25 Research Reflection by Pablo Cruz Ayala

Faculty Mentor: John Erickson (Art & Art History, University of Utah)

Being able to form my own interdisciplinary research between biomedical engineering and painting and drawing was a dream come true. I was able to utilize my passions for community impact and support along with my love of art and stem. It was very transformative experience learning how to gather support and impact aims with community partners over this two year process. It furthered my ability to incorporate multi-disciplinary fields into community impact work and established a greater drive to investigate the problems that impact my undocumented community. This experienced helped me gauge new ways for scientific and community impact through the art that I created. I learned how to collect oral histories, survey demographics, interact with the public to gather information, and give different talks to different audiences. I will take these experiences with me as I continue to grad school and medical school to better understand how art can impact emotional regulation and stress within populations. I know I’ve made important strides and examples as a first generation undocumented immigrant, and I am proud to continue the paths I find with the communities I love.