Atlanta native Marcus Gray came to Rhodes College seeking a liberal arts education with a focus on pre-law studies. His interest in different cultures and world politics led him to a major in international studies, but he soon discovered a second passion though his coursework: the people, history, and politics of Latin America. Adding a second major of Latin American and Latinx studies has allowed him to academically investigate Latin America from two unique perspectives, fueling his passion for interdisciplinary learning, inspiring his research, and encouraging him to study abroad.
During his first year at Rhodes, Gray discovered the Duke PreLaw Fellowship, and with the help of his professors and Career Services, earned the opportunity to spend a summer at Duke University to study legal writing, criminal law, and legal reasoning. “One of my favorite aspects of the program,” says Gray, “was the opportunity to receive instruction in subjects such as Civil Rights Law and Critical Race Theory.”
Furthering his interest in politics and his studies in Latin America, Gray—with the help of Career Services and professors Amy Risley, Michael LaRosa, and Elizabeth Pettinaroli—earned the Mertie Buckman International Internship Award to study in Colombia. As an intern for the Gobernación de Antioquia in Medellín, Gray got firsthand experience with Colombian politics working for two governmental agencies—the Office of the Governor and the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development. This influenced his decision to conduct research on a group of Black Columbians, the Afro-Campesinos, a marginalized population whose political and social position the administration sought to aid.
Among his tasks of writing reports, attending meetings, and presenting research findings, Gray even had the chance to brief the governor on a potential partnership with the United Nations’ World Food Program. This was all done in Spanish, which sometimes was a challenge. However, Gray overcame this obstacle by making deep and meaningful connections with his coworkers, and he saw his Spanish skills improve exponentially. “My experience in Colombia was truly transformational,” he says. “To have the ability to live where another language is spoken all the time and learn another culture was extremely rewarding.”
Gray next found a program in Santiago, Dominican Republic, where he spent the 2024-2025 academic year studying at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra. Hispaniola, the island housing the Dominican Republic and Haiti, has historical importance to Latin America, making it a key region for Gray’s academic exploration while also giving him the opportunity to improve his Spanish skills. In addition to opportunities to travel in the Dominican Republic, Gray volunteers at an organization called El Movimiento por los Derechos Humanos, la Paz y la Justicia Global (Movement for Humans Rights, Peace, and Global Justice), as an English teaching assistant.
With his international experiences complementing his Spanish, Latin American studies, and pre-law coursework at Rhodes, Gray plans to become an international human rights lawyer. He hopes to bring justice to historically marginalized Afro-descended populations in Latin America, like the Afro-Campesinos he researched in Columbia. “With these experiences,” says Gray, “I believe that a career in human rights law would allow me to make a profession out of my passion and achieve my dream of practicing law.”
