Curtis pivoted from his family’s farming tradition to explore the world beyond the fields of his native southwest Iowa. Fascinated by stories of social reinvention across cultural boundaries, he completed his studies in French literature at the University of Iowa with a focus on immigration in the post-colonial Francophone world. Following graduation, he spent a year teaching English at the Université de Pau et de Pays de l’Adour in southwest France. He then went on to serve as a Peace Corps education volunteer in southern Rwanda where he taught English, literature, and computer science to students and faculty while spending his free time tending his garden with his cat. For his summer internship, he worked at the Nationalities Service Center, a nonprofit organization in Philadelphia that specializes in immigrant support services and refugee resettlement. Here he served refugees and asylees in the agency’s job development program and led a pilot job readiness program for victims of human trafficking. Upon graduating, Curtis hopes to work in shaping policies aimed at attracting and empowering immigrant residents throughout the American Midwest.