CONVOCATIONMAY 16, 2020

SCHOOL OF LITERATURES, CULTURES & LINGUISTICS

U N I V E R S I T Y O F I L L I N O I S A T U R B A N A - C H A M P A I G N

Dear Graduates:

Over the course of 2019, when we started to think of our

first graduation of the new decade, we thought of many

things: who should be our speaker, or how a professional

photographer would help us to capture the special moments

lived on that day. We made plans for how to get more

students to sign up earlier, and to celebrate their stories after

the graduation. Little did we expect that life as we knew it would change irrevocably in the

early days of Spring, 2020, and that we would have to learn to live differently many moments,

including this one.

There is no question that COVID-19 has taken a lot from our lives, and it continues to leave a

path of devastating losses and uncertainty. On this particular occasion, it has taken from you

the opportunity to celebrate this milestone publicly with friends and family, those who have

supported you along the way. It is, without a doubt, a bitter moment. Nevertheless, I would

also like to remind you of what you do have and will stay forever with you: a world-class

education, and the changes that has already made in you. It is because of that education

that you will have better critical, intellectual and practical skills at your disposal. You will be

less susceptible to propaganda and falsehoods. The lessons you have learned in any of our

School’s units, will help you to understand the world better; and you, in turn, will be our Illini

ambassador, creating a better informed, less prejudiced, more inclusive society. Education

fosters creativity, adaptability and resilience. Those are tremendous assets under any

circumstances, but particularly so in times of crisis. The knowledge that you have acquired will

stay with you and carry you through.

Therefore, on this graduation ceremony like no other, we put together a visual reminder of

your accomplishments. The cheering and the hugs may be virtual, but you have earned them.

We stand up with you and salute you for the remarkable resilience and commitment you have

shown along the way and in the past two months. You have already made us, your families

and friends, your communities, so proud.

CONGRATULATIONS, CLASS OF 2020!

L. Elena DelgadoProfessor of Spanish and PortugueseDirector, School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics

In the Beginning, the Word

The last months have driven home how language shapes

our world (we declare a pandemic), conditions our existence

(isolation, quarantine) and serves as an instrument of power

(“Chinese virus” or coronavirus?). There’s much to be said

about the language of the pandemic, but for this message,

I want to focus on something more positive, and more

relevant—the language that we use to talk about what’s happening to you.

We use two different words to talk about this ceremony. The first word is the interesting one:

commencement. It recognizes that this is the moment you really start—and that’s just what it

means in Latin: com (an intensive prefix) + initiare (to begin). It recognizes that, up until now,

you’ve been going through something that was preparatory, the limbo before life really gets

started. Our words have been trying to tell us that all along, actually: we’ve been trying to give

you an education, a word that literally means to lead someone through and out. We’ve led you

out, but into what? That question has more than the usual relevance this year, as we are all

facing a future that’s more unknowable than ever. Commencement signifies a radical change,

a beginning. But we also call it graduation (from gradus, a single step) to indicate how much

you will be taking with you, and how much your future depends on and is shaped by that

education. A giant leap, but also one small step.

The word I want to leave you with, however, is one you know all too well: student. It comes

from the Latin verb studere, which doesn’t quite mean “to study.” Rather, it means to be eager,

to be zealous, to strive—it suggests being anxiously caught up in something you love so

much that you can’t leave it alone. This is what you should take away from your education as

you step into a new life: an eager love for learning, for the world, and most importantly, for

the people in it.

Robert A. Rushing

Professor of Comparative and World Literature, and French and Italian

Dear graduates:

The faculty, academic advisors and staff of the School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics

congratulate you and send their warmest best wishes. We are very proud of you!

