The College of Humanities is proud to announce the following recipients of the Spring 2025 COH Scholarships.

Please join us in congratulating them on their outstanding achievements!
 

Alene Kelsey Metcalf Family Scholarship
Daniela Gonzalez | Majors: Russian; Spanish; Linguistics

Dana and Jeffrey Vandersip Endowed Humanities Award
Anthony Jimenez | Majors: Spanish; Personal & Family Financial Planning
Benjamin Rothermich | Majors: German Studies; Performance

Dante S. Lauretta and M. Katherine Crombie Award
Ethan McNew | Majors: Biochemistry; Molecular & Cellular Biology; Minor: Spanish

David Evans and Lucille C. Nutt Scholarship
Elizabeth Lendo | Majors: Spanish; Art History
Chloe Thompson | Majors: Spanish; Biochemistry; Biochemistry

Gerard Agnieray Memorial Scholarship
Jazmin Stein Torres | Majors: French; Italian

Humanities Matter Scholarship
Winner: Kelli Alexander | Major: Applied Humanities
Honorable Mention: Gabe Bermudez | Major: Applied Humanities
Honorable Mention: Adrian Ureta | Majors: Spanish; Business Management

Mary Ann Farman Memorial Scholarship
Amber Grijalva Islas | Majors: Spanish; Nursing

Misto-Ertz Scholarship
Maria Mouza | Major: French
Loyda Vance | Majors: Spanish; Urban and Regional Development

Quiteria M. Nelson Scholarship
Alivia Alexander | Majors: Spanish; Leadership Learning Innovation
Alice Miranda | Majors: Italian; Biochemistry; Molecular & Cellular Biology
Dorothy Stocks | Majors: Spanish; Global Studies

Samuel and Louise McMillan Scholarship
Laurel Burkholder | Majors: German Studies; Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences
Maxwell Eller | Major: Classics

Van de Verde Memorial Scholarship
Matthew Burke | Majors: Spanish; Political Science
Linus Friedman | Majors: German Studies; Sustainable Built Environments
Maddy Ressel | Majors: French; Molecular & Cellular Biology

Stephen D. Todd Interdisciplinary Humanities Scholarship
Mia Roig | Major: Applied Humanities

STUDY ABROAD SCHOLARSHIPS

Alfred and Mary Beigel Memorial Scholarship
Maddie McCaskill | Majors: German Studies; Architecture

Donna Dillon Manning and Larry Horner Endowed Humanities Award for Study Abroad
Adiba Haque | Majors: German Studies; Biomedical Engineering
Sriya Ramisetty | Majors: Applied Humanities; Physiology & Medical Sciences

Donna Swaim Study Abroad Award for Double Majors
Abigail Chavez | Majors: Spanish; Psychology; Mexican American Studies

Werner Schirmer Memorial Scholarship
Rachel DeWitt | Majors: French; Physics
 

A sociolinguist who studies the unique aspects of bilingual speakers in border regions, Ana Carvalho has conducted research for decades in Portuguese-speaking communities of northern Uruguay. 

But Carvalho sought to tell the story of those communities in a different way, so she stepped into the world of documentary filmmaking, directing the 82-minute Vozes das Margens, a celebratory portrait of Uruguayan Portuguese, a unique dialect, while exploring how language, place and society intertwine in border living.

“I’ve been researching there for 30 years, going back a lot to continue to collect data, so it was for me, at this point in my career, an ethical obligation to think of ways to give back to the community,” she said. “I’m grateful to them, but they never saw the results of my work, so I was never able to give back. I wanted to tell the story in a different way.” 

Carvalho, a Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, began preliminary work on the documentary during her 2020 sabbatical, writing a grant proposal for the project. With a faculty grant from the College of Humanities, and other funding, she began filming in 2022. The documentary, which premiered last year in Uruguay, Brazil and Portugal, will screen on campus in the fall. 

“This film is meant to celebrate diversity and celebrate bilingualism,” Carvalho said. 

