In Pre-K, I answered my teacher's question, "what do you want to be when you grow up," with an im... more In Pre-K, I answered my teacher's question, "what do you want to be when you grow up," with an immediate answer: a robotics engineer. From middle school, to high school, to declaring myself as a computer science major, becoming a robotics engineer remained my one and only answer. After seven years as a student at the University of Texas, I am proud to say that I did not become a robotics engineer. I am proud to say that because in (not) doing so, I went pursued a path that helped me became a confident writer, an effective student, and ultimately, a better human. That path was lit by wonderful mentors. I want to acknowledge Dr. Laura G. Gutiérrez for being one of the first faculty members to make me feel welcomed when I visited MALS as a prospective M.A. student and for being the first reader of my thesis. I also owe a lot-if not everything-of what I have learned in the past four years to Dr. Rachel V. González-Martin. Dr. González-Martin introduced me to MALS in the Spring of 2014, she guided my first attempts at research, and she gave me the courage to pursue a graduate degree-something I imagined I was not good enough for. I'm going to miss a lot about UT when I leave but all of it pales to how much I will miss working with you. Thank you, Dr. González-Martin, for helping me with everything over these past four years-I literally would not be here if it was not for you. vi
In Pre-K, I answered my teacher's question, "what do you want to be when you grow up," with an im... more In Pre-K, I answered my teacher's question, "what do you want to be when you grow up," with an immediate answer: a robotics engineer. From middle school, to high school, to declaring myself as a computer science major, becoming a robotics engineer remained my one and only answer. After seven years as a student at the University of Texas, I am proud to say that I did not become a robotics engineer. I am proud to say that because in (not) doing so, I went pursued a path that helped me became a confident writer, an effective student, and ultimately, a better human. That path was lit by wonderful mentors. I want to acknowledge Dr. Laura G. Gutiérrez for being one of the first faculty members to make me feel welcomed when I visited MALS as a prospective M.A. student and for being the first reader of my thesis. I also owe a lot-if not everything-of what I have learned in the past four years to Dr. Rachel V. González-Martin. Dr. González-Martin introduced me to MALS in the Spring of 2014, she guided my first attempts at research, and she gave me the courage to pursue a graduate degree-something I imagined I was not good enough for. I'm going to miss a lot about UT when I leave but all of it pales to how much I will miss working with you. Thank you, Dr. González-Martin, for helping me with everything over these past four years-I literally would not be here if it was not for you. vi
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