Current Graduate Students

Ruth Hernández is a first year MA student in the Latin American Studies Program. In 2008, she graduated from the University of California San Diego with a double major in History and Spanish Literature; there she focused on Chicana/o History and interethnic relations. Ruth’s general research interests are Chicana/o Studies, Gender, Mexico and migrations.

Christy Lofstrom Driscoll

Christy Lofstrom Driscoll is returning to the University of Connecticut as first year CLACS M.A. student. She graduated from UCONN in 2004 with a B.A. in Cognitive Science and a minor in Anthropology. Christy's interests include the effects of foreign political control on native populations, cross-cultural differences in child rearing,and cultural perceptions of self worth & society standing in relation to job type in Latino immigrant populations.

William Otto Katt IV

Otto Katt is a second year MA student in the Latin American Studies program. He is also a graduate assistant in charge of the website for the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Otto graduated in May 2008 with a BA in History and a minor in Political Science from The College of New Jersey. Here at UConn Otto’s concentration is in history. He is currently working on a project analyzing the political discourse of the United States Congress concerning Puerto Rico during the 1930s and 1940s.

Ronnie Shepard

Ronnie Shepard is a second year M.A. student in Latin American Studies. He comes to the University with a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies with a minor in Business from American International College. After completing his undergraduate education in May 2007, Ronnie continued on to earn a Graduate Certificate in National Security Administration as well as an M.S. in National Security and Public Safety from the University of New Haven. In addition to the M.A. in Latin American Studies, he is concurrently working on the Graduate Certificate in Human Rights. His area of concentration is cultural rights in contemporary Andean history. He is a graduate assistant in the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies and editor of the CLACS newsletter, Ariel.

Adriana Vega

Adriana Vega is a first-year graduate student in the Latin American Studies program.She double-majored in English Language Education and literary and scientific translation. She also has a graduate certificate in US History education. Adriana translated research-based social publications for general readership. Her research examines US/Latin America socio-cultural interactions by exploring American foreign policy in the 20th century.

Past Graduate Students