Andy graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in Audio Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish. He served in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica with his wife and later obtained an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Tennessee. He recently published a book titled, La naturaleza en la literatura costarricense: un enfoque eco-cultural.
Andy is currently working on an article that investigates the literature of marginalized, rural Caribbean and Latin American communities as a means to rethink the representation of the nature and to offer alternative perspectives on development practices in Latin America.
He enjoys playing improvisational music, reading, and spending time outside with his wife and three kids.
Andy joined the Graduate College in September 2017.
Publications
Book
La naturaleza en la literatura costarricense: un enfoque eco-cultural. Quito: Editorial
Abya-Yala, 2016. Print.
Articles
“The Whitening of Green Literature in Costa Rica: An Eco-Cultural Reading of Cocorí and the
Stories of Bredda Anancy (forthcoming 2019).
“Luchando contra el fin del mundo: Resistencia, el buen vivir y la decolonialidad en La
loca de Gandoca.” Nomenclatura: aproximaciones a los estudios hispánicos, University
of Kentucky. No. 2 (Spring) 2012. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/naeh/vol2/iss1/6. Print.
Peer Reviewer “Representaciones socioeconómicas de la naturaleza en el Pacífico Sur costarricense.” Ed.
Antonio Vidal Ortega. Barranquilla, Colombia: Revista Memorias, Universidad del Norte. August 2016.
Presentations
Presenter “El proceso de pensar “fuera del cajón.” Webinar, EducationUSA Colombia. June 16, 2018.
Presenter “Why study in the United States and the importance of being able to answer that question.” Centro Colombo Americano: Pereira, Colombia. May 2017.
Presenter “Cómo pensar estratégicamente en su solicitud de ingreso a universidades.” Centro Colombo Americano: Rionegro, Colombia. May 2017
Presenter “Re-Thinking Your Application Process.” EducationUSA: Kathmandu. May 2017.
Co-presenter “The Other Side of the Application Process.” EducationUSA: Mumbai. April 2017.
Co-presenter “Matching Majors to Different Career Options.” EducationUSA: Beijing. March
2017.
Co-presenter “Summer and English Language Programs.” EducationUSA: Beijing. March 2017.
Session leader “Tried and True Tactics to Maximize Your Recruitment Trip on a Minimal
Budget.” 8th Annual American International Recruitment Council (AIRC) conference:
Miami. December 2016.
Co-presenter “International Recruitment: What To Know To Go From Rookie To Pro.” 8th
Annual AIRC conference: Miami. December 2016.
Discussion leader: “Strategies for Balancing the Ebb and Flow of Student Markets” 8th Annual
AIRC conference: Miami. December 2016.
Webinar presenter “Undergraduate and Graduate Application Process in the U.S.A.”
EducationUSA: Cairo. July 2016.
Co-presenter “Tennessee: Welcome to Our Home.” EducationUSA: Beijing. March 2016.
Co-presenter “Streamlining Your Application Process toward More Effective International
Recruitment.” Tennessee Association of International Educators (TAIE) Conference:
Nashville. March 2015.
Presenter “Cómo crear una solicitud de ingreso a universidad más competitiva.” EducationUSA:
Medellín. April 2015.
Co-presenter “From the Inside Out: Streamlining Your Application Process toward More
Effective International Recruitment.” NAFSA Region 7 Conference: Savannah. October
2015.
Presenter “Undergraduate and Graduate Application Strategies.” EducationUSA: Delhi.
September 2015.
Co-presenter “Education USA 101: An important equation to consider---
right fit = right institution + the right place.” EducationUSA: Ho Chi Minh City.
September 2015.
Co-presenter “Education USA 101: An important equation to consider---
right fit = right institution + the right place.” EducationUSA: Hanoi. September 2015.
Co-presenter How to Make the Most of Your Recruitment Trip.” 7th Annual AIRC conference:
Miami. December 2015.
Translator “A Conversation about Higher Education in Selected South American
Countries.” 5th Annual AIRC Conference: Miami. 2013.
“Mestizaje, interculturalidad y naturaleza en Costa Rica a través de un diálogo
intertextual.” 62nd Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference (MIFLC): Wake
Forest University. Oct. 2012. (Conference paper accepted).
"Language, Identity, and Resistance in Latin American Literature.” 2nd Annual Interdisciplinary
Symposium on Language at Carson-Newman College: Jefferson City, TN. 15 March
2012. Chair of panel.
"The Language of Nature as a Mechanism of Resistance and Inclusion in Los papeles de
Silvio Victor.” 2nd annual Interdisciplinary Symposium on Language. Carson-Newman
College. 15 March 2012. Reading.
"Leyendo Los papeles de Silvio Víctor desde el Buen Vivir: Literatura, identidad y naturaleza en
Costa Rica." 4th Crossing Over Symposium. Cleveland State University. 9 Oct. 2011.
(Conference paper accepted).
“Temas de identidad y resistencia en dos cuentos en El jardín en el espejo.” 61rst Mountain
Interstate Foreign Language Conference (MIFLC). Auburn University. 30 Sept. 2011.
Reading.
“Leyendo Cuentos y relatos del Pacífico Sur desde el buen vivir: Una propuesta para la
descolonización del desarrollo.” 64th Annual Kentucky Foreign Language. The
University of Kentucky. 15 April 2011. Reading.
“La conciencia problemática de una historia hispanoamericana en Historia privada de los
colombianos de Eduardo Caballero Calderón.” 19th Colloquium on Hispanic and
Luso-Brazilian Literatures and Linguistics. The University of Texas at Austin. 25 Feb.
2011. Reading.
“La loca de Gandoca: Resistencia, el buen vivir y la decolonialidad.” 1st Annual Texas A&M
Department of Hispanic Studies Graduate Student Symposium. The University of Texas
A&M. 12 Nov. 2011. Reading.
“La conciencia de una historia hispanoamericana en Historia privada de los colombianos.”
Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures' Spanish Graduate Students Symposium. The
University of Tennessee. 14 Oct. 2010. Reading.
“Between Text and Film: A contextual bifurcation in Feliz Ano Velho.” 2010 Colloquium on
Literature and Film.West Virginia University. 2 Oct. 2010. Reading.
“Una lectura de La edad de oro: Desde la colonia hasta la colonialidad.” The XIII Annual
Hispanic and Lusophone Studies Symposium. The Ohio State University. 23 April 2010.
Reading.
“Reading Ollantay: The Negotiation of Communication in Colonial Quechua Theater.” 9th Ohio
Latin Americanist Conference Modern Latin America. Ohio University. 26 Feb. 2010.
Reading.