2024-2025 RLL End-of-Year Reception

On Tuesday, May 13, the department hosted the 2024-2025 student award reception. With over 60 RLL faculty and students in attendance, we honored graduate and undergraduate students with various awards.

Those honored included:

Lizette Arellano: 2025-26 Teaching Fellow in the Arts & Humanities

Leora Baum: 2025-26 Provost Dissertation Completion Fellowship

Miriam Borrero Robledo: 2025-26 Mellon Foundation-University of Chicago Dissertation Completion Fellowship

Ryan Brown: 2025 Dean’s Award for Graduate Student Teaching Excellence

Cristina Esteves-Wolff: 2025-26 Vigneron Dissertation Completion Fellowship

Lou Gargouri: 2025-26 Provost Dissertation Completion Fellowship

Esther Kim: 2025 UChicago Graduate Student Literary Translation Prize

Caterina Nicodemo: 2025-26 Provost Dissertation Completion Fellowship; 2025-26 Carroll Family Travel Fellowship Dissertation Research Travel Award

Léon Pradeau: 2025-26 Mellon Foundation-University of Chicago Dissertation Completion Fellowship

Andrea Reed-Leal: 2025-26 Franke Residential Dissertation Completion Fellowship

Fara Taddei: 2025-26 Teaching Fellow in the Arts & Humanities; 2025 Humanities Division Conference Travel Grant; 2025 Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender Travel Grant

Jean Vallejo González: 2025-26 Provost Dissertation Completion Fellowship

French & Francophone Studies Majors: Ethan Chen (Honors), Clare Fortier (Honors), Charlotte Gilmore (Honors), Jackson Hart, Nathan Kassahun, Harlem Moore, Chris Pezanosky (Honors), Isa Rosario-Blake (Honors), Marie Shpilrain (Honors), Olivia Song (Honors), Helena Williams

French & Francophone Studies Minors: Matthew Doss, Judi Hernandez, Star Huang, Joyce Huang, Tara Kothari, Skylar Lienhardt, Mel Lopez, Kaitlyn Miranda, Mardet Mulugeta, Eden Negussie, Spencer Neu, Jessalin Nguyen, Grace Oh, Grace Rowan, Ananya Sahai

Italian Studies Majors: Niya Rana (Honors)

Italian Studies Minors: Robert Hale

Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture Majors: Bella Alfaro, Vivian Benishek, Thomas Brooker, Kristin Chang, Thuc Dzu, Michi Franklin, Jordan Gabriel (Honors), Hedy Gutierrez Valdez, Jasmine Jones, Dasha Khamaza (Honors), Frankie Lonergan, Elidia Magana, Aracely Ramirez Flores, Haden Ringel, Iovanni Romarion, Jocelyn Ruiz Perez, Sara Sales (Honors), Caroline Waldmann, Helene Worthington

Spanish Minors: Diana Acuna, Kylan Bartel, Noreen Bendaoud, Marboreth Catano, Cameron Cox, Ben Khadim DeMott, Yami Escobedo, Lou Fontaine, Samantha Francis, Ally Gammill, Ally Gifford, Max Hodes, Billy Leung, Nicole Martinez, Zelia Mauro, Aj Palacios, Lamont Rhodes, Ayishat Shadare, Eva Verner, Paige Zvokel

Latin American and Iberian Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Majors: Jane Jusko

Majors in Two or More Romance Languages, Literatures & Cultures: Olger Carcache, Sam Fried, Charles Hendon, Arianna Lafontant, Eleni Lefakis

Minors in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Cultures: Phoebe Fingold

Global Honors: Olger Carcache, Kristin Chang, Jordan Gabriel, Charles Hendon, Jane Jusko, Dasha Khamaza, Eleni Lefakis, Kaitlyn Miranda, Jessalin Nguyen

Neff Prize for Excellence in the Study of French Literature and Culture: Marie Shpilrain; Honorable Mention to Charlotte Gilmore

FLAG (Foreign Language Acquisition Grant for Summer International Travel): Mella Bettag (Spanish Major)- studying Spanish in Mexico, Liv Moreno (RLL minor)- studying Spanish in Argentina, Winston Park (Spanish minor)- studying Tswana in Botswana

RLL Study Abroad Photo Contest: 1st Place: Leo Low; 2nd Place: Daniella Magbanua; 3rd Place: Charles White

TAPIF: Nathan Kassahun, Olger Carache

Quad Undergraduate Research Scholars:

Ernest Leong, Third-Year, Romance Languages & Literatures;Project Title: Good shepherds and sheep of human descent: towards a medieval biopolitics; Mentor: Daisy Delogu AND Project Title: Translating Charles Perrault's "Le Parralèle des Anciens et des Modernes" ; Mentor: Larry F. Norman

Critical Language Scholarship Alternate: Charles Hendon (Major in Multiple Languages)

Gilman Scholarship: Olger Carcache (Major in Multiple Languages)