My Project Mentor

Given the scope of my project, I knew that I would like to work with someone in the School of Nursing as my project mentor. The Pitt School of Nursing faculty page was how I was able to contact Dr. Young Ji Lee, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing specializing in health informatics and often centering her research around the health of underserved and underrepresented populations. Her focus on minority groups tied in well with what I planned on for my project.

Other than a short training session, I had very little experience with the institutional review board for research. Dr. Lee’s guidance through the process was instrumental to getting my project organized and approved. She also played a large role in helping me write up my interview guides. These interviews are the central part of my project, and the guides are the reason why I was able to receive such in-depth answers from my participants.

My Professional Goals

My professional goals are to become an occupational therapist, possibly in pediatric neurorehabilitation. As I continue to make progress on my project, I see more and more how well it connects to this ambition. My fellowship project uses art to touch on the impact that cultural or societal upbringings can have on a person, which I feel often goes unnoticed in healthcare environments. This is something that I want to focus on in my future career in the healthcare field. In order to do so, I would like to be more involved in the holistic healthcare community and be able to meet with more people who are interested in tackling this aspect of a patient’s life.

Collaborations

If I could work on a creative project with anyone, I would like to work with elementary schools in Pittsburgh. I am involved in a volunteer art club through PittServes for an elementary school that had a budget cut on their art program. After seeing how much the students value the art projects that we do every week, I would love to find a way to share an artistic opportunity with other schools that do not have access to art programs. In regard to my current project’s focus on cultural views, bringing that sort of discussion to young students in a creative and open space could also be an exciting opportunity.