While I was admitted to Boston University's history Ph.D. program, I've decided to take a year off. In the meantime, I hope to find a job at a museum or a library. I'm also considering teaching English in the Republic of Georgia next spring.

In the Honors Program, I wrote an undergraduate thesis to graduate as a Commonwealth Scholar. My thesis is about a whale ship that began a short-lived career as a corsair when it was hijacked by convicts in the Galapagos Islands. I've spent countless hours deciphering nineteenth-century documents in New Bedford and working with sources in English, Spanish, French, and even Swedish. This project taught me how to do serious research, and because I enjoyed it so much, I plan to pursue studying the history of piracy at the graduate level.

I think that UMass Dartmouth is unique because it's a large university with the atmosphere of a smaller, more personal college. Academically, it offers a variety of courses. I've been able to take not only Spanish as a foreign language, but French and Arabic as well. This wouldn't have been possible at a small liberal arts college. At the same time, I don't feel overwhelmed by the size of the university, and my professors have taken an active interest in my education and in my future.

Study abroad! I did a short, ten-day study abroad program in Spain's Basque Country. I saw the Running of the Bulls and it was a great time. Also, last spring I spent four months in Cairo, Egypt. This experience completely altered the way I view the world and changed my career goals.

I couldn't have afforded to attend UMass Dartmouth without my parents, and I wouldn't have enjoyed it without my friends at the Writing and Reading Center and in the Honors Program. However, I wouldn't have grown as a student and as a person without my professors and mentors: Professor Darst, Professor Travers, and Madame Cheyne.