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John Harold Turner Prize

Brandon Morande ‘19 is a Latin American Studies and Sociology double major. He is currently working on his honors project on the homeless in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the national public health system that fails them, and emerging civil society care networks that seek to empower them. His thesis, Salud callejera (Street health): Mobilizing cuidado (care) at the Margins of Neoliberalism,” interrogates why public health services neglect to incorporate the homeless in program planning. Brandon has conducted research in Buenos Aires and has also worked with Maine Health Access to Care in Portland, where he assisted those experiencing or at risk of homelessness and other low-income consumers enroll in MaineCare and connected them with primary care providers. He has recently presented a paper at the Society for Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology conference held in the Dominican Republic.

Naphtali Moulton ‘19 is a Latin American Studies and History double major and he is also a Government and Legal Studies minor. Naphtali is passionate about Latin American History and U.S. foreign policy. At ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ he has worked on topics such as the U.S. intervention in Haiti from 1915-1934 and U.S.-Argentine relations during World War II. He has also done a summer internship with the American Friends Service Committee at the end of his sophomore year, which has provided him with valuable experience in conducting policy research, speaking to politicians and staffers, and attending briefings in DC.

In 2018, the John Harold Turner Senior Prize in Latin American Studies was awarded to both Paola Maymí and Jonah Watt. Both Paola and Jonah were exceptional students who excelled in their coursework, while earning the respect of faculty and their peers. They have also engaged in independent research. Paola completed a research project titled "The Ponce Massacre: Biased Journalism and the Search for a Universal Truth," while Jonah wrote an honors thesis titled “Que vivan los estudiantes: Cycles of Contention and the Chilean Student Movement (1906-present).” Jonah presented his findings at an undergraduate research conference on Latin American and Caribbean studies.

Latin American Studies Public Engagement Prize

Sylvia Jiménez ‘19 has been awarded the 2019 Latin American Studies Public Engagement Prize for her work on hurricane relief in Puerto Rico. Sylvia is a major in Neuroscience and a minor in Hispanic Studies and since September 20, 2017 when Hurricane María ravaged Puerto Rico she has been working eagerly with the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ Community and with different organizations throughout the US and Puerto Rico to create awareness of the situation and help advancing relief causes.

With the help of the Latin American Student Organization (LASO) at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾, they had two successful fundraisers hosted by local restaurants. She also organized a donation drive for Puerto Rico soliciting supplies from members of the community with the help of Student Activities and the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ Children’s Center, as well as a group at the North Eastern University, who agreed to take the school’s material donations. And she also helped with the organization of the McKeen Center supported Alternative Spring Break trip to Puerto Rico. The purpose of the trip was to provide the opportunity for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ students to establish connections with organizations on the island and learn first-hand about the recovery process after the hurricanes, as well as the island’s history and culture underneath the postcard-perfect image.

In 2018, the Prize went to Jonah Watt ’18 who is richly deserving of this award. The summer after his sophomore year, Jonah was an intern at the Maine Mobile Health Program, providing behavioral health screenings, patient outreach, and translating for dental appointments for farmworkers’ children in Augusta, Maine. During his semester abroad, Jonah conducted a part-time internship with Explora Valparaíso, an organization that provides science and technology outreach and programming to schools and communities in rural Chile. Most recently, Jonah participated in an Alternative Spring Break trip to Puerto Rico, where the group met with local organizations and learned about community-led relief efforts.

In 2017, the Prize went to Amanda Spiller ’17 and Eliza Graumlich ’17, who are both richly deserving of this award. After studying abroad for two semesters in Chile and Uruguay, Amanda, a Sociology major, conducted research on the linguistic and cultural assimilation of the Mapuche people in Southern Chile. Next year, Amanda is off to Mexico on a Fulbright and then plans to pursue a Master’s degree in trauma and resilience social psychology.

Last spring, Eliza helped plan a photographic exhibit of Mexican art, while working as an intern at the Santa Paula Art Museum in Southern California. The images were taken by Anglo photographers traveling through Mexico, who were conducting research for the Padua Hills Theater in Claremont. For forty years, that theater performed bilingual plays, musicals and dances for largely Anglo audiences. The exhibit opened in February and will be on display until July 2017. After graduation, Eliza plans to teach English in Madrid for a year. Following that, she writes, “I hope to combine my interests in writing, translation and education as a museum educator or curator.”