Ph.D. Student Jay is a first-year PhD student who graduated summa cum laude from the University at Buffalo with a B.A. in Linguistics in the honors language structure and theory track, as well as in Spanish. They wrote their undergraduate thesis on verb usage patterns in disclosures of mental illness based on data pulled from the Corpus of Contemporary American English. They have presented their thesis research at Penn State University and the Northeastern Modern Languages Association conferences. Jay's primary research interests are in Language Documentation and Sociolinguistics. Education Education: B.A. in Linguistics in the honors language structure and theory track & Spanish Research Areas of Interest: Language Documentation Sociolinguistics and Language Variation Awards, Honors and Recognitions Awards and Special Recognitions: Presidential Graduate Fellowship – University of Georgia, Fall 2022 – Spring 2026 Walker Family Experiential Learning Fund – University at Buffalo, Summer 2022 Outstanding Senior in Linguistics – University at Buffalo, Spring 2022 Dean’s List – University at Buffalo, Fall 2018 - Spring 2022 Honorable Mention for Undergraduate Research – Northeast Modern Language Association 52nd Annual Convention, 2021 Travel Award – Penn State Undergraduate Exhibition in Hispanic and General Linguistics 2020