The ����vlog����’ Hispanic Student Association (HSA) will present a pair of on-campus events on April 9 and April 11 that examine Latino immigration to the United States.

On Tuesday, April 9, HSA will host a showing of the acclaimed 1984 film, “El Norte” at 7 p.m. in Baldor Auditorium in the Boreham Business Building. On Thursday, April 11, there will be a panel discussion titled, “The Human Dimension of Immigration,” featuring author Dr. Yajaira Padilla (pictured, left) and immigration attorney Mauricio Herrera. The panel discussion begins at 7 p.m. in the Rogers Conference Center. Both events are free and open to the public.

It is the 40^th anniversary of the release of “El Norte,” an Academy Awards-nominated film that is considered the first feature film dealing with Central American immigration to the United States. The film looks at the enormous human challenges that immigrants face in not only getting to the U.S., but the cultural barriers and discrimination they face as they chase the elusive American dream. HSA Faculty Advisor and Professor of Spanish Dr. Bill Clary will introduce the film and provide historical context.

One of the guest speakers for the panel discussion on April 11 will be Padilla, chair of the English Department at University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and author of the 2022 book, “From Threatening Guerrillas to Forever Illegals: US Central Americans and the Cultural Politics of Non-Belonging (Latinx: The Future Is Now).”

Padilla will discuss the significance of the film, “El Norte,” as well as her book, which states that the experience of Central Americans in the United States is marked by a vicious contradiction. In entertainment and information media, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Nicaraguans, and Hondurans are hypervisible as threatening guerrillas, MS-13 gangsters, maids, and “forever illegals,” Padilla said. Central Americans are unseen within the broader conception of Latinx community, foreclosing avenues to recognition. Padilla explores how this regime of visibility and invisibility emerged over the past 40 years and how Central American immigrants and subsequent generations have contested their rhetorical disfiguration. Drawing from popular films and TV, news reporting, and social media, Padilla shows how Central Americans in the United States have been constituted as belonging nowhere, imagined as permanent refugees outside the boundaries of even minority representation. Yet in documentaries about cross-border transit through Mexico, street murals, and other media, U.S. Central Americans have counteracted their exclusion in ways that defy dominant paradigms of citizenship and integration.

The panel discussion will also feature Herrera, a Northwest Arkansas attorney and former illegal immigrant from El Salvador. Now a naturalized citizen, Herrera owns his own law firm and is an expert on helping other Hispanic immigrants.

There will be an opportunity for audience questions during the panel discussion.

“The panel discussion on immigration to the United States organized by the Hispanic Students Association is a crucial event for our campus community,” said HSA President María Fernanda Maya Arista. “With a large and growing Hispanic and Latino student population at ����vlog����, it is essential to address the challenges faced by immigrants seeking a better life in the United States. Our guest speakers, Dr. Yajaira Padilla and Mauricio Herrera, bring their knowledge and expertise to shed light on this topic. We will engage in a meaningful dialogue that has the purpose of educating, inspiring, and understanding among our diverse student body. This panel discussion promises to enlighten and foster a culture of inclusivity and mutual respect on our campus.”

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A new academic book authored by Dr. Argelia Garcia Saldivar, assistant professor of Spanish at ����vlog����, reviews the impact of capitalist values and the capacity of the transatlantic press to promote emancipated models in Hispanic societies at the beginning of the 20^th century.

The book, Conexiones transatlánticas: Expandiendo límites en el mundo Hispano 1890-1910 (Transatlantic Sisterhood: Expanding Limits in the Hispanic World, 1890– 1910), is based on Saldivar’s dissertation that she completed at Purdue University in 2016.  Editorial Pliegos published this book at the end of 2021 in Spain.

Saldivar said her book primarily targets the academic community studying the gender construction in the Hispanic literature of 19th century but that it also contributes to transatlantic studies by analyzing the press communities and writers networks promoting commercial and cultural exchange between Europe and the Americas before the First World War.

She called it a privilege to publish her first book.

