During the first part of this session, Alvarez discusses the conceptual frameworks used to help students research, write, and publicly defend meaningful senior thesis speeches. During the second part of the session, Alvarez and a panel of 12th-grade students answer questions about the goals, outcomes, and practices of vibrant thesis programs.
Peter Alvarez
Peter Alvarez holds an undergraduate degree in philosophy (University of Illinois) and a graduate degree in philosophy of religion (Boston University), both conferred with academic honors. He completed post-graduate research in classical languages and literature at Boston Theological Institute (Boston College), before beginning his doctoral research in philosophy of mind and cognitive neuropsychology (Fuller Theological Seminary) under Dr. Nancey Murphy and Dr. Warren Brown. Alvarez maintained professional memberships with APA (American Philosophical Association), AAR (American Academy of Religion), and SPEP (Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy), among others, and has held leadership positions at Gordon College (lead teaching assistant), Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (teaching fellow), and Fuller Theological Seminary (instructor). Currently, he serves as the Senior Thesis Program Director at Regents School of Austin, where he also teaches humanities courses and coaches soccer.