Students in Dr. Amy Bell’s SPN4369 class overcame their nerves to give a polished group presentation at last week’s annual University College Day, themed “Rams Research: Inspiring Freedom through Knowledge.” Dr. Bell’s students explored this year’s theme through the lens of the U.S. Latinx literature they’ve been reading this semester. Their well-attended presentation, "Bumpy Road: El camino hacia la libertad en la literatura latinx de los Estados Unidos," was notably the only UCD presentation given in Spanish.

The group discussed how the characters in their assigned readings pursue freedom and prosperity despite challenges such as racism, discrimination, generational poverty, and fatalism. They concluded that education is the key to overcoming these and other obstacles, as evidenced by the characters’ journeys and the authors’ real-life trajectories. The many first-generation students in attendance, the first-generation presenters and the entire Ramily would agree: education not only enriches our lives but also provides a path toward liberty and abundance.