“Now, I am more confident to express my own reflections and have developed a good intuition to select materials,” she said. “Working on the technical aspects helped me to grow up as an author by accepting direct criticism. Now I pay attention to every detail to improve my writing techniques. After all the research involved in this book, I feel very special for having access to professional education and better job opportunities than the past generations had.”

In the book, Saldivar said she analyzed the “discursive strategies used by women at the beginning of the 20th century, to include their voices as part of modern criticism, changing public perceptions about the construction of gender in Hispanic societies.”

“This book shows how the periodical press produced by women for women legitimized discourses that called for equal education for men and women,” she said. “The material analyzed includes news, short stories, dramas, novels, travel literature, conference proceedings, and past and current criticism that evaluates women’s discourses. I focus on the commercial press sending messages to empower women through consumption habits, and interest in different countries and cultures connecting international audiences creating solid networks. The most common discursive practices at the turn of the century used literary representations as the instrument to rise attention to woman condition. Consequently, I included the reaction of the public to women productions, especially the responses generated by the critics of that time to remarkable women authors … I reflect on the impact of commercial press targeting female audiences. We can observe how the consumption habits promoted emancipatory models. For example, fashion magazines invited women to learn about art and science, and to use modern technology to enjoy life in public events, to travel, to practice sports, to play with fashion and impress the public. The fashion magazines also defined the concept of ‘the new woman,’ helping to expand the domestic spaces traditionally designated for women. Consequently, the ‘new’ woman needed an income to sustain the modern lifestyle.”

Saldivar said the historical moment at the turn of a century “woke up curiosity about the future and interest for cultures abroad, expanding the limits of time and space.”

“International news circulated as translations in many European, USA, and the Americas, creating important transatlantic networks that influenced the way of living in both continents,” she said. “There are contexts when women used social activism as a discourse to reinforce their rights, the public demonstration of the intellectual capacity and leadership of women was important for the suffragist movements, then, the circulation news showing contributions of the international women strongly sustained the fight for women’s rights. For example, the contributions of Madame Curie on chemistry and physics, the new educational system designed by Maria Montessori, the research on social welfare and sustainability developed by Dr. Cecilia Grierson, or the prison reforms implemented by Concepción Arenal in Spain resonate throughout the world.”

Saldivar said that as a conclusion, “I can say that even though liberal governments were friendlier to the advancement of women in terms of education and labor opportunities, there exists some limitations that each generation needs to overcome.”

“In a very personal interpretation of women’s struggle for gender equality, I shared the myth of Sisyphus presented by Albert Camus and an analogy to understand the continuous fight for women’s rights,” she said. “The French writer popularized a tragedy showing a hero doing useless work. Sisyphus must carry a rock on his shoulders to the top of the mountain. After surpassing all kinds of obstacles, he must drop his rock and begin this task every day. For many critics, this is an example of the existential problem of living a life without purpose. However, fighting for women’s rights is not a worthless aspiration; each victory improves the lives of women of the next generation. Each time we fight, we learn valuable lessons that transform society.”

Saldivar said she grew up enjoying the idealized representation of woman presented by sentimental novels and romantic poetry.

“Later, as a graduate student in the Spanish literature program at Purdue University, I learned to analyze female characters with different perspectives,” she said. “My main inspiration to write this book came from my advisor and mentor, Dr. Iñigo Sánchez-Llama. His research about Elizabethan Writers Gallery opened a door to investigate professional writers of the 19th century. Latter, working on my dissertation, I developed a great interest in transatlantic connections created by newspapers circulating in Spain, Peru and Argentina, and translated for European and American audiences.”

Saldivar, who joined the Ozark faculty in 2019, earned her Ph.D. and master’s degree, both in Spanish literature, from Purdue University. She has a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Universidad del Atlántico in Reynosa, Mexico.

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����vlog���� administrators and faculty presented the University’s top academic and division awards during the 64^th annual Honors Day ceremony, held Wednesday afternoon via Zoom.

Petron Brown, a theatre and environmental studies major from Nassau, The Bahamas, was the recipient of the 2021 Wiley Lin Hurie Memorial Award, presented to the outstanding senior in the graduating class as voted on by the faculty. The Hurie Award is named in honor of the long-time president of the University and is the highest honor given to an Ozarks student. Brown was also named the Outstanding Student in Theatre.