Carvalho has studied bilingual Spanish-English communities in and around Tucson, but has conducted most of her research in the border region between Uruguay and Brazil. There are about 200,000 native Portuguese speakers in Uruguay, a legacy of colonization and poorly delineated borders in the 1700s and 1800s. By the end of the 19^th century, the Uruguayan government began to implement measures to eradicate Portuguese from the area and make Spanish obligatory. 

“While Uruguay was successful in implementing Spanish, in areas were Portuguese was the main language, it’s remained as a heritage language,” Carvalho said. “It’s still a local language and very attuned to the idea of the border area and identity.” 

Uruguayan Portuguese speakers can face linguistic discrimination and mocking and Carvalho said she wanted to counter the misperceptions of language abilities that designate people as “semi-lingual.” The documentary shows how truly bilingual the border residents are.

“I also wanted to disseminate ideas of language as a human right,” she said. “People have the right to speak their home language in public domains.”

The film consists of interviews with about 20 people, filmed over a 22-day period in which Carvalho and three independent documentary cinematographers she hired in Uruguay traveled more than 600 kilometers to visit various communities. 

With no outside interviews or expert opinions, the subjects of the film relate their own experiences with language. Carvalho identified common topics throughout the narratives, editing the film around the themes of bilingualism (how, when, where and to whom people are socially conditioned to speak different languages), how they acquired Portuguese at home as a heritage language, linguistic discrimination and insecurity, the community language shifting to Spanish monolingualism over generations, and not to end on a sad note, the value of local language and identity. The film features poetry and music in Uruguayan Portuguese, demonstrating regional pride. 

The film premiered in the communities where it was filmed and then at a Cinemateca in Montevideo. Carvalho said she was struck by the contrast between the largely rural audiences and the intellectual urbanites of the capital city, most of whom had no idea about the bilingual border communities. The documentary was featured in television interviews in both locales, as well as radio and newspaper interviews. 

“The press and publicity were very welcome. People could see, hear or read about sociolinguistic concepts, language ideologies and how harmful language prejudice can be,” she said. 

After showing in Uruguay, Vozes das Margens began showing at conferences and film festivals. Last October, it screened at Portugual’s long-running international festival Doclisboa, becoming a finalist for an award. The film has been submitted to additional festivals for 2025 in Germany, Italy and Canada. 

The long-term plan is to make the film available for streaming. Carvalho is currently preparing accompanying materials for teachers to use in classrooms, guiding them through discussion topics like heritage languages, bilingualism, ideologies and code-switching.

“Uruguayan Portuguese is a variety of Portuguese like any other. Because people also speak Spanish, code-switching is common, as is the use of some words only in Spanish, such as names of institutions or professions,” she said. “The documentary celebrates linguistic diversity and hopefully, will lead viewers to critically re-think language ideologies.” 

The UA Poetry Center received an award at this year’s Tucson Festival of Books for outstanding service and dedication to the festival. 

The Poetry Center has played an integral role in the festival since it began in 2009, helping to identify outstanding poets to invite and manage the poetry venue, said Brenda Viner, one of the festival’s founders and secretary of the board. 

The Tucson Festival of Books drew an estimated 130,000 people to campus on March 15 and 16, with presentations by more than 400 authors, including 16 poets.

“TFOB can't imagine a more appropriate partner,” said Executive Director Abra McAndrew. “The national reputation of the UA Poetry Center enhances our capacity to attract major literary stars to Tucson, including poets recognized with Pulitzer and Pushcart Prizes, National Book Awards, Poet Laureates and other significant recognition. The Poetry Center has helped to welcome participating poets to Tucson, a city well-prepared to value and appreciate their work thanks to the education, events and library it offers.” 

The TFOB’s 2025 community award was presented at the Friday evening gala for authors, accepted by the Poetry Center Executive Director Tyler Meier and Event Coordinator Paola Valenzuela. 

