Why Mount Union?
I visited Mount Union because an old friend was interested in attending, and I offered to go on a college tour with her. After meeting some wonderful and welcoming people on the admissions team, I decided to apply myself. The sense of community at Mount also impacted my decision to apply. I was then invited to the Presidential Scholarship program, where I interacted with many friendly faces who welcomed me with warm greetings. I was honored to be offered a Presidential Scholarship for the class of 2024, and I could not turn down the opportunity. to further my academic career at Mount Union.
Dedicated Mindset
I chose to major in Spanish before declaring anything else at Mount. I grew up studying Spanish through high school with outstanding teachers and a fantastic program. It was not until I was given the opportunity to travel to both Mexico and Cuba my junior year that I truly fell in love with the language. Having traveled and been immersed in the culture, I developed a whole new passion for the people and places behind the language. At Mount Union, I've had the pleasure to work with Dr. Courtad and teaching assistants from Spain to further my skills in the language.
This semester, I am working with local agencies, non-profits, and organizations to help translate documents and other various materials into Spanish. My goal in doing so is to provide a service that will expand and diversify the company's mission so that we can expand our customer reach. I have worked with and completed translations for the Alliance Area Domestic Violence Shelter, Dean's Funeral Home, and the City of Alliance. I hope to continue to use this passion in the future to assist in making resources accessible for marginalized communities.
Encouraging Faculty
Dr. Gwen Gray Schwartz without a doubt has had the biggest impact on my experience at Mount Union. We met during my first semester on campus, in an Introduction to Creative Writing course, and she challenged but also encouraged me in ways that no one else has ever done. Afterwards, Dr. Schwartz and I stayed in contact, meeting often to discuss my major successes and roadblocks in college. This continued when I took her Reading and Writing Creative Nonfiction course, where I was once again truly pushed in the best way possible to better my writing. By the end of the semester, I was convinced that I wanted to change my writing minor to a writing major.
Honors Research
Dating with Depression-- And Some Other Stuff
My project focused on the research of living with mental illness while navigating romantic relationships. Some of the topics I studied included communication and conflict resolution, cohabitation, therapy, PTSD and healthy sex lives, and deciding to end a relationship with a mentally ill partner. My final project was a collection of poetry that combined my lived experience with these subjects and the research I conducted. Each poem was originally written in English and translated into Spanish, resulting in a bilingual collection of eight poems.