The award winners in the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts included, Outstanding Student in English – Braxton Leding, Outstanding Student in Art – Megan Johnson; Amanda Alders Pike Art Award – Madison Clary and Isabella Olarte; Outstanding Student in History – Patrick Walker; Outstanding Student in Music – Mario Varela-Pecino; Outstanding Student in Philosophy – Maddy Windel; Outstanding Student in Religion – Fernanda Pichardo; Outstanding Student in Spanish – Jakobe Durant; and Outstanding Student in Theatre – Petron Brown.

The awards in the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics included, Outstanding Student in Biology – Crystal Oudomvilay; Outstanding Student in Chemistry – Destinee Manning; Outstanding Student in Health Science – Chava Roberts; Outstanding Student in Physics – Twanesha Lightbourn; Outstanding Student in Psychology – Laura Gochez Sanchez; Outstanding Student in Environmental Studies of Social Sciences – Nick McDaniel; Outstanding Student in Environmental Studies of Natural Sciences – Kelsey Dixson; and Outstanding Student in Mathematics – Juan De La Cruz.

The awards in the Division of Social Sciences included, Outstanding Student in Accounting – Tanesha Collie; Outstanding Student in Business Administration – Cory Maag; Outstanding Student in Marketing – Elodie Jabouin; Outstanding Student in Political Science – Sarah Vardal; Outstanding Student in Media Production – Sade Seymour; Outstanding Student in Strategic Communication – Lily Marlow; Robert Berry Fulton Award in Communication – Kevin Nawa and Michel Brun; Outstanding Student in Education – Nick McDaniel; Outstanding Student in Elementary Education – Cristina Cuevas; and Outstanding Student in Secondary Education – Ethan Bowman.

“These students represent the fulfillment of our mission,” said University President Richard Dunsworth. “These students embody being prepared to live life fully. The students we celebrated this afternoon have not only challenged themselves and excelled in their chosen field of study, they have also challenged themselves to explore new interests, to expand their capabilities, to become campus leaders, to experience new cultures, and in doing so, they have become valuable members of this campus community. And, when they leave our campus borders they will be valuable members of the world community.”

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When ����vlog���� senior Jakobe’ Durant walks across the stage next week to receive his college diploma, he will proudly establish a new family tradition.

The Spanish major from Destrehan, La., will be the first in his immediate family to earn a bachelor’s degree, and he will be doing so with Cum Laude honors.   

“This is something monumental to me because I have been told that I would not go far, that my goals were too big and that I would not get far in life because of where I was born and because of who my family is,” Durant said. “This achievement helps me show the world that nothing is impossible and, hopefully, that can be encouraging for others. I want to be an influencer that can tell and show people that if you work hard enough you will achieve what you have worked for.”

Durant’s educational pursuits are not stopping at a bachelor’s degree. In the fall he will pursuing a master’s degree in Spanish Language and Literature at the University of Huelva in Spain.

Durant said he was in shock when he learned he had received a highly competitive full scholarship to continue his higher education in Spain, where he had spent a year studying abroad in 2019-2020.

“I almost cried after seeing my name on the provisional list of the scholarship,” he said. “The fact that I was one of the top 20 to receive this prestigious scholarship is a blessing and an honor. My friends, family and professors were the ones that believed in me the most. They believed in me more than I did and that is something that I will never forget.”

Durant said he first got interested in Spanish in high school through a particular teacher, Mrs. Machio, and quickly discovered he had a knack for it.

“When I saw how much I was speaking in as little as a year I continued to go above and beyond the Spanish requirements for the Spanish courses,” he said. “When I was in my last year of high school, I knew I wanted to do something with languages and business and I wanted to double major in international business and Spanish. At the end, I was only able to major in Spanish and minor in international business.”

His love for the language continue to blossom during his time at Ozarks.

“I still remember being a freshman taking senior-level Spanish classes and people asking me to help them with their Spanish, even though I was just a freshman,” Durant said. “For that reason I continued to study Spanish.”

