Aned Y. Muñiz Gracia

Aned Y. Muñiz Gracia is an award-winning professor.

Background and studies

Aned Muñiz Gracia grew up in Corozal, a rural town in Puerto Rico. She started swimming competitively at age 10.During her last year of high school, Aned took part in an international cultural exchange program in Austria. She attended the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus and received a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages. During her undergraduate studies, Aned studied one summer at the Far Eastern National University in Vladivostok, Russia, participated in a summer seminar at the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, and worked at [http://www.fersped.com.mk/ Fersped Skopje] , an import-export company in Macedonia.She received the Master of Arts in European Languages and Literature from the University of Hawaii. Her Master's Thesis was titled "Music as a Mnemonic and Didactic Device for Language Instruction". Upon completion of her Master's degree, Aned Muñiz was awarded a Fulbright grant to conduct research in Austria. During her second long-term residence in Europe, Aned Muñiz taught atthe [http://myeurope.eun.org/ww/en/pub/myeurope/home/others/insideschools/viennabs.htm Vienna Business Academies] , the [http://www.hak1.at/default.aspx Handelsakademie I] and attended the Universities of Vienna and [http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/main/index.htm Klagenfurt] . She is now writing a dissertation at the University of San Diego, California, where she has completed all coursework leading to the doctoral degree in Leadership Studies and Educational Sciences. Professor Aned Muñiz started teaching at the University of Hawaii at age 20. Besides education and sports, a big concern of hers is the well-being of Puerto Rico's stray animals.

Having lived, studied or worked in different parts of the world enabled Aned Muñiz Gracia to learn various languages such as Russian, German, French, Spanish, Italian, English. She has also studied Welsh, Serbo-Croatian, and Arabic, among other languages.

Awards and accolades

Aned Muñiz Gracia's roster of scholastic awards includes:
*Outstanding Professor of the Year at MiraCosta College in 2006
*Excellence in Teaching Award from Grossmont College in 2007
*One of San Diego's "Top 40 under 40" successful young people / community leaders in 2007 by "San Diego Metropolitan Magazine"
*One of San Diego's "Hispanic Top 10" in 2007 by "Nostika" magazine
*Fulbright award
*Second Prize, University of Hawaii French poetry contest, 1994
*Poetry Award, Association Portoricaine des Professeurs de Français, 1995
*Hawaii Newspaper Agency Award for Excellence in Commentary/Analysis, 1998
*Homecoming Scholar, University of Hawai`i, 1996
*Surfer of the Month, "El Nuevo Dia" newspaper, September 1996

References

*Fulbright Program [http://us.fulbrightonline.org/program_student_us.html?id=2689 U.S. Fellows Directory]
*MiraCosta College [http://www.miracosta.cc.ca.us/OfficeOfThePresident/PIO/Downloads/mirror07.pdf look on page 6]
*Grossmont College's [http://www.grossmont.edu/campus_scene/archive/may_june07/commAwards.htm#awards Eighth Annual College Recognition Awards Honor Teaching Excellence]
* San Diego Metropolitan Magazine [http://www.sandiegometro.com/2007/sep/40under40/gracia.php 40 Under Forty]
* Libraries of the University of Hawaii System [http://uhmanoa.lib.hawaii.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?SAB1=music+language+mnemonic+device&BOOL1=any+of+these&FLD1=Title+%28TKEY%29+%28TKEY%29&GRP1=AND+with+next+set&SAB2=Aned+Mu%C3%B1iz&BOOL2=any+of+these&FLD2=Author+Name+%28NKEY%29+%28NKEY%29&GRP2=AND+with+next+set&SAB3=&BOOL3=all+of+these&FLD3=Keyword+Anywhere+%28GKEY%29+%28GKEY%29&PID=8PmUnlJ6KrQCnze-0qsbzV0f7JLd&SEQ=20080617162614&CNT=75&HIST=1 Thesis Listing]

Community service

Aned Y. Muñiz Gracia has volunteered as a Latina Youth Mentor with [http://www.sdmana.org MANA San Diego] , the [http://www.houseofpuertorico.com House of Puerto Rico] in San Diego, and as a swimming instructor in Austria. She has served as Faculty Advisor for various student clubs and started her own foundation in Puerto Rico. In 2003 Aned spent her summer in Stavanger, Norway, volunteering 40 hours a week for [http://www.uni.edu/campadv/ Camp Adventure Youth Services] as Camp Director for an international children's day camp.

External links

* [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/passages/20051016-9999-lz1j16prof.html Professor's Passion Obvious in Any Language]
* [http://www.sandiegometro.com/2007/sep/40under40/gracia.php Aned Muñiz Gracia Is A Well-Spoken Teacher]
*es icon [http://www.mienlace.com/?secc=14&subsecc=98&idt=6609 "Mientras más lenguas domines, mejor" (The more languages you command, the better)]

Early articles written in English by Aned Y. Muñiz Gracia

Aned Y. Muñiz has written for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and for Ka Leo O Hawaii in Honolulu, Hawai`i. Here is a sample of her early work.
* [http://starbulletin.com/98/05/26/features/rant.html It’s a two-way street for cars and bicycles]
* [http://starbulletin.com/1999/03/02/features/rant.html Study abroad challenges perceptions]
* [http://starbulletin.com/2000/12/19/features/rant.html Holidays in Austria unforgettable]
* [http://starbulletin.com/98/02/04/features/rant.html High costs threaten the university]