Eric has been in love with the history of art since beginning his studies in a community college in the San Fernando Valley (At Los Angeles Valley College). The material productions of ancient civilizations fascinated him. However, he soon learned about the injustice prevalent in the field, particularly toward non-Western art. As a transfer student and now a Mellon Mays Fellow, he hopes to begin giving scholarly contributions to the field of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican art – his field of interest. Working closely with Dr. John Pohl, an authority on Mixtec and Oaxacan civilizations of ancient Mexico, Eric’s research topic focuses on feather works of Olmec, Maya, and Aztec civilizations, and traces their continual production across the United States – Mexico border. Like many Angelinos, Eric has seen Aztec dancers wearing feathered headdresses on more than one occasion. He is trying to find the link to why feather symbolism has remained so vital to Mexican Americans, and why it has remained so persistent across time and place. His research hopes to merge two areas of Art History – Ancient and Contemporary – and thus he hopes to bring exciting finds to his field.