Durant’s said his time studying abroad in Spain was transformational, even though it started a bit rocky.

“My first days were hectic,” he said. “From missing a connecting flight to almost sleeping on the streets, and even getting my boots stolen, I still had a smile on my face and didn’t let any of that bring me down. The reason being that all of this happened in Spain and somehow I knew this would make a great and fun study abroad story one day. Overall, my experience in Spain gave me an all new perspective about the world that we live in and made me aware of what there is in life.”

Durant hopes to combine his love of Spanish with his interest in international business to launch an exciting career.

“My career goal is to ultimately travel around the world helping people businesses expand their companies to other countries,” he said. “Before accepting my scholarship offer from The University of Huelva, I found out that I made it to the second phase of the hiring process of becoming an international agent for a soccer company in Barcelona which would have been a really great job opportunity. Hopefully, if they are still looking for more I would be more than happy to apply again and see where that would take me.”

Being a member of the swim team was one of the extracurricular activities that made his Ozarks experience even more meaningful.

“It definitely enhanced my college experience by showing me that working hard pays off at the end,” he said. “Being named one of the captains for both swim and dive was an honor that I will never forget and I will take with me. These sports have taught me a lot about myself and that I am capable of whatever I want as long as I never give up and work hard for what I am wanting to achieve.”

As he embarks on his finals days at Ozarks, Durant is quick to thank the University for its support over the past four years.

“Ozarks has made a community of people that were strangers my friends and family while I was away from my home in New Orleans,” he said. “Now that I am about to graduate and it is hard to say goodbye to these special people that have been encouraging me since day one. The support I have been receiving from the faculty and student body is unlike any other and for that I am thankful to be graduating from here.”

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In just a few short years, Melle van Duijn has gone from a near college dropout to an honors graduate with a newfound excitement for continuing his education in graduate school.

Having graduated from ����vlog���� in May with Magna Cum Laude honors, van Duijn will attend Oklahoma State University in the fall, where he will pursue a master’s degree in philosophy and serve as a graduate assistant.

Born Dutch and raised in New Zealand, van Duijn came to the United States on an athletic scholarship to play tennis for another Arkansas university. Needing a change of scenery, he decided to transfer to Ozarks in 2017. It was around that time that he said he considered dropping out of college.

“I was very close to dropping out of college upon transferring here,” van Duijn said. “But I can recall a few interactions with staff and fellow students early on that reinforced my initial motivation to get a college degree.”

He said he was also inspired by the University’s LENS program, which encouraged him to explore other academic disciplines. He ended up earning majors in philosophy and Spanish as well as minors in business administration and psychology. As a senior, he accomplished the rare feat of being named the University’s outstanding student in both philosophy and Spanish. A few weeks later, he became the first in his family to earn a college degree.

“The LENS program really helped me come to the right conclusion about what to study,” van Duijn said. “I started off as a business major, but halfway through my sophomore year I realized I had a passion for the arts. My academic advisor, Dr. Bill Eakin, and the rest of the faculty were extremely supportive in exploring options to change my major. Ultimately, I ended up graduating with a double major. The LENS program allowed me to combine my majors and minors to study a variety of fields and topics. For example, my philosophy senior thesis was focused on a philosopher who I had read in previous Spanish literature classes, while my Spanish senior thesis integrated a contemporary philosophical analysis.”

“With the LENS program, I was given the freedom to explore a variety of different fields and I’m delighted to say that it not only allowed me to find my passion, stay in school, but also graduate with a four-year degree as the first in my family.”

Outside the classroom, van Duijn said he fell in love with the Natural State, thanks to Ozarks Outdoors.

“I’ve always had an awesome time on the Ozark Outdoor trips,” he said. “My first year at Ozarks, we camped out on the Buffalo River and I remember having a classic Arkansas outdoor experience with a campfire underneath the night sky. That has to be one of my favorite memories.”

He credited his Ozarks professors, primarily Dr. Eakin and former Ozarks Spanish Professor Dr. Maria Montenegro, for helping him secure a position in graduate school.

