Celebrating Our 2025 Graduates in Latin American Studies
View PDF

Congratulations to the class of 2025! 

On Thursday, May 15, the Stone Center for Latin American Studies honored the 28 graduating students in Latin American Studies at the Annual Graduation Reception. The cohort included 14 majors, 9 minors, 3 MAs, and 2 PhDs who had turned their tassels to the left last week. The Greenleaf Conference Room was buzzing with students, families, friends, faculty, and staff toasting the graduates' achievements and future endeavors.  

Senior students majoring in Latin American Studies received the Stone Center’s signature stoles (estolas) adorned with a puma—Koj in Kaqchikel. The puma, ancestral guardian of the Xenakoj community, was selected to represent bravery and strength. Above and below the puma are flowers and seeds that represent the cycle of life.  

We proudly recognize the students from our undergraduate and graduate programs who have distinguished themselves in scholarship, service, and leadership. Read the list below and meet them and some of their many accomplishments.  

 

Meet our Spring 2025 Graduates:

 

Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies 

 

Yasmín Falcón 
BA in Latin American Studies and BA in Sociology 
Minor in Studio Art 
ALAS Board’s Vice President 
NOYA Fellow 

Jenny Herrera Cano 
BA in Latin American Studies, BS in Public Health, and BA in Spanish 
Member of the Peery Society 
The Latin American Studies Prize from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese 
Award for Excellence in Latin American Studies from the Stone Center for Latin American Studies 

Anna Hobbins 
BA in Latin American Studies and BS in Management 
Minor in Legal Studies 

Lily Markus 
BA in Latin American Studies and BA in Political Science with concentration in International Development 

Kristiane Maynard 
BA in Latin American Studies and BS in Neuroscience 
Minor in Public Health 
Award for Outstanding Service in Latin American Studies from the Stone Center for Latin American Studies 

Elvin Mendez 
BA in Latin American Studies and BA in Homeland Security Studies 

Rachel Moody 
BA in Latin American Studies, BA in Political Economy, and BA in Spanish 
Honors Thesis: Shifting Gender Stereotypes of Queenpins in Latin American Drug Cartels: Legal and Media Portrayals, 1970s–2020s 
Harvey & Victoria Bricker Award for the Best Undergraduate Paper in Social Science by a Latin American Studies Major/Minor: Gender Quotas and Gender Stereotypes: Their Impact on Reproductive and Sexual Health Policy 
Senior Honors Scholar (Stone Center for Latin American Studies) 

Sophie Potter 
BA in Latin American Studies and BS in Economics 

Olivia Shackelford 
BA in Latin American Studies and BA in Spanish and Portuguese 
Luso-Brazilian Studies Prize from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese 

Dakota Shelton 
BA in Latin American Studies and BA in Political Science 
Minor in Spanish 
Honors Thesis: Race, Coloniality, and Migration: The Haitian Migrant Movement in Chile 
Maureen E. Shea Prize from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese 

Hailey Tobman 
BA in Latin American Studies, BS in Public Health, and BA in Anthropology 
Minor in Native American Studies 

Cristian Toro Meza 
BA in Latin American Studies 
Honors Thesis: The United States Military Government in Cuba (1898–1902) and the Perils of Administrative Government 
Stone Center Award for Best Campus-wide Undergraduate Paper on a Latin American Topic Research: Immigration Regulation in U.S.-occupied Cuba (1898-1902): Bureaucracy, Imperialism, and The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 

Zoe Yates 
BA in Latin American Studies and BA in Political Science International Development 

Sophia Young 
BA in Latin American Studies, BA in Political Science with concentration in International Development, and BA in Spanish and Portuguese 
The Latin American Studies Prize from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese 
Fulbright Awardee (Brazil) 
Alberto Vázquez Award for the Best Undergraduate Paper in Humanities by a Latin American Studies Major/Minor: The Bilingual Paradox: Disadvantages for Monolingual Guaraní Speakers in Paraguay’s Education System 

 

 

Minor in Latin American Studies 

 

Jared Abazia 
BA in Anthropology and BA in Political Science with concentration in International Development 
Minor in Latin American Studies and Spanish 

Darbhi Durvasula 
BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and BA in Political Science with concentration in International Development 
Minor in Latin American Studies and Spanish 

Arthur Greenup 
BS in Psychology 
Minor in Latin American Studies and Real Estate Studies (School of Architecture) 

Sophie Larkin 
BA in Political Science 
Minor in Latin American Studies and Spanish 

Julia Marks 
BA in Political Science with concentration in International Development, and BA in Spanish 
Minor in Latin American Studies and Jewish Studies 

Libby McGranahan 
BA in Political Science 
Minor in Latin American Studies and Spanish 

Amalia Najera 
BS in Exercise Science and BA in Dance 
Minor in Latin American Studies  

Jack Pluta 
BS in Management 
Minor in Latin American Studies 

Sheccid Rodriguez 
BA in Political Science and BA in Environmental Studies 
Minor in Latin American Studies

 

 

Master of Arts in Latin American Studies 

 

Bebel DeMoura Nilo 
MA in Latin American Studies 

Juliette Maasland 
MA in Latin American Studies 
Dissertetion: The Politics of Obtaining a Social License to Operate: An Analysis of Corporate-Community Relations in the Chilean Atacama Desert 

Nora Lustig Award for the Best Graduate Paper in the Social Sciences by a Latin American Graduate Student: The Extractivist Populist Playbook of Latin American Leaders in the 21st Century 

Ezra Remer 
MA in Latin American Studies 
Dissertation: Dominica Doux – Sweet Dominica: Declining Youth Participation in the Dominican Agricultural Sector 

Stone Center Award for Best Campus-Wide Graduate Paper on a Latin American Topic: From the Countryside to the City: A Study of Geography and Labor Organizing in Dominica’s 1979 Revolt 

 

 

PhD in Latin American Studies 

 

Martín Mejía Carrillo 
PhD in Latin American Studies 
Dissertation: Latin America on the Political Thought of Guillermo O´Donnell 

Carolina Timoteo de Oliveira 
PhD in Latin American Studies 
Dissertation: From the Roots: Tradition and Innovation in Tambor Mineiro’s Preservation of Afro-Mineiro Culture