Class of 2021
Dear Class of 2021,
On behalf of the Department of Classics and Modern Languages, I am delighted to congratulate you on your many and diverse accomplishments. We are proud to have majors and minors who pursue complementary courses of study in all four of Xavier’s Colleges. Indeed, it is a testament to the pervasive value of linguistic and cultural knowledge that U.S. students pursuing a B.A. in a language double major at a higher rate than nearly any other group. That the rate of double majors at Xavier exceeds those national averages by over 30% speaks to our special mission as a Jesuit University founded in the liberal arts tradition. As passionate humanists and life-long students of language and culture, we welcome you into a community of graduates, and look to you to use your knowledge for the continued good of our society, as men and women for others. It is my privilege to wish you well in all of your coming endeavors.
Sincerely,
Jamie H. Trnka
Prof. of German and Chair of Classics and Modern Languages
Meet Our 2021 Graduates
German
Spanish
Reilly Burns
Ashley Durbin
Ariela Gasper
Kendall Hogden
Emillee Hoh
Lindley Legg
Gabe Ohliger
Gabriela Scolio
Samantha Zeiger
Classics
Stephen Prevoznik
My name is Stephen Prevoznik and I was born and raised in Cleveland. I am a CPHAB major with minors in Biomedical Science and Philosophy. I have enjoyed all of my classes and made many memories here at Xavier, but my favorite is from freshman year. This is when the basketball team stormed the court after we won the big east regular-season title. I still have a video on my phone of the team cutting down the net. My favorite class was a Martial class with Dr. Byrne. It was great to translate short funny poems, but they also taught you a lot about Roman society. A fun fact about me is that Latin and Greek are not the only languages I have learned. My grandmother and mother taught me Russian when I was little. I won the Alice D. Ragland Latin award, the Joseph A. Verkamp Greek award, and the John M. Zahurancik Award for outstanding Classics and Philosophy Honors senior. After graduation, I plan on attending medical school.
French
Rachel Barth
Bonjour! My name is Rachel Barth, and I am graduating with majors in Psychology and French and Francophone Studies and a minor in Gender and Diversity Studies. I am from Fairfield, OH, and I have absolutely loved my time at Xavier. This picture was from when I studied abroad in Grenoble, France the fall of 2019 as a Fredin Scholarship recipient. I learned so much about the French language and culture as well as traveling around Europe and meeting new people. I appreciate the wonderful faculty and staff at Xavier and in my programs who made my experience the best!
Marta Berglund
My name is Marta Berglund, and I am a DIFT and FFS double major, with a minor in Communication Studies. I grew up in Grand Rapids, MI, but have lived all over the US and world, including Kansas, Wyoming, Minnesota, Ohio (of course), the Czech Republic, Hungary, and France! While at Xavier, I studied abroad in Grenoble, France. I loved being near the mountains and meeting people from all over the globe. My favorite memories at Xavier came from my involvement in student activities. I was a member of X-treme Fans for three years and a tour guide in the admissions office for four years, each of which gave me some of my best friends!
Tabitha Simmons
Hello, My name is Tabitha Simmons and I am a native of Cincinnati. For the past four years, I have been at Xavier studying International Business with minors in Political Science and French & Francophone studies. While the spread of Covid meant I was not able to study abroad, I was lucky enough to be an intern for the City of Nancy, France in August of 2019 through a sister city program. Francophone studies have made my college career far more interesting than I thought was possible.
Spanish
Reilly Burns
I am from Indianapolis, Indiana. I am graduating with a degree in Sport Management and Spanish with a minor in Business. My favorite memory at Xavier is the 2019 Cross Town Shoot Out. It was so exciting to be in the Cintas Center and watch Xavier's Basketball Team defeat UC. After graduating I will be interning with the Cincinnati Reds.
Ashley Durbin
Hi everyone! My name is Ashley and I from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I am graduating with a double major in Spanish and Psychology and a double minor in Gender & Diversity Studies and Applied Health Sciences. While at Xavier, I had the opportunity to study abroad on five different short-term trips (four of which were international). My favorite moment at Xavier was getting to the top of Machu Picchu. This was something that was on my bucket list for a very long time, and both my Spanish major and Xavier’s Study Abroad Office helped me to achieve this lifelong goal.
After graduation, I am attending a post baccalaureate program through Johns Hopkins to finish my medical school prerequisites.
Ariela Gasper
I’m from Chicago, IL and will be graduating with a Spanish major and minors in Political Science, Latin American Studies, and Peace & Justice Studies. I planned to study abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico last year, but this was unfortunately cancelled due to the pandemic. Some of my favorite memories of my Xavier experience would include serving on the Executive Board for the Hispanic Organization & Latinx Awareness student group as the Public Relations Chair and then as Vice President. I will be attending DePaul University College of Law to pursue my dreams of becoming an immigration lawyer.
Kendall Hogden
Hola! My name is Kendall Hogden and I am a Spanish major with minors in Professional Education and Latin American Studies, and I am also in the University Scholars Program. I am from West Chester, Ohio and I studied abroad in Santiago, Chile during the Spring 2020 semester. My favorite memories from Xavier include telecollaborations that I have participated in through various courses, such as Spanish Phonetics and Dialectology and Content Area Literacy, which is an Education class. During these collaborations, I got to regularly work with students from Lima, Peru and Cali, Colombia. My favorite memory from study abroad was exploring Patagonia over our spring break and going to “The End of the World” in Ushuaia, Argentina.
Lindley Legg
I am from Kansas City, MO, and I am graduating with a Spanish and environmental science majors. Both of my degrees mean everything to me, and I can’t imagine not studying Spanish. I studied abroad in Buenos Aires and loved every minute of it! My favorite memory of my Xavier experience was living in the same building as Father B and getting to see him every morning. After graduation, I am trying to begin working in environmental conservation and research, while also pursuing my medical interpreter certification!
Gabe Ohliger
Hello! My name is Gabe Ohliger and I am from Cleveland, Ohio. I am graduating from Xavier as a double major in Spanish and International Business. During my time at Xavier, one of my favorite experiences was studying abroad in Spain during the summer of my sophomore year. It really took me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to grow more confident in my Spanish speaking skills.
After graduation, I will move back to the Cleveland/Akron area and work for Huntington Bank. I am really excited to see where this new path will take me!
Gabriella Scolio
Samantha Zeiger
2021 Award Winners
- Joseph E. Bourgeois German Award - Carson Rayhill
- Clement H. Luken Sr. Award – Michael Zimmermann
- Joseph and Jeanne Bourgeois French Award - Rachel M. Barth
- Matias Vega Spanish Award – Gabriella Scolio
- John M. Zahurancik Award – Stephen Prevoznik
- Alice D. Ragland Latin Award - Timothy J. Ganshirt
- Joseph A. Verkamp Greek Award – Matthew Blain
- Classical Association of the Middle, West, and South Award – Nicholas Minion