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A young blond woman sits on a white wicker bench in front of a gray stucco wall. She is wearing a blue and white sleeveless blouse and and white pants. Her arms are folded in her lap and her hair is loosely pulled back. She is smiling and her head is cocked to the side.

Student Spotlight – Brinn Wallin

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Meet UCLA undergraduate researcher Brinn Wallin!

Brinn is majoring in English and is part of the UCLA/Keck Humanistic Inquiry Undergraduate Research Awards program. Brinn’s research project is “The Enduring Phantom of Sylvia Plath: Misrepresentation and a Life Survived by Death.”

How did you first get interested in your research project?

My discovery of and love for Sylvia Plath began at a quintessential time in my life, and one that I view as somewhat of a synchronicity. I first picked up her only novel, The Bell Jar, as I was being discharged from a mental health facility. Though the basis of my hospitalization was different from Plath’s (as well as Esther Greenwood’s in this novel), there were several poignant similarities in our struggles. I started reading her poetry, specifically her earliest poems, which doubled my interest in her. However, I began to notice something while studying Plath and her work in academia: she was known, above all, by her suicide. This repeated focus on her death, more than her immense work and influence, spawned a desire in me to research this misrepresentation of her life, work, and legacy. In doing so, my frustrations deepened as my passion grew. When I transferred to UCLA, I applied to an introductory research program to legitimize what has now been my years-long research journey. This research has made up the most prized and essential part of my years as an undergraduate student.

What has been the most exciting aspect of your research so far?

Everything! If I had to narrow it down to one thing, though, I would say the most exciting aspect of my research is the same thing that overwhelms me: the endless rabbit holes of information, insight, and inquiry that the process of researching yields. I love learning; to me, research is, first and foremost, about learning and fostering personal (and social) growth.

What has surprised you about your research or the research process?

I knew when I first started research what I was getting myself into. Nevertheless, you can never anticipate just how much or how little information you will discover, depending on what specific questions you are asking. At certain points I have found an abundance of scholarly work to support my claims. At others, I could find near to nothing. This is the special part of research, however: the opportunity to build off of the work of previous researchers, while also discovering one’s own unique place within a particular area of scholarship.

What is one piece of advice you have for other UCLA students thinking about doing research?

First I would say: do it! But I would follow that by emphasizing the importance of loving what you research. If you take on a project just to say you did it, or because you view it as just another thing you have to do, I don’t think that it is reason enough to sign yourself up. One of my favorite authors and artists, Anaïs Nin, writes that it is passion which lends us moments of wholeness. This, at least to me, is what sits at the core of research: moments, even if brief ones, that fuel our souls.

What effect do you hope your research has in your field, at UCLA, in your community, or in the world?

Given that my project specifically addresses real-time changes that can be made in the discourse surrounding Sylvia Plath, I hope my research widens the academic lens focused on this larger-than-life (and death!) writer and woman. I hope it allows for greater transformation in the ways we view and treat female artists altogether. And I hope my project positively impacts those who know of Plath, have read her work, or simply heard her name once in passing. In other words, I hope the love I have for her becomes contagious.

 

Tags: Keck, English, Creative Writing, Sylvia Plath, Undergraduate Research, Undergraduate Creativity

 

 

Headshot of an Asian American male college student, smiling, wearing a dark suit, wire rim glasses, and earrings, smiling, with greenery in the background

Student Spotlight – Ryan Horio

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Meet UCLA undergraduate researcher Ryan Horio!

Ryan is double majoring in Human Biology & Society and Asian American Studies with a minor in Community Engagement & Social Change. He is part of the UCLA/Keck Humanistic Inquiry Undergraduate Research Awards program. The title of his project is “Fear, identity, and activism during COVID-19: Conceptualizing racialized Asian youths’ experiences of sinophobia and foreigner racialization in the US.” Through his project, he hopes to give his communities a voice and the courage to use it. Ryan’s best piece of advice is that anything can be research!

How did you first get interested in your research project?

During the pandemic, I witnessed people who looked like me being assaulted and discriminated against solely due to their perceived race. I felt helpless and unable to do anything at the time, and those feelings followed me to college where I pursued a second major in Asian American Studies. My academic journey combined with my passion for racial justice and activism led me to pursue an honors thesis and this research project.

What has been the most exciting aspect of your research so far?

Definitely speaking to my participants and listening to their stories! As my work seeks to place the experiences of anti-Asian hate during the pandemic within the broader context of sinophobia and foreigner racialization, these interviews are what keep me grounded in my work. It is a privilege to hear such powerful and intimate experiences.

What has surprised you about your research or the research process?

I did not realize how important research is for any kind of change. Furthermore, I believed research was something that remained in academia. However, discussing with other researchers and reflecting on my research’s purpose, I became surprised at how influential our voices can be if channeled together and done effectively. This experience has shaped my future goals within research and academia.

What is one piece of advice you have for other UCLA students thinking about doing research?

Anything can be research! So, you might as well do it on something that you are passionate about—think about the things that get you excited, the topics that you could talk endlessly on, the communities that motivate you to be here as a UCLA student. If you choose something that you are passionate about, you are already further than most others.

What effect do you hope your research has in your field, at UCLA, in your community, or in the world?

I hope that my research will give my communities a voice, as well as the courage to use it. Historically, we have been silent and have been silenced. In this light, I hope that our institutions listen to our stories as students and support us in the ways that we need them to. I also hope that my work empowers us to speak about our experiences instead of remaining silent. Finally, I hope that my research encourages others to think critically about their own research’s purpose and to keep action at the center of our work as academics.

You can follow Ryan on Instagram at @ryanhorio.