LAS ADMINISTRATIONFeng Sheng Hu, Harry E. Preble Dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Angela Graham, Assistant to the DeanBarbara Hancin-Bhatt, Associate Dean for Student Academic AffairsRobert Kessler, Assistant Dean for Finance and Resource PlanningKelly A. Ritter, Associate Dean for Curricula and Academic PolicyDavid H. Tewksbury, Executive Associate Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Area CentersMatthew A. Ando, Associate Dean for Life and Physical SciencesMartin Camargo, Associate Dean for Humanities and Interdisciplinary ProgramsJoan M. Volkmann, Associate Dean for AdvancementIsabel Molina-Guzmán, Faculty Director for Diversity and InclusionW. Brad Petersen, Executive Director of Communications and MarketingDerek Fultz, Director of FacilitiesRandy McCarthy, Faculty Director of ATLAS

12 P.M. | CHANCELLOR ROBERT J. JONES

TO OUR GRADUATES

Today you are graduates of the University of Illinois. It is a remarkable achievement, and we hope that you celebrate the occasion with loved ones. Commencement is a joyous and deeply symbolic event

for all, including the faculty members and staff who have supported you on your journey. It is profoundly disappointing that we are unable to celebrate it together this spring. The Class of 2020 will long be remembered, however, for not only what was lost, but for your resilience and determination as you finished your degree in the face of one of the greatest challenges in our nation’s history.

Congratulations, and we look forward to learning of your future success.

VIRTUAL COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS

“HAIL TO THE ORANGE”Hail to the Orange, Hail to the Blue,

Hail Alma Mater, Ever so true.We love no other, So let our motto be,

Victory, Illinois, Varsity!

Academic dress, consisting of cap, gown, and hood, originated about the twelfth century and was worn primarily for warmth. Subsequently, the material of the gown and lining, and the shape of the hood, represented the economic and social, as well as academic status of the wearer.

In the United States, the great majority of the academic costumes now worn are in accordance with the general provisions of the Intercollegiate Code of 1895, which was revised in 1932 and again in 1960. Under this code, the bachelor’s gown has pointed sleeves, the master’s gown has oblong sleeves with an arc at the bottom, and the doctor’s gown has bell-shaped sleeves. All gowns are black, although the adoption of colored gowns by individual institutions in the United States is becoming more prevalent.

The bachelor’s and master’s gowns are untrimmed. The doctor’s gown is faced down the front with velvet and has three bars of velvet across the sleeves. The facing and bars may be black or may be the color of the subject to which the degree pertains. The bachelor’s gown is worn closed; the master’s and doctor’s gowns may be worn open or closed. Women may wear white collars with the bachelor’s gown when no hood is worn.

Hoods are also black. The bachelor’s hood is 3 feet in length, the master’s is 3 ½ feet, and the doctor’s is 4 feet. Hoods are lined with the official color or colors of the college or university conferring the degree. At the University of Illinois, the lining is orange and blue. The colored velvet border of the hood, which is 2 inches, 3 inches, and 5 inches wide for the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctor’s degree respectively, identifies the faculty or field of study to which the degree pertains.

The black mortarboard cap is standard in the United States. Usually, all tassels are black, but where the graduating seniors do not wear hoods, as at the University of Illinois, the color of the cap tassel indicates the department of study. At the University of Illinois, candidates for degrees wear tassels on the right front quadrant of their caps before degrees are conferred, and move them to the left front quadrant after degrees are conferred. Caps are considered a part of the costume and are customarily removed only during an invocation or benediction, and then by men only.

For all academic purposes, including trimmings of doctor’s gowns, edging of hoods, tassels of caps, and linings of banners, there are different colors associated with the different disciplines. The color for Liberal Arts & Sciences is white.

Caps and gowns were worn for the first time at the University of Illinois Commencement ceremony of 1897. In the early 1900s the Commencement procession marched up Burrill Avenue to the old Armory. After diplomas were received, the procession marched back to the lawn south of Green Street. The seniors sang the State song and “Auld Lang Syne” before they said good-bye to each other and the campus.

