Welcome!
My name is Amanda Hass, and this is my website where I will share professional and personal aspects of my life. I have worked as a researcher, teacher, writer, and editor. I will use this website to show my career, but also post weekly about writing, language, and other personal interests.
Where in the world am I?
Located in Vermont, USA
What do I do for work?
Education Program Coordinator for Vermont Agency of Education
What is my educational background?
M.A. in Applied Linguistics (University of Massachusetts Boston)
B.A. in English (University of Minnesota Duluth)
B.A. in Anthropology (University of Minnesota Duluth)
Background
I come from a tiny town in northern Minnesota, a beautiful and rural land of lakes. I grew up surrounded by nature and much of my childhood was spent outdoors. Due to the remoteness of my house, I did not grow up with a TV and so I turned to books very early on. I became an avid reader, consuming as many pieces of literature as I could.
I went to the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) for my undergraduate degree, which I thought was going to be something in medicine. I quickly determined that being a doctor was not the right fit for me, and became invested in understanding people through culture and literature. This unfolded into two bachelor's degrees - one in Anthropology and one in English. I pursued my dream of studying abroad in England, where I studied the history of the English language and English literature. I also went on incredible trips around the British Isles and played for the university's volleyball team.
Left: Warming up for a volleyball game, playing for University of Worcester. Right: Leaning over a cliff near Dún Aonghasa on Inishmore, Ireland (the largest island of the Aran Islands).
My time in England sparked a love of research into literature, history, and people. I returned to UMD and participated in the Field Archaeology program, as well as became the Anthropology collections intern. These opportunities helped me learn more about human physical history and behavior.
Nearing the end of my undergraduate career, I applied to a research assistant position with a medical anthropologist, and that position changed my life. I gained skills as a researcher and writer, and I was able to combine my interests in language and culture. I worked on analyzing and coding interview transcripts from research participants, all of whom were from the Oklahoma Choctaw tribe. I also contributed much to the publications that we were able to produce from the data (Henderson et al. 2020; Tomette et al. 2020).
The research and writing led me to want more education in how we use language and how we can analyze language use to answer interesting cultural questions. I pursued and completed a master's degree in applied linguistics to gain the knowledge and skills needed to engage in these lines of research. Most recently, I was teaching English to English language learners, but I am eager to return to research and writing as those are my passions.