Ph.D. Students
Nuria Alcaide García
Nuria is a second year Ph.D. student in Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Florida. She holds two BAs in English and in Hispanic Philology, and two MAs in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language from the University of Granada (Spain) and in Hispanic Studies from Washington University in St. Louis. She has been a Spanish instructor in different Spanish language schools in Spain and Estonia, and at WashU. Her research interests include second language and heritage language acquisition and teaching methodologies.
Sergio Casado Ariza
Sergio is a second year Ph.D. student in Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Florida. He holds a dual bachelor’s degree in Hispanic and French Studies and two Minors, in German and in Translation & Interpreting, from the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (Spain). He also holds an MA in Education in Spanish and Catalan Languages and Literatures from the same university (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona). His current research interests include syntax, bilingualism, phonetics and phonology in second language acquisition, dialectology, and Romance languages.
Analiz Faife Casas
Analiz Faife Casas is a Ph.D. candidate of Spanish Literature and Cultural Studies at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at the University of Florida. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in French and Francophone Studies, a Minor in Spanish from Florida International University, and a Certificate in Translation and Interpretation. In addition, she holds a Master’s Degree in Comparative Literature from Florida Atlantic University. Her research interests encompass Latin American and Caribbean Studies, postcolonial theory, literary theory, psychoanalysis, feminism, and film studies
Nazita Fazlkhah
Nazita is a forth-year Ph.D. student of Hispanic Linguistics at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at the University of Florida. She holds a bachelor’s degree in the Spanish Language from the University of Allameh Tabatabai (Iran) and She also holds a MA in Spanish Language and Linguistics from the University of Oviedo (Spain). Her current research interests include phonetics and pronunciation in second language acquisition, bilingualism, and sociolinguistics. In her spare time, Nazita enjoys doing Yoga and Meditation.
Ivana M. Frisa
Ivana M. Frisa is a Ph.D. candidate of Hispanic Literatures and Cultural Studies at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at the University of Florida. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from The College of Mount Saint Vincent, and a master’s degree in Languages, Linguistics, and Comparative Literature with a concentration in Spanish from Florida Atlantic University. The focus of her current research projects includes 19th-century Italian immigration in Argentina and its portrayal in literary works from that period.
Juan Manuel Martínez
Juan Manuel Martínez is a fourth-year Ph.D. Candidate in the literature track at The University of Florida. He holds a BA in English (Creative Writing track) and a BA in Modern Languages from The University of Central Florida. Additionally, he earned an MA in Creative Writing from Universidad Nacional de Colombia and an MA in Spanish and Latin American Literature from Universidad Internacional de la Rioja. His interests include, but are not limited to, comparative literature and science fiction and its historical precedent in Latin American literature. He is also interested in writing his own fiction in the narrative form.
María Laura Mecías
Maria Laura is a third-year PhD student in the Hispanic Linguistics track at University of Florida. She holds a B.A in Literature from Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, after that she earned her M.A. in Hispanic Applied Linguistics in Universidad Europea del Atlántico, Spain. Her research interests include, but are not limited to, the heritage language acquisition and pedagogy, Spanish language education through technology, Spanish for specific purposes, and language teachers training. Her hobbies include running and gardening.
María Victoria Muñoz
Victoria is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the Literature and Culture track at the University of Florida. She holds a BA in English Language and Culture and an MA in Contemporary Literatures in English from the National University of Cuyo (Mendoza, Argentina), and an MA in Spanish Literature at the University of Florida. Since January 2024, she serves as Editorial Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief of the Latin American Research Review (LARR). Her current research interests include Latin American contemporary literature, especially written by/about women. She enjoys teaching languages, singing, traveling, and engaging in conversation with people.
Daniela Nuñez de Alvarez Stransky
Daniela is a PhD candidate of Hispanic Linguistics. She holds a B.A. in Hispanic Language and Literatures from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and a M.A. in Applied Linguistics from the same university. Her main research interests include heritage language acquisition and critical pedagogies. Acquisition, loss and reactivation of syntax with special focus on migrants who are returning to Mexico. She is also interested in CDA and the relation between language, race and power. Her hobbies include the practice of psychoanalysis, doing yoga, listening to tango and dancing.
Gabriela D. Rivera Marín
Gabriela D. Rivera Marín is a second-year doctoral student of Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Florida. She holds a B.A in Comparative Literature, and a second B.A. in Linguistics & Communication from the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras (UPRRP). Her current research interests include bilingualism, heritage language acquisition, psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics.