“Not only did Dr. Eakin and Dr. Montenegro write fantastic letters of recommendation and help with my applications, but they also provided me with resources that ultimately lead to my decision to go to OSU,” he said. “Outside of Dr. Eakin’s office hung a letter from Oklahoma State expressing their desire for graduate assistants and Dr. Eakin, who was a GA as a graduate student, heavily recommended such an experience. In deciding between Boston College, without a GA position, and OSU with a GA position, his recommendation helped facilitate my decision-making process and I’m extremely excited for this opportunity.”

Ironically, it was a joint class taught by Eakin and Montenegro that further sparked his interest in philosophy.

“I have always been fascinated with existentialism, and the philosophy department at Ozarks really allowed me to explore this interest in depth,” Van Duijn said. “Last year, Dr. Eakin and Dr. Montenegro offered a joint class focused on existentialism that really gripped my interest in the field and made me want to explore it further in graduate school.”

As he heads to graduate school and a possible career in higher education, van Duijn said he will always be thankful to Ozarks for rekindling his passion for academics.

“I mean this with all the honesty in the world; the faculty here have had such a positive influence on me that I’d love to be able to give back in a similar way,” he said. “My ideal job would be to teach philosophy at a small University, just like Ozarks, and have an influence on my future students that resembles the type of experienced I had here.”

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Only about 500,000 people in the world speak the Mayan language called Kekchi and ����vlog���� junior Marcelina Pop of Belize is proud to be one of those native speakers. This past summer she was able to put those skills to use as an interpreter in an immigration case.

Pop, an English and psychology major, is from the southern Belize community of San Pedro Columbia, a village of about 1,200 people and the country’s largest settlement of Kekchi. The community is known for its hand-woven embroidery that dates back to the peak of the Mayan civilization in 900 A.D. Most of the population of San Pedro Columbia came to Belize from the Petén region of Guatemala in the late 19th century.

“I grew up in a small, rural Kekchi village with chickens in the yard, cacao drink in the making and women slapping clothes on slabs of rock by the river banks,” Pop said. “The elders emphasize speaking Kekchi more than the younger people in the community. My parents are very traditional in the sense that they always, always speak in Kekchi at home. Almost everyone you meet in my village either speaks Kekchi or, at the very least, understands Kekchi.”

Pop was asked to interpret this summer by an attorney in Northwest Arkansas for an immigration case on the Mexican border involving a child separation of a family from Guatemala that only spoke Kekchi. The attorney found Pop through U of O Spanish Professor Dr. William Clary’s connection with the court interpretation network in Arkansas.

Pop was able to assist the family through several phone conferences during the summer and was paid for her interpretation services.

“When Dr. Clary asked me if I would be willing to assist on the case, I was surprised,” Pop said. “It was wholly unexpected since Kekchi is a native language and very few people speak it outside where I’m from. I knew from the moment Dr. Clary asked that I would do it because it isn’t every day that I can use my language to provide assistance. It was a privilege to serve as an interpreter, even though it was a difficult situation for the family. I only wish that the circumstances would have been different.”

Pop said that growing up in San Pedro Columbia, she spoke Kekchi at home and learned English in school. She rarely gets to speak Kekchi when she’s at the University.

“I only speak Kekchi when I call my parents back home and sometimes when my friends would ask me to say something,” Pop said. “I have had a couple friends who wanted to learn some words in Kekchi, but they quickly gave up since, according to them, it was such a throaty language.”

Pop said she chose her double major in English and psychology because she “wanted a balance between what I’m passionate about and what would challenge me. English is more of a hobby and psychology is a challenging interest.” She plans to pursue a career in educational or social psychology.

Whatever career she chooses, Pop said her Kekchi heritage will always be a big part of her life.

“My culture instills core values of humility and industriousness, which speaks volumes in how we treat people,” she said. “If you were ever to visit any Kekchi house, you would surely be offered a hot cup of cacao drink and our famous dish, Caldo with poch. I’m just very grateful for and proud of my Kekchi heritage.”

