Name: Alejandro Figueroa '04
Hometown: Comayaguela, Honduras
Major: Anthropology
Minor: Caribbean and Latin American Studies (CLAS)
Activities: International House Coordinator (plans activities that unite the “I-House” community), i ntern at the Language Resource Center, Anthropology Club treasurer, webmaster for the CLAS and anthropology Web sites, member of Lambda Alpha (anthropology honorary society)

Alejandro Figueroa says he transferred to St. Lawrence from American University because he heard from a friend at St. Lawrence that the University had a great environment, both human and natural, as well as many financial and academic opportunities for international students.

A financial opportunity that Figueroa took advantage of was student research grants from the Center of International and Intercultural Studies (CIIS) in the summers of 2002 and 2003. These allowed him to work in archaeological projects all over Central America ; the work will form the core of his senior honors thesis, which he hopes to turn into a career in Honduran archaeology.

“One of the things I am constantly reminded of at St. Lawrence is how a student should never feel limited in pursuing his school, career, and personal goals,” Figueroa says. “St. Lawrence allows one to become part of a community of students, faculty, and staff, while at the same time allowing one to retain his or her own 'personal flavor'.”

Figueroa says “living in I-House has taught me that diversity is in the eye of the beholder, that St. Lawrence is rich beyond most people's perceptions, and that skin color, hometown, and language are not differences and labels, but rather qualities that make each person unique.”