International Travel

Every doctoral thesis has a backstory, and mine begins at age 16 at Trinity High School, when a group of students from Seville, Spain visited as part of an exchange program. As circumstances would have it, I became fast friends with many in the group, and, to my enormous delight, I was given the opportunity to reciprocate the exchange by visiting Seville in the summer of 2010. I will be forever grateful to Dr. Dan Zoeller, Maria Martin, Don Switzer, and especially the late Pilar Nordmann for providing me with this life-changing experience. Over the past 11 years, since our first meeting, I have become exceptional friends with my host brother, Manuel Fernandez Ponce, whose humor, openness, and comradery continue to make me feel at ease and at home. To Maria, Fernando, Reyes, and Lola, thank you for opening your home time and again, and for your steadfast support and friendship. And to Carlos Pagola Correa, Carlos Lopez Casado, and Andres Membrillo, thank you for many years of friendship.