In an informal survey conduct by Clary, he found approximately 30 native languages spoken on the U of O campus by students, faculty and staff. Those languages include Moroccan Arabic (Darija), Indonesian, Malay, French, Karen, Javanese, Swahili, Georgian, Lingala, Kikuyu, Kinyarwanda

Mashi, Jamaican Patois, Azerbaijani, Shona, Kaqchikel Maya, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Japanese and Uzbek.

“That’s quite an amazing aggregation of languages for a school of around 850 students,” Clary said.

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����vlog���� Professor of Spanish Dr. William Clary has published a review of renowned Salvadoran novelist Horacio Castellanos Moya’s latest book for Latin American Literature Today (LALT).

The review of the 2018 novel, “�Ѵǰ��DzԲ���,” appears on the LALT website, , as well as in the February edition of its magazine.

Clary said he first became aware of the writer’s work in the early 1980s when he purchased Moya’s first collection of short stories in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

“As his production as a novelist began to proliferate after 2000, I began to follow him, always finding his work fascinating,” Clary said. “Last year, when he published ‘M�ǰ��DzԲ���,’ I decided to take it on as a project. The book review for LALT is just a part of the project. I have presented a paper on the novel at a conference and am currently finishing a much longer critical article on the novel for publication.”

Clary, who has taught at Ozarks since 2006, was instrumental in bringing Moya to the University in 2014 to speak as part of the Walton Arts & Ideas Series.

“I believe Horacio Castellanos Moya is one of the most creative narrative voices in Central America today,” Clary said. “His work tends to focus on the latent and persistent traumas from the period of the 1980s, which still haunts many Central Americans today, either as residents of their home countries or members of the large Central American diaspora in the U.S. today.”

“Moya’s is a powerful and piercing voice of memory that references the horrors of war that consumed the isthmus and how they remain in the minds of so many who were first-hand witnesses to this tragic decade in Central American history. Yet his work also deals with the demoralization and disenchantment that have also subjected Central America to the equally devastating problems of gangs and the drug trade, major problems of the postwar period which persist, alongside widespread poverty, in the conflicted region.”

A former editor of news agencies, magazines and newspapers in Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador, Moya has published 12 novels, five short story collections and two essay collections. In 2014 he received Chile’s Manuel Rojas Ibero-American Narrative Award. Currently he teaches creative writing and media in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Iowa.

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With colorful macaws flying in formation overhead, the growls of howler monkeys echoing through the jungle and surrounded by walking palms — Tolkienesque trees that get its name from its tall, spiny root system that looks like multiple legs — Cherokee Gott found herself in disbelief as she stood in the rainforest of the Bolivian Amazon.

“I kept thinking over and over, ‘I can’t believe I’m here right now,’” said Gott. “I’m from a small town in Oklahoma and I had never even been on a plane before, much less travelled outside of the United States. This was all so new and exciting to me.”

Gott was one of 15 ����vlog���� students and faculty members who took part in a 15-day study abroad trip to Bolivia and Peru in January. The trip was the capstone of a multidisciplinary Fall 2017 Semester class — Study Abroad: Bolivia and Peru — that examined the culture, language, history and agriculture of the region.

The upper-level class was taught by Dr. William Clary, professor of Spanish, and Dr. Kim Van Scoy, professor of environmental studies and sustainable agriculture. The highlights of the trip were visits to the Madidi National Park in the Bolivian Amazon, the highlands of the Andes Mountains and the World Heritage site of Machu Picchu.

Like Gott, a sophomore environmental studies major from Claremore, Okla., it was the first significant trip abroad for several of the students on the trip.

“When the plane took off from Miami, that is when it really hit me that I was doing what I had always dreamed of doing since I was a kid; I was travelling the world,” Gott said. “The whole trip, from the time we landed in La Paz, Bolivia, to flying over the Andes Mountains, hiking in the Amazon and standing on top of one of the Seven Wonders of the World at Machu Picchu, was an amazing adventure. It was extremely difficult to convey my thoughts in my journal because I could not come up with the words to explain the uniqueness and beauty of the land, people and experiences.”

Clary, who has organized and led numerous study abroad trips to Central and South America, said students learn on multiple levels during a trip like this.

