Alumni Connect
Ramon Ochoa Estrada, Ph.D. Spanish, 2013
Ramón Ochoa Estrada was born in Chihuahua, Mexico in 1949. He received a degree in Theater and Dramatic Literature from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He completed a Master's degree in Literary Creation at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), and a doctorate in Latin American Literature at Texas Tech University (TTU). In addition to his teaching activities, he is an announcer, actor, and oral narrator.
He published a book, Chicano and Border Dramaturges: similarities and differences in their theater, June 2016.
Wiebke Schirrow, M.A German 2009
After I had received my 1st State Examination in English and History at the University of Kiel, Germany in 2007, I graduated from Texas Tech in May 2009 with a Master's Degree in German and French. During my time at TTU, I worked as a GPTI in the German Division at CMLL. As a German native speaker, I had the opportunity to gain new insights into my mother tongue and its writers from an American perspective which broadened my cross-cultural horizon.
At the same time, I was able to teach German and to pass my affection for my home country to undergraduate students. Continuing today, I mostly enjoy all interaction with students, the way they approach theoretical questions and how they solve academic challenges. Being a teacher is what I like most, albeit accompanied by research and grading. I strongly believe that teachers learn more from their students than from any theory.
After graduating from Texas Tech University, I fulfilled my teacher's training program in Germany until 2011. In the same year, I accepted my first tenure track position at the Vocational School for Renewable Energies in Rendsburg, Germany. It was the first school specializing on environmental questions in Germany, and it was located in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, my home state. Being a part of a future-oriented school had been a great pleasure for me and I supported this special school by teaching English and Politics.
Besides teaching, I am also committed to remembrance work in Germany. As an Historian,
I am a member of the executive board of the Concentration Camp Memorial in Hamburg,
Germany where I conduct international youth exchange projects or give guided tours
to international visitors in English.
This commitment led to the decision to move back to Hamburg in September 2016. I am
now working for Gymnasium Blankenese, a secondary school which focuses on European
exchange programs. In addition to this tenured position, I am also an official conductor
of advanced training for teachers, specialized on commemorative culture.
Therefore, I try to find the balance between teaching school and giving lectures on
commemorative culture. Because I am unable to decide what is more interesting, I do
various jobs at the same time!
During my time at Texas Tech, I had the pleasure to work with people from all over the world where various languages were flying through the halls and invitations to pot luck parties with tasty treats from all over the world were frequent. However, I experiencing the international spirit of CMLL in the educational system of the United States is what made my stay even more diverse.
As a German living in Texas, I fought with heat, burritos, a black widow spider in my bathroom and mice in my kitchen. I lived in Lubbock without a car and without any appreciable bakery. But I found a lot of good friends, exciting experiences and a tremendous amount of stories which I regularly tell my students.
Michael J. Sloan, TTU Classics MA, 2004
I am currently an Associate Professor of Classical Languages at Wake Forest University. I began studying "Classics" at Baylor University, where I received excellent teaching in both classical languages. I decided to pursue an MA in Classics precisely because I was unsure about my future vocational pursuits. I knew such a program would prepare me well for any number of professional fields (academics, business and law were my primary interests).
I was excited to attend Texas Tech University for two reasons: 1) the department hosted a number of reputable teachers and scholars, and 2) the program offered the opportunity to teach my own class in the second year. My time at Texas Tech was very rewarding and fruitful. I not only received the anticipated attention from fine professors such as David Larmour, Ed George, Peder Christiansen and others, but I matured in my capacities for teaching and scholarship.
I left Texas Tech to pursue a PhD at the University of St Andrews under the supervision of Karla Pollmann. There, I rounded out my firm foundation in the languages with a strong emphasis on research and writing. Ultimately, I received my PhD from St Andrews in October of 2010 and then started teaching at Wake Forest University in the fall of 2011. Last year I was granted tenure and promoted from Assistant to Associate Professor. I am probably a proper generalist, having published a book on the Carolingian poet and scholar Sedulius Scottus, while my articles have been on the works of Aristotle, Euripides, Horace, Augustine, Orosius, Erasmus and others. I remain grateful to the professors at Texas Tech University who prepared me well for a life of teaching and scholarship in the field of Classics.
Susana Villanueva Equía Lis, Ph.D. Spanish 2015
Dr. Susana Villanueva Eguía Lis had the privilege to meet with Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska, Spain's Premio Cervantes Literature Award 2013 during the FILEY 2017 (Yucatan Peninsula International Book Fair). Dr. Susana V.E. Lis, a native of Merida Mexico, presented her research on Maria Enriqueta Camarillo and the Mundo Ilustrado in the nearby city of Campeche city in March and traveled to the FILEY 2017 in Merida city where Poniatowska gave a Conference presentation on Immigration and Latin American Writers on March 15th 2017.
Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures
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Address
CMLL Building, 2906 18th St, Lubbock, TX 79409 -
Phone
806.742.3145