UW–Madison’s Colleen Conroy, an assistant professor in the School of Education’s Department of Theatre and Drama, was recently inducted as an Académica Correspondiente (corresponding member) of Spain’s Academia Xacobea, an organization dedicated to the promotion and development of research and study of the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James).

Conroy received the honor in recognition of her research project, “Voices in the Camino,” a polyphonic soundscape created from the stories, voices, and sounds she collected while walking the historic pilgrimage route. The piece explores the experience of pilgrimage through sound, asking how voice connects people to one another and shapes the way we transform and make meaning of our experiences.

The induction ceremony took place in September at the Monastery of Poio in Galicia, Spain. Conroy is the first member of the Academia Xacobea from the United States.

“Being invited to join the Academia Xacobea and welcomed into such a generous and diverse community means a great deal to me,” she says. “When I started this project, I never imagined it would lead me here. It was a lovely reminder that theatre can reach beyond the stage and create connections across cultures, languages, and countries.”