“Certainly exposure to societies and cultures with complex economic challenges gives them needed perspective on how most of the world lives,” Clary said. “Student growth also occurs as they begin to understand that traveling like this is feasible, that one can do these kinds of trips without the guiding hand of a travel agency. Finally, by experiencing Bolivian and Peruvian culture up close in different contexts, students acquire both knowledge and deeper understanding of intercultural differences and historical traditions outside the United States.”

Van Scoy added that a trip abroad is the ideal “cure for racism and prejudice.”

“I think the students who travel to Latin American countries learn first-hand how generous and gracious our neighbors to the south are,” Van Scoy said. “In Bolivia, we were shown tremendous generosity from the second poorest country in the hemisphere. Lessons like that stick with students.”

Bordering Peru, Madidi National Park encompasses an area of 1.9 million hectares of South American rainforests, glaciers and Andean peaks. With more than 1,000 bird species, 12,000 plant species and 2,000 vertebrates, it is considered one of the most biodiverse spots on Earth.

The Ozarks contingent spent four days and three nights staying at an indigenous eco camp deep in the Madidi rainforest—a six-hour boat ride from the nearest city. Local guides led the group on several educational treks through the jungle.

“To experience life in the jungle and to see and learn about all of the different plants and animals was an experience I will never forget,” said Deborah Sebagisha, a sophomore chemistry major from Rwanda. “It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

One of the highlights of Madidi was an opportunity to visit a remote, off-the-grid indigenous village in the Amazon rainforest, the Quechua-Tacana community of San Jose de Uchupiamonas. The group toured the village and was invited to have lunch with a local family.

“I learned that the happiest people in the world are the ones that seem to not have a lot. The perfect example of this would be the members of the indigenous village,” Gott said. “Our guides were amazing and they always seemed to be smiling and joyful. When we visited the village, the people were extremely friendly and welcoming.”

Sebagisha agreed that the visit to San Jose was impactful.

“The people of the village didn’t have a lot, but they wanted to share the little that they had,” she said. “I would describe them as a very humble and charitable community. I learned from that community about sharing and caring with no limits and discrimination.”

A visit to the lost Inca city of Machu Picchu, high in the Andes Mountains, was another high point of the trip.

“Machu Picchu has always been a place that I have wanted to visit since high school and never in a million years did I imagine that I would visit as a college student,” said Rebeca Silva, a junior Spanish major from Rockwall, Texas. “To learn about it in class and then to actually get to see it in person was amazing.”

Silva said the entire trip “broadened my horizon on the way I view life and the world.”

“Every place we traveled to changed me in a different way and opened my eyes,” Silva said. “From experiencing a different way of life and culture, I grew to be more appreciative of the things that I feel are taken for granted in America. Something as simple as a free public restroom, with toilet seats, is something that I now feel grateful to have. This trip was very much a humbling experience for me and I feel blessed with all the lessons, memories and experiences that I have taken and made from it.”

The trip was not without its difficulties. Nauseating altitude sickness, painful insect bites, uncomfortable overnight bus trips, frustrating visa issues at the border and pesky 3 a.m. wakeup calls were a few of the minor inconveniences the group faced. There was even plane mechanical problems that delayed the return home two days.

“This was a very challenging trip and the students were often outside of their comfort zone,” said Van Scoy. “The altitude was challenging and several were impacted. Through it all, they remained in good spirits and were enthusiastic about their opportunities. I don’t think there was a single person who participated on this trip that didn’t grow personally.”

For Hailey Godfrey, a junior health science major from Salem, Ark., her first trip abroad was eye-opening.

“This trip helped me realize all of the steps that are involved in traveling abroad,” she said. “It is not an easy process. The most important lesson I learned was to be patient. Not everything on an abroad trip is going to go perfect.  We had a couple of hang ups, but it helped me understand how to be patient when things were not in our control. Even with the difficulties, it was an incredible experience.”

Most of the students received assistance to pay for the trip through the King Endowment for International Study, a University fund established by the estate of Virginia L. King to help Ozarks students who want to study abroad.

“To see first-hand how gracious people are and to experience the unique sights, sounds and smells of a foreign country is just incredible,” said Kole Smith, a senior biology major from Canehill, Ark. “This trip has given me the confidence and desire to travel abroad more and to see different parts of the world and I’m thankful that the King Endowment gave me this opportunity.”