“The Poetry Center is so grateful for the work of the Tucson Festival of Books, and for the juggernaut it has grown in to. It is one of the finest book festivals anywhere, nurturing and celebrating a vibrant city of readers,” Meier said. “For those reasons alone, this recognition from the Tucson Festival of Books is deeply meaningful, and we’re honored to receive this award.”

Suzanne Panferov Reese, director of the Critical Languages Program and chair of the Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Second Language Acquisition & Teaching, has received the 2025 James E. Alatis Award for Service to TESOL. 

Founded in 1966, TESOL International Association, or Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, is the largest professional organization for teachers of English as a second or foreign language. The service award was established in 1987 to honor James E. Alatis, TESOL’s first executive director, for his 21 years of devoted service. 

Panferov Reese, also a faculty member in the Department of Public and Applied Humanities, previously served as president of the TESOL International Association Board of Directors from 2012 to 2013 and on the organization’s board from 2008 to 2014. The award was presented by current TESOL President Justin Shewell at the TESOL convention earlier this month in Long Beach, Calif. 

“I am so grateful and honored to receive this award. Jim Alatis recognized and valued language education and multilingualism, values which I hold near and dear to my heart,” she said. “And now, after more than three decades of TESOL giving this award, amplifying these values and advocating for our students and our profession is more critical than ever.” 

The award recognizes “genuine and long-lasting support of TESOL International Association through leadership and service, exemplary professionalism and representation of TESOL values” and a commitment to the mission of TESOL. 

Panferov Reese’s research focuses on language program administration, professional development, teacher training, pedagogy and literacy acquisition. She has published on topics ranging from teachers transitioning into professional leadership roles, ESL program marketing and parental support for K-12 ELL students.

Currently, she serves on the Board of Trustees for the International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF) as the Vice President. Since joining the University of Arizona in 2003, she has also been director of the Center for English as a Second Language, director of the National Center for Interpretation and Associate Vice President of Global Engagement. 

We are pleased to announce our 2024-2025 Inaugural Humanities Fearless Scholars (listed with their College of Humanities majors)! 

Jezaniah Allen (Major:  Africana Studies)
Bryanna Alvarado (Majors:  Spanish, Applied Humanities)
Dorian Andrews (Major:  Classics)
Santino Armenta (Major:  Russian)
Athina Bella Ballenger-Maurelli (Majors: Spanish, Italian)
Laurel Burkholder (Major:  German Studies)
Genna Burns (Major:  French)
Anna Chen (Major:  East Asian Studies)
Sydney Crouthers (Major:  Spanish)
Italia Delgado (Majors:  East Asian Studies, Applied Humanities)
Simon DeMangus (Major:  Religious Studies)
Josephine Desmarais (Major:  Russian)
Tokujiro Ellis (Major:  Spanish)
Brynn Feinstein (Major:  French)
Alec Gibson (Major:  Spanish) 
Rebekah Herrera (Major:  East Asian Studies)
Isabella Hightower (Major:  Spanish)
Caiden Horn (Major:  French)
Eleanor Jolly (Major:  Applied Humanities)
Sid Kabra (Major:  Religious Studies)
Elise Kerr (Major:  Interdisciplinary Studies)
Maddie Klein (Major:  Applied Humanities)
Anna Latimer (Major:  Humanities)
Jay Leslie (Major:  East Asian Studies)
Rayanne Lockhart (Major:  Russian)
Maddie McCaskill (Major:  German Studies)
Sarahi Mejia (Major:   Spanish)
Alma Melendez (Major:  Spanish)
Zabrina Meza (Major:  Applied Humanities)
Madelyn Miller (Major:  Interdisciplinary Studies)
Tana Miros (Majors:  World Literature, Classics)
Lillie Nieves (Major:  Applied Humanities)
Ana Ojeda (Major:  Applied Humanities)
Andrea Ortega Delfin (Major:  Spanish)
Samantha Osteen (Major:  Spanish)
Isabella Perez (Major:  Spanish)
Catherine Peterman (Majors:  Russian, East Asian Studies)
Ayden Rappa (Major:  East Asian Studies)
Meagan Rausch (Major:  East Asian Studies)
Isabel Richardson (Major:  Spanish)
Aylin Rochin (Major:  Spanish)
Selene Romero (Major:  French)
Josh Ruiz (Major:  Applied Humanities)
Lily Schmidt (Major:  Classics)
Molly Schreiner (Major:  Italian)
Jazmin Stein Torres (Majors:  French, Italian) 
Chloe Thompson (Major:  Spanish)
Angel Villa (Major:  Applied Humanities)
Angela Villela Salazar (Major:  Spanish)
 

