education and technical training in areas like construction or welding. In these fields, Spanish is an essential skill because many crews are bilingual or mostly Spanish-speaking.

Seeing this need, the facility’s director wanted to offer Spanish classes so students in Butler Community College’s technical programs could meet the two-semester language requirement for graduation.

Rangel Fernández, already a teacher at Butler, accepted to teach the course in the prison. His class — the first Spanish course ever offered at EDCF — filled up quickly. The students were eager, knowing this skill would be a valuable “professional asset” upon their return to work.

“When they get out, Spanish is everywhere,” Rangel Fernández told us, referring to what his students often say as they realize the language will be a practical tool for reintegration.

From Guadalajara to Wichita: Roots and Resilience

Rangel Fernández was born in Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest city, and lived there until he was five. His family moved to Wichita, Kansas, in search of a more stable life. They first had help from a local contact, but after that person moved away, they settled in on their own.

Rangel Fernández went to local schools and graduated from Southeast High School in 2016. He is the only sibling born in Mexico, which made him a bridge between two cultures from an early age.

His family has always supported him. Even when his research and travels took him far from home, his parents stood by him, which is different from the usual Mexican tradition of staying close to family.

Raúl Rangel Fernández on one of his many trips around the world. Courtesy of Rangel Fernández

A Passion for Language and Roots

Rangel Fernández started studying music at WSU, but the pandemic made him rethink his plans. He saw that artistic events were canceled first, so he decided to switch to linguistics.

His interest in Mexico’s Indigenous languages led him to study how Nahuatl and Arabic have influenced Spanish.

In 2022, he earned bachelor’s degrees in applied Linguistics and in French, German, and Spanish. He received a scholarship to study in Orléans, France, which is Wichita’s sister city. When he came back, people said he had experienced “the trip of a lifetime.” His answer showed his outlook:

“Trip of a lifetime? No. I know that if I work hard, I’ll have more trips like that, more opportunities, more scholarships.”

After returning to Kansas, he started a master’s degree in Spanish at WSU. He worked with Dr. Rachel Showstack, a professor at WSU, on research on Maya communities and learned Kaqchikel, a Mayan language, to connect more deeply with them.

Today, he teaches at both Butler and WSU and is active in the community. He participates in public health research on diabetes, cancer, and COVID, combats misinformation on social media, and helps people understand their right to free interpretation services at federally funded hospitals and clinics.

His long-term goal is to earn a Ph.D., possibly in Spain, so that he can reach “the highest level of education.”

Bicultural Inspiration for Latino Youth

For Latino youth in Kansas, Rangel Fernández is a real source of inspiration. He knows that many young Latinos feel caught between being American and being Latino.

He encourages them to reconnect with their roots, even if they don’t speak Spanish, and to see their bicultural identity as an advantage rather than a burden.

“We can celebrate the Super Bowl by making tacos,” he says with humor, highlighting the richness of blending two worlds.