A Summer Search for Invertebrates

Bienvenida, Professor Marta del Pozo

Marta del Pozo, the newest Foreign Literature and Languages professor, is a lover of words, particularly collections of well-crafted poems. As a poet, she focuses on connecting her areas of interest to her areas of research. She uses this connection to produce works like the Escuela de geómetras, a collection of poems dedicated to geometry, and Hambre de imagines, a book of poems that was recently awarded the International poetry prize Antonio Gala. "I want to break the departmentalization of knowledge," del Pozo said. "I find a balance in writing about what interests me and what I research."

 

Professor del Pozo joins our campus from New York University, where she earned a MFA in creative writing. Prior to NYU, del Pozo earned her Ph.D. in Spanish literature from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Currently, she is working with a translator to convert her book into English. "During translation, you gain some things and you lose some things," she said. "But working with a translator helps me to go over my poems again with a more conscious mind."

 

Right now, del Pozo's mind is also focused on teaching her students. Because she received her education from the University of Oviedo, a public university, del Pozo feels she can relate well to her students. And from the first day of classes, she realized that she loved being a part of UMass Dartmouth. "Being here gives me freedom and space," del Pozo said. "In the future, I can teach a class I'd like and not be interfering with my colleagues' specialties."

 

This semester, del Pozo teaches two classes - Spanish 102 and Masterpieces of Spanish Literature. Her style relies on a hands-on approach and requires her students to write sonnets and lyrical poetry in Spanish. "When learning a language, writing is very helpful," she said. "By writing, you touch the language in a way that reading doesn't get to."

Summer Rewards at Rutgers 

Senior Joseph Zottoli started this school year more prepared than ever.

Instead of spending his days frolicking in the sunshine, the Biology major spent ten weeks researching the early life stages of American horseshoe crabs at Rutgers University. "Spending the summer around scientists, I thought about science more, I stayed engaged, and I learned a lot more about the scientific process," Zottoli said. "I'm more prepared for my senior year."

 

Zottoli's trip to the New Jersey campus was part of the National Science Foundation's Research Internships in Ocean Sciences (RIOS). A highly competitive paid internship, RIOS brings eleven undergraduates together to conduct ocean and environmental research with present-day scientific leaders. "The goal of the program was to pair students with mentors and allow them to independently work through the research process," Zottoli said. Not only did the program help renew Zottoli's love of marine science, but it also revealed some rewards. "The experience helped broaden my focus and showed me that scientific research is a rewarding process," he said. "We come up with a new idea that people haven't seen before and we build off of that."

 

Zottoli received another reward during his American horseshoe research - first place. At the end of the program, each undergraduate presents her/his research, and Zottoli took home first place, which is a trip to New Orleans for an Ocean Science conference. But he is quick to mention that he didn't earn the award alone. "I've been doing research with Professor Ken Oliveira for two years," he said. "Professor Oliveira helped prepare me for this internship and sharpened my skills as a scientist.