I knew as soon as I entered William and Mary that I wanted to major in Hispanic Studies, but I couldn’t have imagined how much the past four years of being a student in the Hispanic Studies department would mean to me. Since my first day at William and Mary, the classes and the professors of Hispanic Studies have consistently been my favorites and the ones that have pushed me to my academic and personal potential.
As a major in the program, I’ve been privileged to be able to do research at the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library in Minnesota with Prof. Greenia, walk the Camino with Prof. Riofrio, be a TA for Profs. Carrion and Terukina, and do an independent study with Prof. Terukina about Grandeza mexicana (1604). Some of my favorite classes have dealt with the medieval and early modern Hispanic world, translation, and the early 20th century in Spain.
Since sophomore year, I’ve researched 16th and 17th century private libraries in the archives in Pamplona, Spain, which after a summer full of research has culminated in my senior honors thesis “‘A qué manera de libros y letras es inclinado’: las bibliotecas privadas de Navarra en los siglos XVI y XVII” about the expression of personal identity through private libraries.
Next year I will begin an MA in the History of the Book at the University of London, and even though it will be the first time in 13 years that I won’t have a Spanish class, I will always hold what I’ve learned in Hispanic Studies close to my heart.