ABOUT ME
My name is Ander (he/him), and I am an Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Mississippi State University, where I also direct the Linguistics Research Lab. I received my Ph.D. from UIUC in 2022, where I wrote my dissertation as an advisee of Professors José I. Hualde and Ryan Shosted. I am a first-generation scholar, meaning that I was the first person in my family to attend college, and I take great pride in that. I am from the Basque Country (north of Spain), and I have several years of experience teaching (Hispanic) Linguistics, Spanish, and Basque Language and Culture in Higher Education (see 'Teaching' for more info).
Academically, my personal experiences as a bilingual native speaker of Basque (a minority language spoken in the north of Spain) and Spanish since childhood have driven my research projects. I am interested in documenting understudied varieties/languages, laboratory phonology, articulatory phonetics, bilingual speech, second and heritage language phonetics, and equitable and inclusive teaching (see my 'Research' section for more info).
In the non-academic aspect, one of my passions is traveling. I love visiting new places and learning about their cultures and languages. I have been to several countries in Europe, Asia, and North America. In every trip I make, I always bring souvenirs like postcards, hundreds of pictures, or linguistic information of local languages from there. I can't wait to explore more places once COVID-19 is more under control! (see my 'Travels' section for more info).
When I am not teaching, doing research, or traveling, I enjoy serving the community. In the past, I have served as the President of various campus organizations, as a Campus Senator, and as a mentor. I have advocated for a more accessible and navigable school experience (see 'Service' and 'Resources' for more info). If you think I can be of any help to you, please reach out to me!
The passion I put in many aspects of my life has allowed me to receive several awards (see 'Awards' for more info).
