RYAN VAN OTTEN  

After receiving my B.A. in political science and Spanish from the University of New Mexico in 2008, my passions led me to move back to Buenos Aires, Argentina (studied there in 2006). I was determined to use my time after graduation to gain valuable life experience before entering graduate school. During my time abroud, I taught English to various educated professionals and traveled as much as my finances would allow. My time abroad functioned both as personal growing experience and as a well-deserved break from academia. While I desired to stay much longer, I decided to return home because I did not want to lose momentum in my educational pursuits.

The multidisciplinary approach I followed during my undergraduate program of study is something I wanted to  pursue even further.  After returning from my adventures in 2009, I applied to the Master of Arts in Latin American Studies program at UNM. New Mexico’s proximity to Latin America, and its prominent and ever growing Latino/Hispanic population, makes UNM one of the best institutions to get such an education. I believed that the opportunity to pursue this interdisciplinary path would allow me to positively influence lives in a professional capacity. In 2011, I received my M.A. in Latin American Studies with a focus on inter-American relations and political history, in hopes that this will give me a better advantage in finding a career dealing with this region.