Starting New Chapters: Celebrating our HISP majors

May was a month full of excitement as our community of HISP students gathered together to celebrate the end of this chapter and the beginning of a new one. As we finished writing research papers, took final exams, and defended honors theses, we got together for a celebratory dinner full of camaraderie, and we shared heartfelt anecdotes from our time at W&M. Over delicious food, we managed to share memories of study abroad in Spain and in Argentina, of passionate and inquisitive discussions in class, and of the challenges of leading sessions as teaching assistants.

The official commencement ceremony was energized by the presence of friends of families. This was the perfect opportunity to remind ourselves that three of our graduating HISP majors had been inducted to PBK; and that two of them had successfully defended honors theses. It was also the best scenario to further recognize the accomplishments and contributions of our amazing students. Besides remembering the awardees celebrated last December, we were able to thank Katie Fitzgerald and Zoe Zollinger for their contributions to our program, and offer them the MLL Outstanding Achievement Award for Excellence in Hispanic Studies. Also, Brandon Carranza-López was recognized for his achievements in research and service with the Howard M. Fraser Award, while the James D. Carter Jr. Award recognized Kimberlee Tozier's overall trajectory in our program.
The graduation festivities were also a great moment to celebrate the retirement of our beloved colleague Francie Cate after decades of devotion to our students, and a most distinguished scholarship. 

The Hispanic Studies faculty are immensely proud of all of you, and hope you will stay in touch in the future and come to visit for Homecoming!

¡Felicitaciones!