BDP Student Profiles
- Children and Society: Ivonne Estrella
- Cultural Studies: Albert Palacios
- Digital Arts and Media: Shane Kerr
- Environment: Alex Briceño
- Ethics and Leadership: Katie Tran
- International Studies: Morgan Rucker
- Social Entrepreneurship and Non-profits: Deva Cats-Baril
- Social Inequality, Health, and Policy: Durriya Doctor
Children and Society: Ivonne Estrella
Name: Ivonne Estrella
BDP: Children and Society
Major: Psychology and Linguistics
Why did you apply to the Children and Society BDP?
I chose to apply to the Children and Society BDP because I am interested in developing a career in psychology with a focus on children. The BDP has different strands that include courses of great interest to me and that will benefit me in the future.
What have you done for your connecting experiences?
For my first connecting experience in the Children’s Research Lab with Dr. Catherine Echols, I was able to learn the process of developing and running a research experiment. In my second connecting experience, which took place in Mexico, I had the opportunity to take Spanish classes, interact with psychology professors, observe how a psychotherapy center works, be an intern at Mexican schools, and talk to educators. My horizons were broadened, and I learned so much from going to another country and living there. I was exposed to the culture in Mexico, the children, and the education system. I only knew so much from books, but with this experience I was able to experience it on my own.
How have the BDPs helped shape your plans for the future?
Through my BDP I was able to go on a Maymester, part of my connecting experience, which helped increase my knowledge about second language acquisition. In this Maymester, I was able to meet different psychology professors in Mexico, and I was also able to interact with children from a different culture. I’m interested in working with children coming from a Mexican background in the future. With this experience, I was able to expand my knowledge about their culture, beliefs, school, and family environment, along with problems children in Mexico face.
Coming soon — past profiles of Children and Society students!
Cultural Studies: Albert Palacios
Name: Albert Palacios
BDP: Cultural Studies
Major: Architecture and Anthropology
What has been the biggest benefit of the BDP for you?
The biggest benefit of being in the BDP is having the opportunity and freedom to focus on any issue that you deem important. With the flexibility this program provides, you have the ability to find connections between topics you would have though to be remote.
What did you do for your Connecting Experience?
I have been conducting research through the BDP into Southwest Native American culture and architecture during Spanish rule. I am attempting to prove that every detail in a structure, as insignificant as it might seem, has a meaning or value placed on it by the society that created it. By detailing culture, societies form and create architecture in order to assert and represent core values and beliefs that bring a community together. The opportunity to fully immerse myself into a subject that I am passionate about has so far been the ultimate highlight of not only my connecting experience, but my college career.
What would you want other students to know about the BDPs?
The BDPs are the most supporting, structured, and above all, rewarding when it comes to making undergraduate academics an in-depth experience, an experience that will not only help you expand your horizons, but will add value to your degree.
Coming soon — past profiles of Cultural Studies students!
Digital Arts and Media: Shane Kerr
Name: Shane Kerr
BDP: Digital Arts and Media
Major: Undeclared
What attracted you to the BDPs?
I found the BDP to provide a starting point for me to narrow down my wide range of interests. I wasn’t completely sure what major I wanted, but I did know the general direction I wanted to follow. The Digital Arts & Media BDP had classes that covered all my potential options.
How have the BDPs helped shape your plans for the future?
With the multidisciplinary focus of the BDP, I have been able to cross off certain careers I thought would be interesting, and I have discovered new and emerging areas of interest that I never would have thought about. Originally, I was only interested in graphic design and 3-D animation, but through the BDP and other coursework, I have a more distributed perspective of the world, media, and education in general, and I place more emphasis on pedagogy, epistemology, and how we relate to our environment.
What would you want other students to know about the BDPs?
Everyone is really interested in bringing down the borders between disciplines, which reflects the interests of the students full force. As I have learned, bringing disciplines together at this point involves many obstacles, so don’t expect to necessarily get into any and all classes you want. But often times, a close alternative can bring new opportunities to the table that you never thought you’d be interested in.
Coming soon — past profiles of Digital Arts and Media students!
Environment: Alex Briceño
Name: Alex Briceño
BDP: Environment
Major: Biology and Pre-Med
Why did you apply to the Environment BDP?
I applied to the Environment BDP because I have always known that something was horribly wrong with the way people treat our planet. The Environment BDP was an opportunity for me to learn about important issues involving the environment and become more competent in a field of study that is a big part of the future for everyone on this planet.
What have you done for your connecting experiences?
My first connecting experience was a Maymester with Dr. Dick Richardson to Costa Rica, where I studied Sustainable Agriculture. I cannot begin to explain all the different things I learned involving sustainable development and agriculture. This course inspired me to buy land in the future and build a completely self-sufficient house on it. My second connecting experience was a Maymester with Dr. Mary Poteet in 2007 to Lizard Island, Australia, where I conducted field research both in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef as well as on the island itself. Swimming in the most beautiful coral reefs in the world was definitely the biggest highlight of my Australian Maymester. Also I learned valuable methods for conducting field research in both a marine and terrestrial environment.
What would you say has been the biggest benefit of being in the BDPs?
For me the biggest benefit has been getting the chance to be recognized in the large university community where I have often felt like one of the masses. This includes getting to work one-on-one with great professors and the BDP staff. I have also been exposed to wonderfully interesting ideas involving environmental issues that I would not have learned without participating in this program.
Coming soon — past profiles of Environment students!
Ethics and Leadership: Katie Tran
Name: Katie Tran
BDP: Ethics and Leadership
Major: Human Biology and Sociology
What did you do for your Connecting Experience?