ACADEMIC DRESS

BACHELOR OF ARTS (OR SCIENCES)

CLASSICSBrendan John Labbe

COMPARATIVE AND WORLD LITERATURESamantha Elyse LindgrenLillian Marie Wright

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND LINGUISTICSDamian John BehymerKimya Annarose Buckner, # Francisco CarreonJunquan ChenShao Xuan Chew Amar DhebarQihao GuZiqi HuangBarath Suraj KoottalaChristopher Evan Kovac

Yingying Laurie KwokAaron Jacob LichtmanMalini MahesNiharika MandaParth A. Patel Emma Fan Ping TsengVivek K. VaidyaMorgan Hannah WesselXiaohan Yan

EAST ASIAN LANGUAGES AND CULTURESBenjamin A. Cazel Benjamin ChmuraZoe Hannah GoldenfeldDavid K. IsraelJanghun KimKarina LinJesse C. ParkTaylor Michelle PetersDarien N. ShatleyNicholas Joseph StackJoseph Clarence Walters VI

FRENCHHubiba Ali Hayley E. Ban, #Alicia Maria Barbas, # Kimya Annarose Buckner, #Luke John LucioMaysara Y. MitchellAnny L. Solano Bonilla

GERMANIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURESLauren Elizabeth HarneyPu JinElena M. Wilson, #, &

ITALIANKevin Alfonso JaquesVivian PerezMelissa Breanne SilvesterAristides Philip Theodoropoulos

GRADUATES AND CANDIDATES

LINGUISTICSSarah Elizabeth Anderson Nathaniel Jacob AnleitnerBhasvera Shayne Chammavanijakul Emily Katherine CharnyThomas Joseph Crawford Tabitha Lee HansonCamille Tovah IrwinAnna Veronica Kalinowski Aaron Michael KoroghlanianJennifer KusumahHannah Marie McCloudKari Hazel Schwink, #Daniel Mead Stelzer, #, %Stephenie Kathryn Hope Welsch Eileen Juliet Witthoff Linus Zihang Zhu

PORTUGUESECynthia Estrada Diaz De LeonOlimpia Rodriguez

SLAVIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURESJackson Bernard Barnett Jalie Nicole Merritt, %Maria Carmen PerezKari Hazel Schwink, #

SPANISH Jonathan Tyler AlvarezDaniel AriasIsabella Madeline ArquillaAlicia Maria Barbas, # Ivan J. CarrascoAshley Mitzy Carreon Meliton Chaidez Petrina ChinoEmily A. Ciaccio Krystal Edith Corcoles Freddy De La TrinidadMia L. DetellaNoah T. Dixon Talia Shannon Farrell-Rosen, #Kaiden Isaac FriedrichEllen Celeste Gayde

Cara Erin Geoghegan Gabriel Willem HerzogTheresa Anne HillBriyana Simone Hood Michelle Louise Horn Javier Huazano Padilla Clare Buchanan Kessler Brittany Elizabeth Kiss Katherine KoehlerAlyssa Noel Korenchan Marisa Christina Krilich Reyna Namazzi LeeSara LeonElizabeth Leigh Levine Eleanor Grace Marcet Ignacio Javier Martinez Garcia Angela Lucille Medrano, #Alejandra MelesioSarah Grace NagelDeniz Ali Namik, #Emily Alyse OandasanNatalie A. PalmerHayley Elizabeth Peterson Hannah Elizabeth PorreyIsabella De Jesus Russell

GRADUATES AND CANDIDATES

Rocio SalazarLindsey Christine Sloan Maxwell John StinitesInsiya Zehra SyedTayven Shay UrbancLuis R. VillagomezRobert Kent Ware

TEACHING OF SPANISHEmily Rose BoehmAlexander Matthew Bryk Jenna Maria Cardaras Mia Theresia Carris, #Margarita Castrejon Erica CiezkowskiChristopher Corcoran Leah Emily Grabowski Alice Mary Kenny, #, @Thomas Joseph Lamantia Christine M. Savaiano

Honors Key:# - James Scholar% - University (Bronze Tablet)@ - Phi Beta Kappa& - Chancellor’s Scholars in Campus Honors Program

GRADUATES AND CANDIDATES

MASTER OF SCIENCES (OR ARTS)

