Franke Honors Students to present at Wellness and Wonder Expo

This Saturday from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m., The University of Arizona Health Sciences will be hosting Wellness and Wonder, a free community expo and educational showcase that will explore the interconnections of wonder, well-being, health and the humanities. The day will feature faculty talks and hands-on exhibits, including tours of the Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center and a chance to view the BIO5 Institute prototyping lab, as well as student presentations, guided interdisciplinary wellness sessions, and more.

Franke Honors students Nagasriya Ramisetty, Taylor Raney, and Daryl Ijaola will be presenting their research during the Wellness and Wonder event, as each of their individual work meaningfully intersects with themes of health, wellness, and the humanities. With generous funding from Franke Honors Exploratory Mini Grants, each student was able to fuel their wonder through pursuing unique interdisciplinary research projects, outside of their chosen major.

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Nagasriya Ramisetty is a sophomore Flinn Scholar at the W.A. Franke Honors College studying Physiology and Applied Humanities with an emphasis in Public Health, and is pursuing minors in Creative Writing and Adolescents, Community, and Education (ACE). Nagasriya has grown up in Arizona all of her life and is committed to understanding health inequities within her communities through translational research and advocacy. On the pre-MD/MPH track at UA, she is involved on campus as a Pre-Health Ambassador, a researcher in the Slepian lab, and student producer of TEDxUniveristy of Arizona events. In the Tucson community she is an advocate for youth mental health, an incoming classroom facilitator for Text, Talk, Act, and a volunteer at Pima County's Health Department. 

The Asian American community faces the largest disparity between between the number of individuals that would benefit from mental health resources vs. the number who actually seek these resources out. This is in large part related to the cultural stigma surrounding discussions of mental health on both individual and societal levels. In her continued research, Nagasriya will be examining what makes resources more accessible to members of this community as well as perceptions of self-advocacy and the importance of seeking support. 

Her project is a representation of her interdisciplinary work as she studies stigma against mental health in the Asian American community through qualitative research and narrative poetry and artwork. This project is still in progress, and the primary goal for this semester is the completion of a literature review, the establishment of a qualitative interview guide, and beginning work on the accompanying exhibition work.  

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Taylor Raney is from Glendale, Arizona and is a second-year Flinn Scholar at the University of Arizona W.A. Franke Honors College. With majors in Physiology and Psychological Sciences and a minor in Health & Human Values, she is looking forward to a future career in clinical psychology. On campus, she is involved as a PATH Mentor, Physiology Honors Academy Student Advisor, and MCB 181 Supplemental Instruction Leader. She also participates in research through the Family & Community Medicine Department, volunteers at Tu Nidito Children & Family Services, and spends time as a Crisis Text Line volunteer.  

After participating in poetry and creative writing classes through the W.A. Franke Honors College, Taylor developed a love of language as an artistic medium. This passion evolved into a unique fusion of poetry and visual collage art, allowing expression through synchronous verbal and visual mediums. Her solo exhibition, titled Beyond Words: Conversations about Mental Illness Through Poetry and Collage, explored themes of mental health and illness through a dual lens of poetry and collage art. To accompany her exhibition, she created and taught a poetry collage workshop at Tucson Middle Schools with the aim to create a space for Tucson youth to express themselves through art.

From this project, Taylor found joy in creating an artistic exhibition as well as creating a community-focused workshop for Tucson youth. This project as a whole fostered spaces for building connections with others, and she hopes her artistic vulnerability will continue to spark introspective, sensitive conversations within the Tucson community. 

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Daryl Ijaola is a junior at the W.A. Franke Honors College studying Biomedical Engineering with minors in Health and Human Values and Spanish. Daryl, who is also a Black Excellence Scholar and PATH Mentor at the Franke Honors College, has a passion for expressing his thoughts and emotions through poetry and spoken word. Though outside of his academic discipline, poetry has always been a part of Daryl’s regular routine, a space where he could process everyday feelings. He was inspired to continue exploring this pursuit through taking Franke Honors Professor Claire McLane’s course, HNRS 216 - Living Poetry / the Poet's Life and Work, during his freshman year. 

Using the resources he received from an Exploratory Mini-Grant last spring, Daryl cultivated a dedicated space for students to explore writing poetry through weekly workshops hosted in the University of Arizona Main Library. His poetry workshop quickly became a safe space for students to make art in community. Every week, the workshop would start with two writing prompts, music, and snacks, and would conclude with participants sharing their work and reflecting on the poetry process. 

In addition to his Honors involvements, Daryl is Vice President of the club, African Americans in Life Sciences at the University of Arizona. He also spends his time playing keyboard for University City Church, hanging in his dorm as a Resident Assistant, and volunteering at Z Mansion.