Hannah Treadway
Hannah Treadway is a Ph.D. student in Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Florida. She holds a double B.A. with honors in Spanish and music from Ohio Wesleyan University and an M.A. in Hispanic Linguistics from the University of Florida. Her research interests include bilingual sentence processing, psycholinguistic methodology (i.e. eye-tracking and EEG), the cognitive mechanisms underlying (bilingual) language use, and Spanish-English code-switching. Her hobbies include playing clarinet, teaching music, and hiking with her dog Copland.
Josh Higdon
Josh Higdon is a third year PhD student of Hispanic Linguistics. They hold three BAs from the University of Richmond in Latin America, Latino, and Iberian Studies, Psychology, and Cognitive Science. During their time at the University of Richmond and beyond, Josh published two papers on heritage Spanish speakers’ production of subjunctive mood morphology and present perfect morphology. Their research interests include heritage Spanish, bilingual sentence processing, code switching, and psycholinguistic methodology. In their free time, Josh enjoys exploring local coffee shops, listening to music and attending concerts, and participating in LGBTQIA+ activism.
Jenny Paola Hincapié Marín
Paola is a second year Ph.D. student in Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Florida. She holds a master’s in Social Studies and a bachelor’s degree in Basic Education with an emphasis in Humanities: Spanish and Foreign Languages (English and French), from the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional (Colombia). She is a Fulbrigth Scholar, and has experience in teaching English, French and Spanish as a second language in indigenous communities and as a foreign language, research in the field of interculturality, migration and social dialogue as a pedagogical strategy in the study of gender relations and the construction of citizenship. She is interested in diverse thought systems and feminist social movements. Her hobbies include dancing, listening to music, traveling, learning languages, and practicing roller derby.
Ailyn Figueroa Gonzalez
Ailyn is a first year Ph.D. student in Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Florida. She holds BAs in Hispanic Philology from the University of Havana (Cuba), and a MAs in Humanities, Linguistics academic line, from the Autonomous Metropolitan University (Mexico). She has been a Hispanic Linguistics researcher in Cuba and Mexico, and Spanish instructor at the University of Havana. Her research interests include migration linguistics, heritage language acquisition and sociolinguistics.
Ethan Rutter
Ethan Rutter is a first-year Ph.D student of Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Florida. He holds a B.A. in Spanish Education from BYU-Idaho and an M.A. in Hispanic Linguistics from BYU in Provo, Utah. He is interested in studying second language acquisition and linguistic variation (both synchronic and diachronic). His hobbies include roller skating, listening to music, and juggling.
María Domínguez
María Domínguez is a first-year Ph.D. student of Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Florida. She holds B.A. in Spanish & Linguistics from the University of Florida and an M.A. in Hispanic Linguistics from the University of New Mexico. Her main research interests are heritage language acquisition and code-switching. In her free time, María likes to read, go on walks, and paint.
M.A. Students
Lara Hernandez-Tome
Lara Hernandez-Tome is a first year M.A. student in Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Florida. She holds a dual bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University in Public Policy Studies (concentration in immigration policy) and Spanish, as well as a minor in Latinx studies. She also holds an MA in Political Science from the Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona. Her current research interests include language policy, bilingualism, language rights, and sociolinguistics.
Daniella Conde
Daniella Conde is a second-year M.A. student in Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Florida. She is a double Gator with a B.A. in English with a minor in Spanish from the University of Florida. She is Cuban-American, born and raised in Miami, FL. Her current research interests include heritage language acquisition, raciolinguistics, translanguaging, and “Miami English.” Her hobbies include listening to music (mainly Taylor Swift), going to concerts, trying new coffee shops, writing, and doing yoga.
Verónica Rosich
Veronica Rosich is a first-year Master student in Hispanic Literature at the University of Florida. She holds a B.A in Philosophy from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Her research fields of interest are related to continental philosophy, assuming a marxist and foucaultian approach that seeks contemporary structures of exclusion. Feminism and psychoanalysis are also solid references in her work. She is currently interested in tracking some of the literary and visual representations of latin american migration, specially venezuelan, in the 21st century.
Guadalupe Giménez
Guadalupe Giménez is a first-year M.A. student in Hispanic Literature at the University of Florida. She holds a B.A. in English and Spanish translation from Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (Argentina). She holds a certificate of exchange studies at Europa-Universität Flensburg (Germany) where she worked with English literature and cinema and German language. Her current research interests include female horror literature in Latin America and the cultural reciprocity in its translation into English. She is also interested in works on feminism and human rights.
Alex Menager
Alex is a second-year MA student in Hispanic Linguistics. A proud Double Gator, Alex holds a BA dual degree in Spanish and Linguistics, with minors in Latin American Studies and Anthropology, from the University of Florida. Alex’s research interests include comprehensible input in the language classroom and the implications of learner motivation for long-term proficiency outcomes. Beyond school, Alex is a trained volunteer storm spotter with the National Weather Service and enjoys the Pokemon franchise.