Frederick (Jamie) Anderson ’19
Originally from a small town in Kentucky, Jamie is a 2019 graduate of Vassar College and the first student to join the Oviedo Project. He translated the “Letter of Dedication,” and Books I and XI. He double-majored in Film and Hispanic Studies. An avid tennis player, he played for Vassar’s Brewers for four years, becoming one of the winningest players in program history. During his semester abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he trained at Club Ciudad de Buenos Aires (“Muni”) under former Argentine Fed Cup captain Toto Cerundolo. Currently, Jamie lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and works in advertising.
Karly Andreassen ’20
Karly majored in Latin American Studies and Studio Art, with a minor in Hispanic Studies. An artist and designer, she is interested in facilitating the transmission of knowledge through the implementation of digital tools— through website design, through video games, or through academic computing. Through her artistic work she aims at making the unique qualities of her flawed eyesight tangible as well as navigating and celebrating her identity and role within the Dominican-American community.
Annabel Azaro ’23
Annabel is from West Windsor, New Jersey and is a rising senior at Vassar College studying Political Science and Hispanic Studies. She spent the spring semester in Washington DC taking classes at American University and interning at the Embassy of Mexico. She is now working at the Office of Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman for the summer.
Cassidy Baratta ’24
Cassidy Baratta is a rising junior from Boston, Massachusetts. Cassidy is pursuing a Biochemistry major and a Hispanic Studies correlate. She is a member of both the Vassar Repertory Dance Theater and FlyPeople. Cassidy has enjoyed her experience working on the Oviedo Project, as it has given her the opportunity to explore the Spanish language through a historical lens.
Jack Bertman ’22
Jack is a recent Vassar graduate with a major in biochemistry. He was born and raised in Rhode Island, and is interested in the sciences, clinical research, and medicine. He was drawn to the Oviedo Project through HISP 227 and learning about the greater work; particularly, how Oviedo had such an attention to detail, reminiscent of modern science. After Vassar, Jack will be working as a Clinical Research Coordinator in Boston, MA, with a later goal of applying to medical school.
Onyx Beytia ’22
Onyx Beytia is a third year student majoring in Political Science and Hispanic Studies with a correlate in the Philosophy of Ethics, Society, and Politics. A dual-citizen of Argentina and the United States, Onyx has previously worked in the National Congress of Argentina with Deputy Josefina Mendoza for the province of Buenos Aires, taught as an assistant English instructor in Olavarría, Buenos Aires, and has volunteered with Mensajeros de La Paz in Villa 31 and Bajo Flores in the city of Buenos Aires.
Isabel Bielat ’20
Isabel Bielat graduated with majors in History and Victorian Studies and a correlate in Hispanic Studies. She sang in Vassar College Women’s Chorus, Camerata, the Mahagonny Ensemble, and other local choirs. During her semester at the Vassar Wesleyan Program in Madrid, Isabel continued her studies in history and literature and sang in the Coro de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Isabel will pursue graduate studies in history at the University of Virginia.
Natalie Bielat ’23
Originally from Connecticut, Natalie Bielat is an English major with correlates in Studio Art and Hispanic Studies. Her experience with the Oviedo Project has offered a unique perspective in translation that has helped her with various projects in the publishing realm, including both her on-campus job and summer internship. She is excited to continue studying Spanish during her final year at Vassar!
Adele Birkenes ’20
Adele Birkenes is a senior majoring in Geography and minoring in Biology and Hispanic Studies. She plans to pursue a career in community geography.
Rachel Blair ’22
Rachel is a junior double majoring in Hispanic Studies and International Studies. She is a member of Vassar SEED, Vassar College Sound System, Vassar Ultimate, and the Vassar College Writing Center. Rachel plans to study abroad in Madrid and hopes to continue her work with the Oviedo Project.
Eliana Blam ’22
Eliana Blam is currently a sophomore at Vassar College and is originally from Atlanta, Georgia. She plans to major in Sociology and to pursue a correlate in Hispanic Studies. She is one of the creative directors for HYPE (a dance group) and also volunteers her time to tutor middle school students in the Poughkeepsie area for VELLOP. Eliana intends to spend a study abroad semester in a Spanish speaking country and is excited to continue her contributions to the Oviedo Project.
