2010-2011 Luce Scholar

Gillian Quandt received her B.A. in English from Stanford University in 2006, and her M.A. in Latin American Studies from Stanford University in 2007. Gillian grew up in New York State, studied in California and Costa Rica, and has worked in various Latin American countries. As an undergraduate at Stanford University, she majored in English, with a focus on creative writing, and minored in Spanish. Her interest in Latin America drew her to work in Peru on an archeological dig, teach English at a primary and secondary school in Costa Rica while studying abroad, volunteer in a Mexican orphanage, and help construct eco-tourism campsites in Ecuador to generate revenue for the local community. Gillian deepened her knowledge of the region through a Masters degree in Latin American Studies from Stanford University. Upon graduation, she completed a Fulbright grant in Chile teaching English at la Universidad Catolica del Maule and doing a photographic project on vineyard workers in the Maule Valley. Gillian then taught at la Universidad Nacional Andres Bello in Santiago as a literature and English pedagogy professor before moving to Argentina in 2008. She served as the Director of Program Development at la Asociacion Civil por la Igualdad y la Justicia (Civil Association for Equality and Justice), an NGO based in Buenos Aires.