By Natalia Cartagena Diaz
WILLIAMSBURG — La Tienda, the Williamsburg-based Spanish food importer and retailer, has launched a year-long partnership with William & Mary’s Hispanic Studies Program and Casa Hispánica aimed at strengthening cultural exchange and creating hands-on educational opportunities for students.
The collaboration connects William & Mary students with La Tienda’s extensive network in Spain, offering pathways for internships, experiential learning, and professional development rooted in Spanish language, culture and business.
“We are the bridge between Spain and her culture and the U.S.,” La Tienda CEO Tim Harris said. “This partnership is about opening our network to students so ideas can move both ways.”
Harris’ family, William & Mary alumni, said the partnership grew out of La Tienda’s long-standing relationship with the university and the company’s three decades of work with Spanish producers. While La Tienda has employed William & Mary students as interns in the past, Harris said the new agreement formalizes and expands those opportunities.
“For years we’ve hired William & Mary students as interns, some of whom stayed on long term,” Harris said. “This felt like the right moment to create something more intentional and enduring.”
A central element of the partnership is the development of internship pathways that connect students with La Tienda’s more than 80 suppliers across Spain, many of them small, family-run businesses. Depending on academic interests, students may gain experience in areas such as food production, agriculture, fisheries, supply chains or consumer products.
“It really depends on what the student wants,” Harris said. “We’re not trying to do a massive number of placements, just meaningful ones.”
Harris said the partnership also allows students to examine global challenges through an international lens, particularly in areas such as sustainable agriculture and resource management, while applying skills learned in the United States, including marketing and business strategy.
“At the same time, the U.S. has strengths in marketing and business planning,” Harris said. “This is meant to be a two-way exchange.”
The collaboration builds on La Tienda’s broader educational engagement with William & Mary, including a family foundation scholarship that annually supports a student walking the Camino de Santiago — the ancient European pilgrimage routes leading to the city of Santiago de Compostela and the shrine of the apostle St. James. Harris said the partnership reinforces the idea that language and cultural studies can lead to diverse career paths.
“You can do so many things with a Spanish or Hispanic studies background,” he said. “You don’t have to stay in the classroom.”
As the partnership enters its first year, Harris said the focus is on creating a sustainable structure that can continue as students and faculty change over time.
“If we have a good year,” he said, “we’ll see where it leads.”
Harris said the goal of the partnership is to deepen connections between Spain and William & Mary through education, cultural understanding and shared professional experiences, benefiting students and the university community alike.
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