Joy Stephansen is a Minneapolis native in her final year at the University of Minnesota Morris majoring in Spanish, Latin American Area Studies, and Public Health. Her research examines the intersection between language, tradition, and modern health care among Hispanics and Latinos in the United States and Latin America. When she is not studying or golfing, Joy works as the Admissions intern responsible for the Campus Ambassador Tour Guide program and teaches English as a Second Language in Morris, Minnesota.
Born and raised in the Minnesota north woods, Amy Schmidgall now proudly calls the western prairies of Morris her home. In 2015, Amy decided to return to the University of Minnesota Morris as non-traditional student to obtain her bachelor’s degree in Latin American Area Studies with emphases on immigration policies, Mexican culture, US/Mexican history, and Spanish language arts. Amy is an active member of the Morris community where she volunteers as an ESL teacher and works for a nonprofit dedicated to empowering and integrating Latino families. In her free time she enjoys teaching Zumba, gardening, and attending her 5 children’s sporting events.