Meet UC Davis Graduate Student Daniel Moglen

• Department
  Linguistics
   
• Program and year of study
  Ph.D.
   
• Previous degrees and colleges
  MA Linguistics, UC Davis
  BA Linguistics, UC Berkeley
   
• Where did you grow up?
  Auburn, CA
   
• Where do you live now?
  Berkeley, CA
   
• What's your favorite spot in Davis?
  Definitely the food co-op
   
• How do you relax?
  My main ways to relax include connecting with my friends over food, playing racquetball, maintaining a regular meditation practice, and an occasional yoga class.
   
• What was the last book you read for pleasure?
  Grad students get to read a lot, but usually for academic purposes. Over winter break, I read Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg. It’s an amazing and life-changing book!
   
• What was the last film you saw at the theater?
  Arrival, of course! The protagonist is a linguist!
   
• Research interests
  I’m interested in how social environments impact and shape the social and linguistic development of international graduate students at UC Davis.
   
• Dissertation title or topic
  The Social Environment of International Graduate Students: The Tendency Towards Co-Nationalization (Working title)
   
• Please share a surprising or noteworthy fact or finding from your research
  International graduate students now make up 26% of the total graduate student population at UC Davis. International students make up more than 40% of the students in 13 different graduate groups.
   
• Which professor or class inspired you to pursue graduate studies?
  My Syntax teacher when I was a student at CAL - Dr. Line Mikkelsen. She gave the clearest explanations I have ever encountered about syntax!
   
• Which scholarly text do you wish you had written? Why?
  Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed because it challenges traditional pedagogical methods. Education is powerful. Education is a right for every human being.
   
• What's the best thing about being a grad student?
  I love the flexible schedule. I feel like I’m in charge of my schedule. And, when else in my life am I going to be so supported in pursuing the topic of my choosing?
   
• What's the worst?
  I feel like there is a lack of boundaries between working and not working. Whenever I’m not working on my project, there is a looming feeling of guilt.
   
• If you weren't a grad student, what would you be doing?
  I think I would be a massage therapist, traveling around the world.
   
• Finally, please ask yourself a question - "What is something that you love so much that you can you talk about endlessly (besides your dissertation)?"
  I love talking about communal living. I currently live in a co-op, and I think that living in community is such a gratifying way to live. By sharing resources, we all live in abundance, and we pay a fraction of what others pay. We get unlimited food for just $5/day. How can you beat that?! Plus there are ample opportunities for socializing and connection. It’s the best! At least, that is what I take myself to be doing.
   

Graduate student profile courtesy of the UC Davis College of Letters and Science.

About Graduate Studies

Graduate Studies at UC Davis includes over 100 dynamic degree programs and a diverse and interactive student body from around the world. Known for our state-of-the-art research facilities, productive laboratories and progressive spirit – UC Davis offers collaborative and interdisciplinary curricula through graduate groups and designated emphasis options, bringing students and faculty of different academic disciplines together to address real-world challenges.

UC Davis graduate students and postdoctoral scholars become leaders in their fields: researchers, teachers, politicians, mentors and entrepreneurs. They go on to guide, define and impact change within our global community.

For information on Graduate Studies’ current strategic initiatives, visit the Graduate Studies strategic plan page.