I work closely with students of diverse backgrounds on a daily basis, both in courses I teach in the departments of Spanish and Portuguese and Linguistics, and also in my research lab, the Multilingual Syntax Lab. My research examines the linguistic (things like similarities across languages, structural characteristics of words and sentences, etc.) and non-linguistic (social factors like how often bilinguals use each language, in what context, etc.) factors influence the process and outcomes of language acquisition. I frequently research and work with heritage speakers, who are native speakers of Spanish (or any other language that isn't English) whose education has been primarily in English. Because of my research, the courses I teach, and my personal experiences (I live in a bilingual Spanish/English household) I am very familiar with unique challenges faced by first-gen Latino/a students in Iowa and the US more broadly. Please stop by to say hello if you are interested in languages, linguistics, Spanish, Portuguese, bilingualism, or if you just want to chat!