Lucy Brown ’23
Lucy is a double major in Biology and Hispanic Studies. She is from Brooklyn, New York and loves rock climbing and spending time outdoors.
Fiona Bruckman ’22
Fiona Bruckman is a 2022 graduate from Philadelphia. At Vassar Fiona was a Science, Technology, and Society major with correlate sequences in Urban Studies and Hispanic Studies. She really enjoyed working with the Oviedo Project in the spring semester of 2021 as she was living remotely and the project gave her an opportunity to practice Spanish language skills in a virtual classroom environment.
Joana Cardoso ’22
Joana graduated from Vassar College with a major in Biology but also has a great passion for languages. She has lived in New York City most of her life but is originally from Portugal. While translating for the Oviedo project in the Spring of 2022, Joana enjoyed working with 16th Century Spanish and getting a glimpse of how the language diverged into modern-day Spanish, Galician, and Portuguese.
Lilian (Lily) Carmichael ’20
Lily Carmichael graduated from Vassar College in 2020 with a B.A. in Mathematics and Music with a correlate in Hispanic Studies. After directing both The Vassar Devils and the Vassar College Majors, Lily is pursuing a career in choral conducting.
Paola Castañeda ‘22
Paola Castañeda is from Inglewood, CA and is currently pursuing a Drama and Latinx & Latino Studies double major at Vassar College. She is excited to intertwine her love for theatre design and Latinx storytelling in the near future. In her free time she enjoys crafting and playing ukulele.
Nywel Cheaye ’22
Nywel Cheaye is a rising junior from Northern Delaware. She is currently majoring in STS. On-campus, she serves as the co-president of VXF, a Survivor Advocate with SAVP, and a member of VCEMS.
Dahlia Chroscinski ’19
Dahlia Chroscinski, Vassar class of 2019, was a double-major in Hispanic and Russian Studies. Originally from Hershey, PA, she was the Academic Intern for the Department of Hispanic Studies in her senior year. A talented athlete, Dahlia played soccer for Vassar’s Brewers throughout her four years on campus. She spent a semester abroad with the Vassar Wesleyan Program in Madrid. Together with Jamie Anderson and Joseph Niver, she was one of the first team of translators for the Oviedo Project.
Christine Kerrol Chung ’24
Christine Kerrol Chung is a rising junior in the class of 2024. She majors in Philosophy and is working towards a correlate in Hispanic Studies. Before coming to Vassar, she has lived in both the UK and Taiwan. Outside of classes, she enjoys singing with Measure 4 Measure and hanging out with her friends. She enjoys doing the Oviedo project as she finds it really interesting how Spanish has evolved into its modern form, as well as the funny anecdotes Oviedo includes in his writing.
Desmond Curran ’19
“Translating for the Oviedo Project was probably one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had at Vassar. I got to work in-depth and up-close with a primary resource in a way that I had rarely had before. It was fun to find the particularities of Oviedo’s writing style across different chapters, despite his (confusing) aversion to the use of periods. Nevertheless, the content of his writing is dense and astounding. I learned so much about Columbus and the island of Hispaniola from only ten pages! It was a fantastic opportunity for me to participate as an undergrad, and I cannot wait to see the project finish.”
Madeline Seibel Dean ’22
Madeline Seibel Dean is a junior at Vassar College, majoring in English and minoring in Hispanic Studies. She is from Denver, Colorado. In addition to translating, she helps run the Vassar Student Review.
Max Eliot ’21
Max Eliot is a History and Hispanic Studies major from Boston, Massachusetts. Outside of class he works as a designer and production manager in student theater, and helps organize the student music scene at Vassar.
Carlos Espina ’20
Carlos Eduardo Espina, a Political Science and Government, Latin American Studies, and Hispanic Studies major at Vassar, was the Vassar Student Association President during his senior year. While at Vassar, Carlos organized an exhibit entitled “Dear Carlos: Mail from a Detention Complex” that gathered responses received by Carlos to letters written to ICE detainees offering emotional support. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been fundraising to provide board games, puzzles, and art supplies for immigrant children on whose behalf he had previously organized a soccer and education program.
