Isis Santoni Morro

Senior Isis Santoni Morro has come far and will go far

Isis Santoni Morro' 23 developed a love for books on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico where she grew up. At Loyola, her love of books enabled her to thrive in two majors in the humanities, one in English, the other in Spanish. As a complement to her double major, Isis took on a minor in Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS). Through this interdisciplinary study Isis has come to learn that the literature is a window into the soul, and the soul is the path to making the world a better place.

LALS was helpful in her studies of literature written in both Spanish and English because it gave her a deeper basis to understand the published word. Her core History class Making the Modern World: Latin America gave her a basis to understand the historical trajectory Hispanic literature is written from. Another core class, World Christianity, offered the opportunity to see Latin America from a global theological perspective. Introduction to Latin American and Latino Studies provided a methodology for looking at the region from different disciplines and developing a layered understanding of the region that supersedes the limited view that one discipline can offer. Also, as part of the LALS program Isis has studied the cultural production of colonial México with Dr. Hernández Torres, and in the spring semester, she will study Latin American short stories with Dr. Jácome and will take an advanced history seminar, Oral History and Philanthropy with Dr. Carey. This past semester Isis continued developing a project on gender and race in nineteenth-century novels to the point of getting it published at Ricardo Palma University in Peru. The paper, now article, can be found here: “La parcialidad hacia la mujer de color por su rol de género en Roque Moreno de Teresa González de Fanning”, El Palma de la Juventud 4.5 (2022): 67–74.

Studies in English, Spanish, and LALS provide Isis with the tools for the next stage in her life: graduate studies in Spanish at an R1 research university. Isis Santoni Morro ’23 may end up as a college professor or she may end up in the non-profit sector, where, as a bi-lingual expert, she can work to make the world a better place. Whatever path she takes, she will serve as a learned expert in the field, while here at Loyola we will miss her in class and on campus.