Merrill Presidential Scholar, Garrett Yocklin

Congratulations to Philip Merrill Presidential Scholar Garrett Yocklin and his faculty mentor, Stefania Amodeo, who were honored

Congratulations to triple major, Garrett Yocklin, on being selected as a 2019 Phillip Merrill Presidential Scholar.

This program honors the University of Maryland's most successful seniors and their designated University faculty and K-12 teachers.

Garrett is triple majoring in Romance Languages (French & Italian), Persian, and Linguistics. In his speech at the luncheon, Garrett honored Professor Amodeo as well as his high school Spanish teacher, Ms. Nayibe Neuland.

“From her course on Italian cuisine to her sharing her home city of Genoa, Professor Amodeo has been a gifted mentor who always goes out of her way to find material that interests her students. She inspires me every day to work toward my goals. I would not be where I am today without either of these people, and I am extremely grateful to them for their guidance and mentorship.”

Garrett credits his highschool Spanish teacher for inspiring his passion for languages and also honored Distinguished Senior lecturer in Italian, Stefania Amodeo, "as a menor in all things languages as well as life". In addition to studying French, Italian, Persian and Linguistics, Garrett traveled to Genoa as part of  UMD's Education Abroad program.