Daphne Shakira Naut, who was born in New York City, grew up bilingual with Spanish as her first language and English as her second.聽
In high school in Methuen, she studied French all four years and began learning German on her own because of her fascination with history, especially the two World Wars.聽
鈥淟anguages are like M&Ms,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou just keep adding more.鈥�
So it鈥檚 no surprise that Naut gravitated toward a bachelor鈥檚 degree in political science with a focus on international relations and comparative politics 鈥� and the goal of becoming a lawyer.聽
As with languages, she just kept adding more. In her freshman year, she joined the Honors College, Mock Trial and the Student Government Association.
For all four years here, she鈥檚 worked in the Office of International Experiences & Study Abroad. She鈥檚 also worked at a second job in downtown Lowell for over two years so that she can pay off all of her school bills, apart from her federal loans.
Because Naut is paying her own way through college, she thought she could never afford to study abroad herself. Still, she wanted to help other students have that experience.
鈥淔rom the start, I thought, 鈥楨ven if I can鈥檛 go abroad, I want to help someone else go. I want to be of service for others,鈥欌�� she says.
When Study Abroad Director Fern MacKinnon realized how badly Naut wanted to study abroad, she helped make it happen. With scholarships from the Saab Center for Portuguese Studies, the Political Science聽Department and the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Naut was able to spend a month in Tro铆a, Portugal, the summer after her freshman year and work on an archaeological dig of Roman ruins through a partner-led program, the Study in Portugal Network.
During the fall of her sophomore year, she added a German Studies minor and took Honors Introduction to Philosophy, which inspired her to declare a double major in philosophy with a concentration in communication and critical thinking.
鈥淭he logic and critical thinking in philosophy is immensely helpful for law school,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd philosophy gets you thinking about your own life, which is the point. We had class on Friday afternoons, and pretty much every weekend I had an existential crisis. I wondered, 鈥榃hat am I doing with my life?鈥欌��
Using the money she saved up from her second job and the World Ready Scholarship from the College of FAHSS, Naut was able to study abroad again during the summer after her sophomore year, this time at the University of Marburg in Germany through the Hessen Exchange Program.
After she returned, she added a Portuguese Studies聽minor as well, bringing her total to two majors and two minors.
During Naut鈥檚 junior year, Annie Ciaraldi, the associate dean of Student Affairs, nominated her as one of the first six recipients for the Oprah Winfrey Scholarship. Naut was overwhelmed with joy when she got Ciaraldi鈥檚 email. The scholarship allowed her to finish paying her school bills for the year 鈥� and study abroad a third time, for a total of 13 study-abroad credits.
鈥淔rom the start, the Oprah scholarship was a blessing,鈥� she says.聽
After taking Assoc. Prof. Jos茅 Mendoza鈥檚 Latin American Philosophy class, Daphne enrolled in his faculty-led study-abroad program in Quito, Ecuador, over spring break. There, the students volunteered with a nonprofit, the .
Now Naut is gearing up to write her honors thesis, with Mendoza as her advisor, and preparing to apply to law school. She says both philosophy and study abroad have given her new perspectives on life. She sees a similar effect on other students.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e going through hard times and it鈥檚 difficult to believe that achieving anything is possible, study abroad can open your eyes,鈥� she says.
鈥淎t UMass Lowell, many students have the skills they need to study abroad; they just need the opportunity. And it always brings something out in them. They want to get more involved, maybe with volunteering; they want to do more reading; they pay more attention to the news; it makes them better students. It鈥檚 like a kick start. Often, they come back, and their desired career might have just transformed into their calling.鈥