Abdullah Fahad M. Alqahtani (Translation and Interpreting) Asena Acar (Religion)Chase Adams (Linguistics)Jeferson Barboza Torres (Spanish)Angela Elena Bustos (Translation and Interpreting)Hannah A. Butler-Auld (Teaching of English as a Second Language)Allison Theresa Casar (Linguistics) Caitlin Cassidy (Linguistics) Isabelle Cavazos (Teaching of English as a Second Language)Sofia Ceron Montalban (Translation and Interpreting) Ruth S. Chung (Teaching of English as a Second Language)Gabrielle Colonna (French)Aylin Coskun Kunduz (Linguistics) Ana Galdamez (Teaching English as a Second Language)Thomas More Galgani (Translation and Interpreting)Jonathan S. Gonzalez (French)Malikah Asrayyah Gordon (Translation and Interpreting)Amy Yuiko Gorgone (Linguistics)

Anita Greenfield (Teaching English as a Second Language)Paul Allen Haker (Spanish) Nalaka Saman Hewage (Teaching of English as a Second Language)Tatiana Kashina (Teaching of English as a Second Language)Jesse Marie Keruskin (French) Pamela Kline (Teaching English as a Second Language) Audra Lincoln (Translation and Interpreting)Mengying Zhao Lunsford (Translation and Interpreting)Monica Madel (Translation and Interpreting) Janani Mandayam Comar (Religion)Joao Luís Mota Marques (Translation and Interpreting)Danil Massip Formenov (Spanish)Abby Moya Lang (French)Megan Li Nierenhausen (Teaching of English as a Second Language)Chie Nozaki (East Asian Studies)Leah Renee Raimondi (Comparative Literature) Rachita Rana (Teaching English as a Second Language)Bridget Kathryn Reddy (Translation and Interpreting)Erin Rose Ryan (Teaching of English as a Second Language)Abdulhakeem Saffar Salaudeen (Translation and Interpreting)Taraneh Sanei (Linguistics) Mariagabriella Stuardi (Italian)

Yinglun Sun (Linguistics)Hillary Rose Veitch (Teaching of English as a Second Language)Xiangyu Wang (East Asian Studies)

GRADUATES AND CANDIDATES

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Begona Arechabaleta Regulez (Spanish)Adrian Bello Uriarte (Spanish)Estibalitz Ezkerra Vegas (Comparative Literature)Sara Fernandez Cuenca (Spanish)Marina Filipovic (Slavic Languages)Stephen Este Paul Froedge (Classics) Teresa M. Greppi (Spanish)Myeong Hyeon Kim (Linguistics)Adam Alexander Kozak (Classics)Monica E. Lugo Velez (Spanish) Ethan Madarieta (Comparative Literature)Sara Mason (Spanish)Camille Anne Sarah Meritan (French; Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education)Cristina Mostacero Pinilla (Spanish)Daniel J. Ross (Linguistics)Noelia Sanchez-Walker (Spanish)Richard Sanders (Comparative Literature)Jasmina Savic (Slavic Languages)Clayton A. Schroer (Classics)Nicholas Andrew Strole (French)

Juan Andres Suarez Ontaneda (Spanish)Peter Tarjanyi (French)Benjamin Weissman (Linguistics)Jessica Wells (Classics)Gyula Zsombok (French)

GRADUATES AND CANDIDATES

Degree Information

This program contains an unofficial list of candidates for graduation on May 16, 2020 or those BA/BS and MA candidates who have stated an intention to graduate in August 2020 and are within the required number of credit hours to do so. This program may also include graduates who received degrees in August 2019 and December 2019. The list of May graduates is as accurate as possible. These names come from those students who placed their names on the Pending Degree List from 2020, as well as names of additional MA and PhD candidates provided as of April 24, 2020, by the Graduate Students Services staff of the School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics—to whom we are indebted for their invaluable assistance. Also, because of this year’s design submission deadline (April 24) names of some degree recipients may not appear.

The University’s official registry for conferral of degrees is the Office of the Registrar, 901 W. Illinois St., Urbana, IL 61801.

THANK YOUA special thank you to family and friends who have continually supported

the graduates throughout their time at the University of Illinois.

LAS.ILLINOIS.EDU