A passion for language has long been a force in my life.  Over the course of my education, I have studied six foreign languages: Latin, Spanish, French, classical Greek, Italian, and Lithuanian.  I completed the equivalent of a minor in Linguistics along with my double major in Classical Studies (with a concentration in Latin) and Hispanic Studies.  I have a variety of useful experiences in both Latin and Spanish.

Latin

I have been studying Latin for 12 years now.  Through my undergraduate Classical Studies major at William and Mary, I have strong foundations in Roman history, art, architecture, mythology, and literature.  I have thoroughly studied all of the major authors read by high school students, including Catullus, Ovid, Virgil, and Cicero.  In addition to those, I have also done some coursework in Horace, Livy, Tacitus, Plautus, Terence, Propertius, Tibullus, Martial, Juvenal, and Petrarch.  My primary area of interest in Latin is its morphology, the study of various grammatical forms and affixes used in the language.

The Role of Morality in Sallust and Tacitus: This essay represents the culmination of my work in Classical Studies.  It was my senior research paper for Latin.

Spanish

I have been studying Spanish for nine years.  My Spanish experience has been enhanced through the opportunity to live in the Spanish Language House at William and Mary.  Each year the College employs a house tutor from a Spanish-speaking country who plans conversations and cultural activities that promote Hispanic culture both to the House and to the wider student body.  I was an active resident for three years.   My Spanish House experience inspired me to study abroad in Seville, Spain in the summer of 2005.  In the August 2006, I volunteered to serve as an interpreter for Eastern Shore Rural Health.  I worked both in the clinic and in outreach.  For the 2006-07 school year, I was employed by the College as a teacher assistant for the introductory level Spanish classes.   As a teacher assistant, I planned my own drill lessons to help the student practice their oral/aural abilities in Spanish.  My professional interests in Hispanic Studies are 20th century Spanish and Latin American poetry, the culture of modern Spain, minority languages in Spain,  and the history of the Spanish language.

The Basque Language and Political Autonomy (in Spanish): This paper reflects my interests in language as a political entity in modern Spain.  The Basques have always made language central to their identity.

A Voice from the Silence (in Spanish): This was my senior research project in Hispanic Studies.  I explore the work of an unknown Cuban author - Jorge Domingo Cuadriello.  His work does not reach many in the United States because of the cultural and economic embargo that currently exists between the USA and Cuba.  In this essay, I attempt to shed light on the hidden meanings with his collection of short stories Stories without (opposing) meaning.  

La comida: This PowerPoint presentation demonstrates some of my Spanish expertise.  It addresses the Culture standard of the ACTFL standards.  It provides a glimpse into the perspectives and practices of the Spanish people.

Linguistics

I have always had a strong interest in linguistics.  I believe my background in this subject will help me better teach Spanish and Latin.  I completed the equivalent of a minor in Linguistics at the College of William and Mary. 

A Sketch of Lithuanian: I participated in the culminating seminar with Linguistics majors - Descriptive Linguistics.  In this class, our assignment was to give a general description of the characteristics of an unknown language to us without the aid of dictionaries or grammars.  Our entire work was based on interactions and translations from a bilingual speaker who spoke English and the unidentified language.  Early on the language was identified as Lithuanian, but, as it is a Baltic language that is not normally studied in the USA, we took advantage of the opportunity to explore this language.

A Description of Reduplication in Lushootseed: In this paper, I attempt to explain the presence of reduplication with certain forms in a Native American language of the Northwest USA called Lushootseed.  I formulate a plausible Optimality Theory-based explanation for the changes that provides an alternative to an earlier rules-based theory.