How did you become interested in the CAH project you are working on this year?
I became interested in my CAH project because I’ve always been interested in where science and humanity overlap. As a biology major, I spend a lot of time focused on systems, data, and outcomes, but I kept wondering how patients actually feel while moving through medical care, especially children. Music has always felt like something people intuitively turn to in moments of stress or uncertainty, so learning about music therapy made me curious about why it works and how it’s being used in real clinical settings. When I started thinking specifically about pediatric cardiology—where kids are often dealing with long hospital stays, fear, and loss of control—it felt meaningful to explore how something noninvasive and expressive, such as music, could support emotional well-being alongside medical treatment.
Tell us about a transformative or eye-opening experience you have had in a humanities or arts course at SCU. What did you learn or take away from it? How did it change you?
One eye-opening experience I’ve had at SCU was taking a beginner photography class my freshman year. Going into it, I didn’t expect it to change how I saw things—I mostly thought it would be about learning technical skills. Instead, it shifted the way I pay attention to the world around me. Photography taught me how much intention goes into noticing small details such as light, framing, timing, and emotion. It made me slow down and really pay attention to things, rather than rushing past moments I might overlook. That class helped me realize observation itself is a skill, and how you choose to frame something can change its entire meaning. I still think about this, especially in science and healthcare, where it’s easy to focus only on data or outcomes.
What does (re) imagining futures mean to you?
To me, reimagining futures means questioning what we’ve accepted as “normal” and accepting more possibilities. It’s about imagining systems—especially in healthcare and education—which don’t just prioritize efficiency or outcomes, but also emotional well-being. Reimagining futures means being open to the idea that small, thoughtful changes—such as integrating music into medical care—can reshape experiences in meaningful ways.