The College of Humanities has designed a Recruitment Workshop to provide GATs and faculty with hands-on instruction in the college’s progress and vision for recruitment, as well as strategies and best practices for recruiting in and out of the classroom.  

Started by the COH Recruitment Task Force, the workshop includes topics like: communicating the value of a Humanities education, fostering student success, recruiting Gen Z, developing humanities-oriented career readiness, talent spotting, enhancing sense of belonging and sharing practical strategies for recruitment of majors. In its third year, the workshop is a requirement for first-year graduate assistants, but returning GATs and faculty are also welcome to attend.

“We are being very proactive in the College of Humanities. These workshops introduce how to do that and why it’s important. It’s the number one topic nationally in the humanities,” said Dorrance Dean Alain-Philippe Durand. “When we do a national search for a faculty job, whenever we do a national search for a job, we bring about three finalists to campus and when I interview people, I ask every one of them about how they will recruit students. Most cannot really answer the question.”  

Each academic year, the College of Humanities enrolls about 100 incoming students as majors. But as of the start of the fall semester, the College of Humanities had 1,689 enrolled majors, more than half of whom have double or even triple majors. So most students who select a Humanities major do so after they’ve started at the university, said Karina M. Rodríguez, Director of Recruitment.

“The vast majority of our current students have declared or switched to humanities or added a second or third major after taking humanities classes. Every class is an opportunity to interact with students who are not already humanities majors,” she said.

Stephanie Springer, Director of Internships and Career Readiness and a Principal Lecturer in the Department of Public & Applied Humanities, said when students feel seen and valued, they’ll want to be in your classroom.

“We teach skills that employers seek, but sometimes graduating seniors are falling short in their ability to articulate their skills in resumes, cover letters and interviews. We can help COH students stand apart from their peers by being explicit about the connections,” she said.

Tania Leal, Assistant Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, said mentoring and talent spotting are crucial, but ultimately good teaching is the best recruitment.

“Confidence building can play a huge role. It may be the first time they hear ‘This is possible. This is an option for everyone who has a passion for it,’” Leal said. “Encourage involvement, in events, talks, clubs and research opportunities. Know how to connect students with opportunities outside the classroom.”

Veronika Williams, Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of Russian and Slavic Studies, said recruitment mindset is all about sharing information

“When I’m teaching 101 classes, every time I have somebody declare a major or minor, I announce it in class and I give them a gift of an official department sticker,” she said. “This creates a sense of community and a snowball effect.”  

Participants in the workshop also submitted ideas and questions through an online portal, which were answered by Recruitment Task Force member Borbala Gaspar, Lecturer in the Department of French and Italian and faculty advisor of the student-run Dolce Vita Italian club. Several questions and suggestions revolved around students participating in clubs and other campus activities

“I personally tell my students how important it is to be active members of clubs. For any job application if they mention that, it is a great example of how they are socially engaged,” she wrote in response. “Mentioning that they active in a club or they take an officer role is important in scholarship applications as well or study abroad scholarships. It matters!”

Sandra Kofford, a graduate assistant teaching a 101 course in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, said she appreciated the workshop for how it encouraged instructors to engage with students.

“Humanities is about being able to connect with others and understand them,” she said. “We need to share something about ourselves that we love to make a connection.”  

All who complete the workshop receive a certificate of completion from the College.