Carly Fajardo ’23
Carly Fajardo is a member of Vassar College’s class of 2023. She is from Ocean View, Delaware and is also a part of the Vassar women’s volleyball team. Her experience with the Oviedo Project was fantastic and she would like to thank all of Vassar’s faculty that assisted her in her translations.
Sophia Florida ’22
Sophia Florida is a sophomore at Vassar from Ridgewood, NJ who loves translating and FaceTiming her little sister. She plans to major in International Studies with a focus in Hispanic Studies. She is thankful for the encouragement that her professors in the Hispanic department gave her, they know even more than all of the Internet’s Spanish language dictionaries.
Alix Gonzalez ’23
Alix is a class of 2023 international studies major, analytic philosophy and history double minor. They’re from the state of Nuevo León in Mexico and are a native Spanish speaker. Though they’ve been speaking Spanish their entire life, working in the Oviedo Project introduced them to Old Spanish and helped them to enhance her understanding of the language. They had lots of fun translating chapters and learning all about early encounters with the new world!
Olivia Gotsch ’23
Originally from Chicago, Olivia Gotsch is pursuing a BA in anthropology and continuing her language studies at Vassar College, with translation work on the Oviedo project falling at the intersection of her many interests. Outside of academics, she performs with Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre and works in arts administration as the assistant to VRDT’s director.
Laurel Hanson ’23
Laurel is a Political Science major from Texas. Outside of school, she works as an English-Spanish translator of immigration documents, and she really enjoyed the change of pace of working on the Oviedo Project, as well as the challenge of very different topics and language. Her favorite was the mamey chapter!
Melissa Hernández ’22
“Hola mi gente! I am Melissa (MEH-LEE-SAH) a rising junior for class of ’22. My first language is Spanish as I spent a majority of my childhood growing up with a Puerto Rican grandmother. I am majoring in Latin American Studies, while also on the premed track. My interests lie in traditional/alternative medicine practices learned from the indigenous communities across Latin America or really anywhere in the world! That is why I chose these specific chapters that heavily focus on the different plants that were used by the natives of Santo Domingo to treat various ailments. I hope you all enjoy this journey through history.”
Mahalia Iwungo ‘21
Mahalia Iwugo is a rising senior from Washington, D.C. She is majoring in Urban Studies and is pursuing a minor in Hispanic Studies. She joined the translation team after spending a semester abroad in Argentina, during which she was a part of several other Spanish to English translation projects.
Josh Lacoste ’21
Josh is a biochemistry major on the pre-med path from Tampa, FL. Outside of the classroom he’s on the Men’s Varsity track and field team and involved in Habitat for Humanity. “I really enjoyed this project because I got to learn more about how we can maintain the integrity of the original language while translating historical texts!”
Nikki Leopold ’22
Nikki Leopold is a cognitive science major and Hispanic studies minor from Richmond, VA. They will be continuing their education at Thomas Jefferson University in the Community & Trauma Counseling program.
Jaime Magaña ’22
Jaime Magaña was born and raised in the sunny Central Valley in Modesto, California. He is a Class of 2022 alumnus that double majored in Psychology and Hispanic Studies. After graduation Jaime will pursue his master’s in Counseling Psychology at CSU Long Beach. His goal is to serve the mental health needs of California’s Hispanic community with his Spanish language skills. Engaging with such a historical text for The Oviedo Project was a truly enriching experience that guided him to find a deeper appreciation for the beautiful intricacies and evolution of the Spanish language.
Jessica (Jessie) Marasco ’22
Jessie is majoring in Drama, Psychology, and Spanish and pursuing a career in stage management. Outside Vassar she collaborates with Multi-Arts, a non-profit art organization in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts, where she is Assistant to the Director.
Molly McCarthy ’21
Molly McCarthy is a member of the class of 2021 from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is on the pre-med track and is a Hispanic Studies major. In her free time, she likes to play her violin and go backpacking and hiking.
Leila Mishalini ’22
Leila Mishalani, class of 2022, is a Biology major with correlates in Hispanic Studies and Music Performance at Vassar College. After graduation, she is returning to New York to finish studying public health.