My connecting experience was a year-long independent research project about how people with diabetes communicate with their health care providers. I want to discover what qualities and communication skills people with diabetes value in their health care provider to help develop better ways of improving this type of communication.
How has the BDP helped shape your plans for the future?
The coursework I’ve completed for my Ethics of Health Care strand has broadened my perspective on different issues in our health care system today. The knowledge I’ve gained in my ethics courses about the humanistic side of medicine will better prepare me for what lies ahead as I pursue my career goals.
What would you want other students to know about the BDPs?
I would recommend that students keep an open mind about what challenges and opportunities to undertake during their undergraduate career at UT. As a freshman, I had the impression that research was much like the science fair projects I hated in high school, and that I wouldn’t be interested in any subject but biology. However, the interdisciplinary curriculum of the BDP helped me to discover my interests in sociology and researching a topic that interests me. The experiences from the program and guidance from the BDP advisors helped me achieve a well-rounded experience at UT that I wouldn’t otherwise have had.
Coming soon — past profiles of Ethics and Leadership students!
International Studies: Morgan Rucker
Name: Morgan Rucker
BDP: International Studies
Major: Humanities and Asian Studies
What attracted you to the BDP?
The interesting classes, the great professors, and the internships and research component. I wanted to set myself apart as a student, and to find a program that exactly matched my interests. I loved that the BDP had so many interesting opportunities.
What did you do for your connecting experiences?
My connecting experiences were an internship with the Asia Division of the International Republican Institute in D.C. and a research experience with Dr. John Dzienkowski from UT’s Law School on US-China trade. The highlights for me were getting to experience D.C., learning more about subjects that interest me, and meeting a lot of really interesting people. The biggest thing I will take away from my connecting experiences is confidence in approaching any project or challenge I will face after this. I have already had great experiences that not everyone is fortunate enough to have as an undergraduate, and it will give me a big step up in graduate school and in my career.
What would you want other students to know about the BDP?
That it truly allows you to customize your time at UT so you can make the most of your resources and leave UT feeling like you have experienced everything you wanted to academically. I can’t say, “I wish my major had let me learn more about _________ area,” because the BDPs gave me an opportunity to do it. And get a certificate for it!
Coming soon — past profiles of International Studies students!
Social Entrepreneurship and Non-profits: Deva Cats-Baril
Name: Deva Cats-Baril
BDP: Social Entrepreneurship and Non-profits
Major: Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies
What attracted you to the BDPs?
The Social Entrepreneurship and Non-profits BDP was initially attractive because it was so clearly a place where my interest in women’s health issues could be explored from alternative and useful perspectives. I knew non-profits, women’s issues, and health were closely connected, but I didn’t know how to go about studying them in relationship to one another. The BDP provided the structure to obtain the knowledge I wanted.
What has been the biggest benefit of the BDP for you?
BDPs strive to connect faculty with students. There is the potential to connect you with an invaluable mentor — a unique benefit of being a BDP student.
How has the BDP helped shape your plans for the future?
Through the classes I’ve taken for my BDP, I’ve come to understand that sociology and health care intersect on a multitude of levels. My BDP has helped me see the connection, and now I’m pursuing internships and future academic programs in medical sociology.
Coming soon — past profiles of Social Entrepreneurship and Non-Profits students!
Social Inequality, Health, and Policy: Durriya Doctor
Name: Durriya Doctor
BDP: Social Inequality, Health, and Policy
Major: Human Biology
Why did you apply to the Social Inequality, Health, and Policy BDP?
The concentration of my major in Human Biology is primarily on natural sciences, but I felt that in order to truly understand the complexities of the social aspects of health and disease, I would need to take more classes that examine the different facets. The fact that many of these classes fit into my major’s electives was a win-win! By choosing the Social Inequality, Health, and Policy BDP, I expanded my insight into my major by giving me more options on class choices and internships.
What have you done for your connecting experiences?
In Spring 2006 I interned with Dr. Laura Lein in UT’s School of Social Work on her pilot project dealing with the rising diabetes rate in minority communities. We investigated the need for more community health promoters who are able to relate to those people suffering from this illness. I researched and analyzed articles and coded data from interview transcripts. I thought it was wonderful to see how different fields of study bring a diverse array of solutions to the same problems — social work, statistics, medicine and public policy. This past summer I volunteered at the Georgetown University Hospital in the child life, endoscopy, and physical medicine and rehabilitation units. I also interned at the Washington Hospital Center as a public health intern in the Center's Washington Cancer Institute during the summer. There, I coordinated and designed an outreach program for breast cancer awareness and prevention. This program included hosting events for local communities in Washington, D.C. and suburban Maryland. I held outreach programs at two community libraries on their busiest day and worked to raised awareness by promoting the use of mammograms and advocating healthy lifestyles. I felt that although discussing breast cancer is a daunting topic with total strangers, many individuals did in fact share stories of their experience, whether it was a "scary lump" or personal memories of friends and family members who have gone through breast cancer. Overall, the experiences have been extremely fulfilling. Most importantly, I witnessed the value of life by those who walk into the hospital each day to be treated — even if they are hanging on by a thread.
What would you want other students to know about the BDPs?
I believe that anyone can make the most of educational experience and can achieve their academic goals, and that sometimes one has to look beyond their major course of study. The BDPs offer more options and are flexible. The connecting experiences really made me look beyond the theoretical knowledge learned in class to the pragmatic knowledge only gained through actual fieldwork.
Coming soon — past profiles of Social Inequality, Health, and Policy students!
"The BDP gives you the ability to have more power in the design of your undergraduate career. It allows you to map out a degree based on your own interests, and it is an awesome tool allowing you direct connection with faculty members who are doing work in your areas of interest."
- Michelle Robinson, Social Inequality, Health & Policy