For Gott, her first trip abroad has motivated her to begin plans to spend a semester during her junior year studying abroad in Chile.

“I knew I needed to experience travelling with a group first before I started thinking about going somewhere on my own,” Gott said. “Whoever says that travel is over-rated needs to open their minds and broaden their horizons. The world is so much bigger than the United States and it is definitely worth seeing. There is so much to learn about and so many amazing people and places to see. I cannot wait for my next adventure.”

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Since arriving at Ozarks, the senior Spanish major from Little Rock, Ark., has lived with a host family and studied Spanish in Costa Rica, served on a Rotaract Club mission trip to El Salvador, and participated in a two-week program in Japan that examined the effects of a nuclear disaster.

“It’s pretty amazing when I think about the opportunities I’ve had since coming to Ozarks,” said Mansur, who will graduate in May. “I’ve grown and learned so much in the last four years. Growing up in Arkansas, I never even considered leaving the country. Now I can’t wait for my next adventure.”

Meghan Mansur plans to use her degree and experience to teach English as a second language in Central and South America after she graduates in May.

That adventure includes a plan to spend the next two years teaching English as a second language in Central and South America. She hopes it will provide the foundation for a career in teaching Spanish on the college level.

“Ozarks has given me the skills and confidence to take on a challenge like this,” Mansur said. “I know I want to teach Spanish in the future and I believe this will help me tremendously. I honestly can’t wait to begin.”

Mansur was a theatre major up until her junior year, when she decided to switch to Spanish.

“I took a couple of classes and realized that I really loved Spanish,” she said. “It’s a lot like putting together a puzzle. Each day you put a little bit more of the puzzle together and you slowly start to see the big picture.”

Ozarks’ personalized attention and flexible curriculum allowed Mansur to switch majors during her junior year and still graduate on time.

“Dr. [William] Clary was great to work with me and made sure I was getting the classes and the experiences I needed,” she said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it at most colleges.”

Her decision to major in Spanish and pursue a career teaching the language was reaffirmed during her immersion experience living and studying in Costa Rica during the summer of 2016.

“Being able to build close relationships with the family I was staying with and other people made me realize the importance of language in relationships,” Mansur said. “Interacting with my host mom’s 5-year-old grand-daughter and cooking meals with my host mom were some of the most special moments of my life. I want to help other students experience those types of things and to be a resource for them.”

At Ozarks, Mansur is the president of the Campus Activities Board, a resident assistant and a member of the Rotaract Club. She has also been an orientation leader and student ambassador and has been a member of the academic Dean’s List in six of her seven semesters.

“I’ve been able to be a part of so much at this university and grow in so many wonderful ways,” Mansur said. “Ozarks has shown me that anything is possible.”

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Associate Professor of Spanish Dr. Bill Clary will present a paper at the Latin American Studies Association Congress in late May.

Clary’s paper focuses on Salvadoran writer Roger Lindo’s 2006 novel “El perro en la niebla.”

Clary will also chair a panel discussion at the annual conference for the ninth time. The theme for this year’s panel is, “Rescuing cultural memory in contemporary Central American narrative: the retrospective impulse of the 1970s and 1980s.”

“My involvement as chair has enabled me to invite and have the privilege of paneling with some of the top scholars in the field of Central American cultural and literary studies at the eight congresses my panel has appeared in since 2003,” Clary said. “Other scholars on my panel will present their research on the works on contemporary Central American writers Horacio Castellanos Moya, Gloria Guardia and Erick Aguirre. Our discussant for the panel is Leonel Delgado Aburto, a Nicaraguan scholar who specializes in Central American cultural studies. He will travel to Chicago from the University of Chile in Santiago where he holds a position as professor of Central American literature and cultural studies.”

In addition to the LASA conference, Clary will be presenting at the 12th Congress on Central American History in San Salvador in July. His paper is on a novel by Honduran writer Julio Escoto.

Clary earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees from the University of Missouri and has taught at U of O since 2006.

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