First-Year Spanish

SPN 1120 & SPN 1121

Living in Florida for the majority of my life, I understood the usefulness of knowing Spanish since it is a global language that is used widely in the United States. I also had plans of visiting Peru the following summer which further probed my interest in wanting to grow a proficiency in speaking the language. I took two semesters of Spanish, with a total of 8 credits, that expanded my proficiency in the language that allowed me to engage in basic conversations. This helped me extensively on my visit to Peru, because this was my first time traveling outside of the country and I did so by myself. A year later, I then visited Costa Rica where these basic communication skills were critical in navigating myself around, because I spent a lot of that trip traveling by myself as well. In addition, there are many people who speak Spanish in the United States, so I am a firm believer that is important for the majority of the population to have basic apprehension of the language.

Global Health Culture

ANT 3478

This was the perfect class for framing my biology background within an anthropological context. We focused on how to approach international health issues ethically by grasping the multitude of ways in which health and medicine are perceived in different cultures. We also discussed practical methods for solving international health problems while taking into account possible challenges with social hierarchies and power structures. I attached a paper  I wrote regarding NGO and governments' involvement in the Ebola epidemic.

Geography of World Affairs

GEO 3930

With the world becoming more interconnected with the spread of globalism, it is important to know how nations interact with one another. This class depicted the overview of different regions' geography and history  to grow a deeper understanding of contemporary features of the nations involved. I chose to write a research paper about the Rohingya genocide which is attached below.

Language and Culture

ANT 3620

I have always had an interest in studying the connection between language and identity. This class highlighted that it is nearly impossible to understand a culture without also studying the role of language within that culture. Linguistic expressions, linguistic structures, and social discourses frame how language is used in people's daily lives to express themselves and interact with others.